‘Exorcism at 60,0000 Feet’ Blu-ray Review
Stars: Robert Miano, Bai Ling, Lance Henriksen, Matthew Moy, Kevin J. O’Connor, Bill Moseley, Adrienne Barbeau, Robert Rhine, Silvia Spross, Kelli Maroney, Kyle Jones, Johnny Williams, Jin N. Tonic, Stephanie Peti, Gina Salvano | Written by Robert Rhine, Daniel Benton | Directed by Chad Ferrin
Produced by genre magazine Girls and Corpses and distributed by Shout! Studios (yes, Shout! as in Shout Factory, the company behind the fan-favourite Scream Factory line of Blu-rays), Exorcism at 60,000 Feet comes from director Chad Ferrin, a filmmaker who has a wealth of experience in horror having worked consistently in genre fare since getting his start as production assistant on the likes of The Prophecy, Halloween 6 and Hellraiser: Bloodline. Team Ferrin’s experience with a cast that includes such genre superstars as Lance Henriksen, Bill Moseley, Adrienne Barbeau, Bai Ling, Kevin J. OConnor and Kelli Maroney and you have the makings of what could be a modern horror must-see. But is it?
In a word. Yes.
To be fair Exorcism at 60,0000 Feet grabs you from the get-go, with an prologue that plays on the familiar tropes of exorcism movies before turning them on their head in a way the forces you to reconsider what you’re about to watch. Then there’s the opening credits and THAT score – both a complete throwback to 80s horror cinema, really setting the stage for what is to come. Though the intro belies the fact that this tale of terror is actually played for a LOT of laughs!
Taking the idea that flights can be hell to its literal extreme, Exorcism at 60,0000 Feet takes place on the last flight of a transatlantic passenger airliner, where things turn positively demonic after a swarm of infernal possessions breaks out, spreading from passenger to passenger and eventually to the pilot! In order to land safely and survive, a priest (called Father Romero no-less!), a rabbi, and the surviving crew must band together against the most ungodly turbulence imaginable…
As you can probably tell from that synopsis, Exorcism at 60,0000 Feet isn’t taking things too seriously. And why should it? There’s a real feel here that Ferrin and co. were aiming for the type of horror comedy that the 80s were known for and honestly they capture it perfectly; ultimately taking the film into the realms of Airplane-style laughs, off-kilter humour (like a running gag about a used tampon somehow passing from passenger to passenger and plenty of riffs on William Friedkin’s The Exorcist) and just the right amount of gory horror to make this film a HELL – pun intended – of a lot of fun! Fun that is propped up by a score that sounds like its stepped out of an episode of Tales From the Crypt… and comes from the legendary Richard Band!
Blu-ray Bonus Features:
- Behind the Screams of Exorcism At 60,000 Feet
- A Cast To Die For featurette
- Pookie The Wonder Dog’s Guide to Practical Effects
- Bill’s Big Birthday Bash featurette
- Downtown After Sundown behind the scenes featurette
- Trailer
The modern-day equivalent of the Zucker Brothers’ spoofs and Bob Logan’s Repossessed, Exorcism at 60,0000 Feet is a superb slice of silly scares. More please Mr. Ferrin!
**** 4/5
Exorcism at 60,0000 Feet is out now on Blu-ray from Shout! Factory.
