Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Altitude Blu-ray Movie Review

Does this disc fly high or crash and burn?

Reviewed by Martin Liebman October 22, 2010

Are you declaring an emergency?

The direct-to-video Altitude flys into home theaters on the coattails of Director Adam Green's Frozen as another Horror picture that tells a tale of terror set in a single location. Not only easier on studios' pocketbooks but by their very nature creating almost infinitely more opportunities for deeper character development and interaction as individuals struggle to mesh their own personalities, fears, and base emotions with those of their fellow stuck and frightened companions, these single location Horror films seem like the perfect ticket for studios to make a good movie on-the-cheap while filmmakers can prove their worth by crafting a consistently engaging and entertaining film within the limited resource of space, having to rely more on story than visuals to make their movies work. The challenge of shooting a film in a small and confined locale seems greater than the process of writing such a story, so with films like Altitude, the onus falls on the director -- in this case Kaare Andrews -- to bring it all together into a worthwhile endeavor. Andrews succeeds, even if his first feature-length film is no Frozen. Altitude lacks the sheer tension, terror, and believability of Adam Green's master work, but Andrews holds his own and proves himself a competent director who makes Writer Paul A. Birkett's story work very well on-screen. Indeed, Birkett's story thrives at 24 frames per second, and his work that seems like an amalgamation of Adam Green, Stephen King, and M. Night Shyamalan makes for an entertaining, but not particularly frightening, high-flying experience.

Who ate the baked beans?

Young pilot Sara (Jessica Lowndes) is taking four friends on a flight in a rented aircraft for a weekend concert getaway. Along for the ride is her off-kilter, antisocial, and comic book collector boyfriend Bruce (Landon Liboiron) who's struggling with the idea that Sara is soon to move out of the country for a fresh start in Montreal. Sara and friends lift off without incident, but a mechanical failure and the sudden appearance of a terrible storm leaves the five in a perilous situation miles above the Earth's surface. Out of radio contact with the ground, unable to see anything but black clouds all around, confused by broken instruments and faulty readouts, and losing patience with one another, the group devolves into a state of panic, turning on one another as they frantically attempt to recover control of the aircraft, regain their proper heading and altitude, and steer the plane clear of the awful storm. It doesn't take long for the five to realize that there's something more at work than a simple storm and broken instruments, and they can only rely on one another -- no matter how difficult that may be -- to try and survive at an impossibly high altitude and against all odds.

First things first: Altitude's characters are generally awful. Superficially, they're generic cutouts with annoying forced personalities and saddled with bad dialogue, both of which exist only to steer the movie in a particular direction, and none of them seem in the least believable, especially at first. Once the film gets rolling, however, the sketchy characters are drowned out by the film's intense plot and many revelations, and by the time light is shed on the two primary characters and their respective backstories, all of the annoying small talk, faux posturing, and generally blasé personalities are long forgotten in favor of a Shaymalan/King-style story that works surprisingly well, even if it's not at all plausible and, worse yet, lacking in specific details that might have allowed it to work a bit better. Altitude is more a movie about feel and trust and man's ability to believe in something, attributes that describe not only the plot but the characters' trust in Sara to fly the plane and, in a far broader sense, man's reliance on mechanical devices, such as planes, working as they are intended to safely deliver their cargo. Indeed, the film's deeper meanings are impossible to miss but they're smartly buried under the primary action/horror elements that define the movie, allowing audiences to choose whether they want a deeper experience or to simply relax and enjoy a loud and entertaining movie. Altitude isn't going to change the way people view movies, flying, or fate, but the latter in particular is used to fine effect to enhance the movie greatly in its final act; it's too bad some audience members may not stick around considering how terribly obnoxious the characters are in the first.

Technically, Altitude manages to work extraordinarily well given its single primary set piece and no real movement other than characters shifting about inside the tiny aircraft and, in the film's most intense scene, outside of it. The special effects could certainly use some work, but like the shoddy acting and poor dialogue, they're lost under Director Kaare Andrews well-realized and energized direction and Paul A. Birkett's quality story. Though the painful first act is almost enough to ruin the movie, the film's slow-to-develop pace proves a strong asset by the end. The story carefully constructs several nuanced layers that require some time to fully develop and introduce, all eventually coming back to mean something in the final act and shed light on the hows and the whys surrounding the deadly mystery high up in the sky. Better yet, the film kicks into overdrive and never relents once the terror takes shape; Altitude builds up a strongly-realized atmosphere of terror that's threatened, again, by some bad characters and poor dialogue, but by sheer force of will the film overcomes its deficiencies thanks to story and style. Altitude is a film all about its story; the three secondary characters are written only to the point that they do little more than move the plot along, no more and no less, while the single location allows the writer and filmmaker to more fully expand on the story rather than establish and work with ever-changing sets and locations. That's why Frozen works so well, and that's why Altitude is in and of itself a quality picture even in spite of several glaring negatives. The picture isn't nearly as frightening as Frozen, but it makes for a good companion piece and serves as an example of story winning out over bad acting and bland side characters.

