Flight of the Living Dead: Outbreak on a Plane DVD Review

Flight of the Living Dead: Outbreak on a Plane
Starring: Kristen Kerr, Richard Tyson, Erick Avari
Directed By: Scott Thomas
Written By: Sidney Iwanter, Mark Onspaugh
Released: 2007
Grade: B-

It seems the big question that spurred the idea for this film was what is another edge to combine with zombies? There have already been numerous films with zombies many with their own style. Shaun of the Dead poked fun at the genre while combing romance and still keeping the horrific plot. Recently we even saw zombies in 1950’s suburbia as inferior to the living rather than controlling and preying on them in Fido. So one thing to do differently might be to just put them in a different place. Flight of the Living Dead reminded me a lot of Snakes on a Plane. And no, it is not just because they both feature an evil creature attacking people on a plane. Neither of them are really all that creative but they have a fun level of campiness to them, which makes it entertaining.

A mad scientist leaks a coffin on to a plane in Los Angeles on its way to Paris. This coffin has in it a body which contains a genetically modified virus. The body is able to get out during the flight though. At first no one notices since the plane has been going through storms and turbulence occurs. Also one of the passengers is a prisoner who is on the plane to be transported to a different prison. He doesn’t think that he has done anything wrong though, which shows either some delusions or denial on his part. When the prisoner suddenly disappears and some of the other passengers begin to be attacked it is assumed that it is him. However, the matter of the fact is that the living dead are in that plane, thirsty for the flesh of the living. They die one by one and are brought alive again just to kill the remaining. As if this all isn’t bad enough, the pilot and flight attendants can’t find any help. For quite some time, the plane has gone off the radar. Even when it comes back, the disease on the plane is known. The only way for it to be stopped from causing a massive break out is for the plane to be attacked. Little do the remaining living on the plane know, if the zombies don’t eat their guts for supper, the navy will still blow out their brains.

There is a reason why in the plot description, I didn’t go in to too much detail with specific characters; they really don’t matter. In this type of the film they aren’t vital anyway, but more than that it is because they were poorly constructed. There are two couples, which are particularly annoying. Both of the girls are stuck up and bitchy. The guys are checking out girls right in front of their girlfriends. Plus one of the girls is cheating on her boyfriend with his best friend. When something is said about the morality of this, “so what” is the answer. They shrug it off and continue making out in the bathroom while their significant others are just outside the stall. As if it is not obvious what is going on with both of them gone and only one bathroom. Nearly all of the guys’ language is cussing. There is nothing wrong with using some of it, but that being their whole vocabulary questions their intelligence level and just makes them seem like vulgar senseless jerks. A famous golfer is also on the flight. His character is okay, but his wife is the one who seems like the worse half of the couple. She is constantly nagging him about people noticing him or wanting his autograph. What is he supposed to do about it? Everything is casual and he can’t just randomly be someone else just to please her. The flight attendants were more likeable as was the convict ironically.

Kristen Kerr as one of the flight attendants was one of the better actresses involved with the film. She was nice and just trying to do her job. Given the situation that standards had drastically been raised and she did her best to do what she could in protecting the others. Richards Tyson as the convict helped make things interesting. He had some mental instabilities yet he ended up being helpful in their desperate attempt for survival. Erick Avari’s initial character was rigid and didn’t help the situation. His character really came to life as a zombie though. Most of the other acting didn‘t stand out much. Then again you can only do so much with bad characters so in a way they were just acting their parts. The two best performances were from the actors who played the two most likeable characters.

The thing that Flight of the Living Dead does the best is the visuals. The zombies were wonderfully done. Their eyes are like a glowing green. The bodies are disfigured and the high hisses make it feel more intense. I really got a kick out of the living dead version of Erick Avari. His jaw was stretched and the shrieks were like his attack call. The gore is great as well which displays the wretchedness of the zombies very well. Also the plane location worked well with this. Being on a plane with these fast vicious zombies makes it hard to hide, which is a major stage of most zombie films. With no where to go but down, the only choice is which way to die. Of course the military involvement makes it even worse leaving three excruciatingly painful ways to die; missiles, zombie cannibalism, or jumping and splattering on the ground way below. Also the fact that the zombies were just an experiment gone horribly wrong means it was completely unnecessary, just a terrifying mistake. It is ironic that what was meant to make ones life last longer, ended up killing many and made others turn to violence to ensure others’ safety. Flight of the Living Dead has poor characters, but when most of them die it isn’t a big deal. There is a fun value there especially with the comedy. The great graphics and some horrifying elements make up for this quite a bit and the film ends up being another entertaining zombie movie in a new, more dangerous place with more dire consequences.