A 10-hour trip to Tokyo and a mysterious passenger carrying a suitcase containing otherworldly objects suspended at 9,000m — this certainly doesn’t sound like an average flight. What it is, however, is a tolerably spine-chilling thriller.
Actor Ryan Kwanten in a scene from 7500.
Directed by Takashi Shimizu, 7500 is a film about ghosts on a commercial flight. Having garnered a reputation as a pioneer in the supernatural genre through his work on the Japanese horror Ju-On series and its American offshoot, The Grudge, Shimizu manages to again bring spellbinding fear and apprehension to the silver screen.
Similar to many formulaic horror and thriller films, the plot of 7500 is generic and straightforward. But this doesn’t mean it’s not frightening. Audiences are quickly thrown into the deep end as the film begins with a flash forward — turbulence throws a plane into all manners of pandemonium, with passengers and items flying about the cabin and oxygen levels rapidly dropping. There is also a corpse stowed in one of the seats.
At the outset, this is one of 7500’s the greatest merits. Only a few minutes into the film and the hearts and minds of the audience are already racing.
We are then taken back to the beginning of the doomed flight. The passengers board the plane, among them Entourage’s Jerry Ferrara as Rick Lewis, Nicky Whelan as Liz Lewis, True Blood star Ryan Kwanten as Brad Martin and Amy Smart as Pia Martin. There’s also a brief cameo from YouTube celebrity Ryan Higa.
Everything, predictably, is calm and happy at first, but then the bubble bursts. A mysterious passenger aboard the plane dies in gruesome fashion and turbulence unsettles the aircraft. What follows are bizarre, seemingly paranormal occurrences that rouse the fears of the cabin crew and passengers. There’s something in the overhead storage, something behind the crew’s curtains, something perhaps underneath the cabin. And it’s up to a few diligent passengers to figure out the supernatural horseplay that is terrorising everyone on board.
But as they say, the destination isn’t as important as the journey. Even at the end of the film, we’re not quite sure what actually causes the phenomena. There is virtually no backstory on the mysterious passenger and information on his unusual belongings is scarce and unhelpful. Audiences are left to their own devices.
Oddly enough, save for the ghosts and an absence of offbeat humour, there are striking similarities between 7500 and David R. Ellis’ Snakes On A Plane — Whelan’s character has germophobia like that of Flex Alexander’s, and a mysterious suitcase is central to both stories.
Despite a lack of narrative strength — and the fact that Shimizu has made better horror films — 7500 has enough moments of fear and tension to stir unease. The film is analogous to a roller-coaster ride, taking audiences on a frightful journey. And though there may be bumps along the way, the sheer terror of the thrill makes up for it.
