Review of The Horror at 37,000 Feet

Seriously, don't be put off by 3 stars. It is not a good film, not even by the standards of the time it was made, but it is hugely entertaining, even if not for the intended reasons. I first saw this on TV when I was probably 6 years old. At the time I was a bit scared of it. I hadn't seen it in almost forty years when I found it online a couple of nights ago. I couldn't not watch it. It's truly cringe worthy, everything from the dialogue, the premise, the social attitudes of the time, the acting and the special effects. It doesn't work as a horror film anymore, if indeed it ever did. However it's hugely entertaining in the "so bad it's good " kind of way. Whatever budget they had probably got spent on Shatner's toupees! At the time it was made, two genres were popular; disaster films and films about possession (The Exorcist was another release of 1973). Some bright spark had the idea of combining the two, to a hugely amusing effect! My friend and I laughed from start to finish. As bad as it is, it has cult movie written across it. Watching it, I realized just how well observed Airplane is. I kept expecting the characters to make deliberate, deadpan jokes. Get friends together with a few drinks and have fun watching this. Yes, the dog dies, but in this film, that too manages to be ridiculous.