Red Eyeis an underrated thriller that deserves more attention, especially given its brilliant trailer. Having cemented himself as one of the great horror filmmakers with A Nightmare on Elm Street and the Scream franchise, Wes Craven moved away from the more blatant horror movies with this gripping and clever thriller.
The movie stars Cillian Murphy and Rachel McAdams, both actors adding terrific performances that elevate the pulse-pounding ride. It also makes great use of its isolated setting, keeping the action confined to an airplane as the tension rises, similar to the recent thriller Drop.
Red Eye earned strong reviews, scoring an impressive 80% on Rotten Tomatoes. It also made nearly $100 million at the box office on its $26 million budget (via Box Office Mojo). However, since its release, the movie hasn’t gotten much attention. Also forgotten is Red Eye‘s brilliant marketing, including one of the most clever trailers ever made.
Red Eye’s Original Trailer Presents It As A Rom-Com
Red Eye’s Trailer Through Audiences For A Loop
Red Eye stars Rachel McAdams as Lisa, a woman catching a red-eye flight from Texas to Miami, where she is seated next to a man named Jackson (Cillian Murphy). However, Jackson reveals that they are not sitting together by accident as he planned, threatening Lisa to help him carry out an assassination or her father will be executed.
It is a simple premise that keeps the hero trapped in this dire situation as they attempt to outsmart the villain, prevent their evil plan, and save their loved ones. The 2024 Netflix thriller Carry On is similar to Red Eye as well, even with the airline-type setting. However, the first trailer for Red Eye initially presented a much different kind of movie.
The true tone of the movie is revealed, throwing the audience off after being lulled into a comfortable space with a supposed rom-com.
The trailer for Red Eye initially presented the movie as a cliché rom-com. Beginning with upbeat and cute music, the trailer starts by showing Lisa in her hectic attempts to get to the airport on time, only to discover that her flight has been delayed. However, things begin to look up when she meets the handsome stranger, Jackson.
Their rom-com meet-cute gets even cuter as they discover they are sitting next to each other on the plane. Then Lisa makes small talk about what Jackson does for a living, and as the romantic music suddenly vanishes, he responds with the line “As fate would have it, my business is all about you.”
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From there, the true tone of the movie is revealed, throwing the audience off after being lulled into a comfortable space with a supposed rom-com. It is a great subversion of movie marketing, which typically wants to sell the film as quickly as possible.
This was a bold swing, purposely seeming like a movie we’ve seen countless times, only to immediately grab the audience’s attention with the sudden shift. The film itself doesn’t try to hide its thriller nature upfront like this, but the trailer certainly makes Red Eye stand out and cause audiences to take notice.
Red Eye Sees Wes Craven Deliver A Different Type Of Horror Movie
Wes Craven Wasn’t Dealing With Slashers And Supernatural Killers Anymore
Along with the wonderful, misleading trailer, Red Eye also surprises audiences with a Wes Craven movie they likely weren’t expecting. Craven’s work in horror had cemented him as a genre great, with A Nightmare on Elm Street being considered one of the great 80s horror movies. From there, Craven subverted the slasher genre in Scream.
As the clever trailer highlights, Jackson is not meant to be a masked killer or a menacing ghoul, but rather a villain who can appear as normal as anyone else.
Though Craven had previously directed Meryl Streep in the drama Music of the Heart, he mostly stuck close to his horror genre. Red Eye is certainly intense, but it is never a traditional horror movie, especially compared to what Craven had made before. It is far more of a grounded thriller, feeling like a noticeable deviation in his filmography.
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As the clever trailer highlights, Jackson is not meant to be a masked killer or a menacing ghoul, but rather a villain who can appear as normal as anyone else. Likewise, the situation of meeting a stranger on an airplane is ordinary, only for it to turn threatening when Jackson’s true nature is revealed.
Wes Craven made his directorial debut in The Last House on the Left in 1972.
Craven is also dealing with a new style of thrills, having to maintain the tension in the confined space with two characters battling each other throughout the entire movie. His previous horror movies relied on memorable kills to keep things intense. Red Eye is actually trying to make its action discreet, so the storyline would still be believable.
Craven passed away in 2015, and his horror movies continue to be revisited by fans, keeping his legacy alive. However, Red Eye is a reminder that his talents extended beyond what we saw in his more iconic projects.
Despite His Great Performance, Cillian Murphy Didn’t Care For Red Eye
Murphy Called Red Eye A “B-Movie”
Cillian Murphy’s star was still on the rise when he took the role of Jackson in Red Eye. He had already gained global attention with his starring role in 28 Days Later and became even more popular with his role as Scarecrow in Batman Begins. Red Eye was a movie that continued to cement him as a fascinating actor to watch.
The trick of Red Eye‘s trailer only works because Murphy is believable as a charming rom-com lead, before making the villainous switch.
With his versatile projects to date, including his Oscar-winning performance in Oppenheimer, it is easy to take Murphy’s talents for granted. However, given the intense roles he became known for early on, Murphy might have been typecast in a villain role. Instead, Murphy brings surprising aspects to his role in Red Eye, allowing his talents to shine through.
The trick of Red Eye‘s trailer only works because Murphy is believable as a charming rom-com lead, before making the villainous switch. It is an impressive performance, but Murphy doesn’t hold the movie in very high regard. Murphy reflected on Red Eye, admitting he took the role because of that duality shown in the trailer.
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Murphy also revealed that he loves working with Rachel McAdams, but adds, “I don’t think it’s a good movie. It’s a good B movie.” It is interesting that Murphy’s judgment, when looking back on the film, is quite negative, whereas Red Eye is a project that seems to get more appreciation from fans as time goes on.
Though Murphy might not have a high opinion of Red Eye, it doesn’t take away the fun that audiences can get from it, even 20 years later.
Red Eye
- Release Date
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August 19, 2005
- Runtime
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85 Minutes
- Writers
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Carl Ellsworth
- Producers
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Bonnie Curtis, Chris Bender, J.C. Spink, Jim Lemley, Marianne Maddalena