Altitude Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Altitude lands on Blu-ray with a proficient 1080p high definition transfer. Though it never reaches the stratosphere of Blu-ray transfers, this image is consistently stable and pleasant, even through the dark and challenging material thrown at it during the second and third acts. The film's open sports a metallic, blue-gray color scheme, with only the characters' skin standing out against the deliberately cold imagery. Detail is strong here, too, with faces, clothes, and various objects scattered around the frame enjoying the benefits of a well-encoded high definition transfer. Blacks are steady early on, but they tend to devour details and attract excess noise once the action shifts to the darkened interior of the plane. Banding is occasionally visible in exterior shots as the plane zips through the darkened clouds, but the transfer is free of any other excess visual anomalies. A light coating of grain is retained over the transfer, making for a handsome film-like image in most of the brighter scenes. Altitude's 1080p transfer isn't a show stopper, but this is a solid all-around image that serves the movie and its challenging visuals well enough.

Altitude Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Altitude features a potent and well-mixed Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack that puts every speaker to good use. Whether the powerful winds that tear through the soundstage or the slightest of echos as characters speak in a hangar prior to takeoff, the soundtrack puts every speaker to work to bring the film's several environments to life. The bulk of the picture takes place inside the aircraft, and interior shots are generally accompanied by the humming of the propellors outside the aircraft or the booming thunder around it. The entire 5.1 configuration is in some way active throughout, and while the environment is never completely seamless -- listeners won't be fooled into thinking the couch has been transported into the plane -- Anchor Bay's 5.1 track nevertheless makes for a compelling listen. Bass is powerful and tight, rumbling and pounding with authority on several occasions, and dialogue remains focused up the middle and never runs into any problems. Altitude's well-realized lossless soundtrack is the perfect compliment to a movie that demands an ever-present and fairly seamless sonic support structure.

Altitude Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Altitude lifts off with a few extras in tow. First up is an audio commentary track with Director Kaare Andrews. Andrews offers up a standard commentary, sharing all of the basics of the filmmaking process, including how he was approached for the project and crafted a makeshift trailer to sell it, differences between various revisions of the script, the film's special effects (and an admission that a few of them don't work as well as they should), his hopes that the audience will understand the picture's size and budget and resultant limitations, his satisfaction with the filmmaking process and the end picture, shooting inside the plane, and much more. Most of the emphasis is on the picture's effects; those interested in the field might find value in this track. 'Altitude': Behind the Scenes (1080p, 49:02) is a four-part documentary that takes viewers through the process of making the film, looking at the pre-production elements such as writing, assembling the cast, and analyzing the characters they play; the rigors of the shoot; the work of Director Kaare Andrews; stunt work; special effects; and more. Green Storm (480p, 10:06) is a piece that focuses on the process of building the film's special effects, beginning with the exterior green screens and the resultant construction of various effects to complete the movie. Original Concepts Gallery (1080p) features an assortment of hand-drawn storyboards. Also included is the Altitude trailer (480p, 2:02).

Altitude Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Altitude is a fun little diversion in the same vein as Frozen, but it's never as effective as Adam Green's masterpiece of terror. Nevertheless, Altitude flies high thanks to a good story that might be the result if Adam Green, M. Night Shyamalan, and Stephen King were to morph into one person and write a single story that's reflective of each individual's style and attributes. That's high praise, and while Writer Paul A. Birkett could tighten up his dialogue and paint more believable and less obnoxious characters, the core of his story works extraordinarily well and even finds some deeper meaning through all of the action and scares that define the picture on a superficial level. Altitude is a quality little film that's good enough to have earned a theatrical release, but it will hopefully find a following on home video. This Anchor Bay Blu-ray release of Altitude features a sound technical presentation and an average allotment of extras. Recommended.