The Horror at 37,000 Feet
The Horror at 37,000 Feet
| 13 February 1973 (USA)
The Horror at 37,000 Feet Trailers

A commercial-jet captain (Chuck Connors) has ghosts on board from stones of an English abbey being shipped overseas.

Reviews
Lovesusti The Worst Film Ever
Palaest recommended
SeeQuant Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction
Jakoba True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.
AllNewSux Although not as good as that terrifying Twilight Zone episode starring Bill Shatner, this movie is definitely under appreciated. The plot is strange with all the Druid rituals, but the oddness of the subject matter adds to the atmosphere. It takes place on a virtually empty airplane which I myself have flown on before. With a full plane, the whole thing would have been a chaotic mess where as this sparse cast allows for a bit more calmness and thought. The characters work together to defeat this demon or ghost or whatever it's supposed to be, but they gradually fall apart as the terror gets more intense. You will recognize most of the actors and they all turn in decent performances. It's hard to pick a favorite, but Shatner's drunken defrocked priest is the most interesting. The special effects are good at times, but occasionally amateurish due to working under a TV budget as opposed to a movie one. The whole package is very entertaining though. When I realized it was coming to an end I was kind of disappointed as I wanted more. Overall, the film really impressed me and after watching this it made me want to look into many more 1970s made for television horror movies.
Rosettes I suppose it helps to remember when one first saw a movie, how it made them feel then, to be able to appreciate it when they see it again years later. For me, when I first saw this movie, it was late night TV, usually Friday night. It made a great way to welcome the weekend. How could it not for it was situated at night, it had its tense moments, and then it ended greeting the sun, the new day. A wonderful transition from Friday and the week to Saturday.For the time period when I first saw it, it was the latter part of the 70's. My first 747 ride had only been 3-4 years before. Chuck Connors was still the Rifleman. William Shatner was still an unknown name (Doug McClure was more popular to me in the Barbary Coast). Russel Johnson was an occasional recognized face of "hey, wasn't he on...", but nothing more. Buddy Ebsen was barely seen as familiar since the Jed makeup was such a change (and we often did homework instead of watching TV on school nights). Roy Thinnes might have been recognized but probably more for "Black Noon". Paul Winfield would be an unknown to me for at least another seven years.It was a time when cable only consisted of the local channels in your and other cities, so what syndication one did see was in the off hours of major network broadcasting. There was a thin slot in the afternoon, movies occupied the late night, stations only had a certain number hours to be on the air, and the massive bombardment of "ancient" shows wasn't happening yet. It was before the Star Trek 2nd coming and it was long before Airplane. It was a time when I knew that flying on an airliner was fun and exciting as oppose to the dread one might feel now.I saw this movie for the story it told, for how the cast portrayed it, and not because of who they had been in previous productions, what they were known for. I watched the movie today to feel again the world I knew when I was a teen, to enjoy some time in another world, and not with an eye to criticize and slash with all I know and have experienced now.If one comes from a time back then, then they may indeed enjoy this movie. If on the other hand, one knows of the world only in the present, then this will probably be their toy to abuse for 70 minutes or so.
Scott LeBrun 'The Horror at 37,000 Feet' has to rank as one of the lesser efforts from the era when the made for TV horror movie flourished. It has some great moments, but not as much atmosphere as one would like. Some viewers may appreciate the fact that the evil in this story is never really given a face, others may be underwhelmed. The acting is variable, the direction (by David Lowell Rich) competent if not distinguished, and the special effects entertaining enough, but mostly what this television movie delivers is laughter - I'm assuming most of it is of the unintentional variety. Be prepared for very dodgy accents, which is also part of the (mild) fun of this thing.The cast of big names includes Chuck Connors as intrepid pilot Ernie Slade, Buddy Ebsen as pompous rich man Glenn Farlee, Tammy Grimes as the self-righteous Mrs. Pinder, France Nuyen as passenger Annalik, the almighty William Shatner as cynical boozing ex-priest Paul Novalik, Roy Thinnes as architect Alan O'Neill, Paul Winfield as dedicated Dr. Enkalla, Will Hutchins as cowboy film star Steve Holcomb, and Russell Johnson as Jim Hawley, another member of the flight crew on a plane travelling from London to NYC. Unfortunately, Alan has ruined the trip for everybody by bringing back architectural artifacts - specifically, the remains of an abbey - in the cargo hold. Bad idea. Apparently druids used this place in a previous century. The passengers and crew are then subjected to supernatural phenomena including freezing cold and wind, a lot of ooze, and cracks opening up in the floor. It remains to be seen if these people will figure out how to survive before the plane runs out of fuel.In general, this is fairly entertaining, with Shatner stealing the show as the former religious man, treating us to some very Shatnerian acting. Grimes is also a total hoot as the crazed lady who seems to have all the answers. Director Rich does at least give this thing a good sense of pace; like many movies of this kind, 'The Horror at 37,000 Feet' clocks in at a trim 70 minute plus running time. Best of all is when the flight crew are making their way through the hold. The finale is likely to leave people busting a gut laughing, however.Worth a look if one is really into the TV horrors of the 1970s.Six out of 10.
roadrunn I saw this program when it originally aired and I was 13. My entire family watched it together. We found it spell bounding and frightening so much that writing these comments some thirty-five years later I can still recall the thrill of the movie.The prior comments on Shattner are self-serving and cheap. The film was exciting and fearful and I wish I could get a copy to see it again. William Shattner's performance was very good as his character gained prominence throughout the film.The whole idea of horror at 37,000 feet has the intensity of a bull in a china shop full of danger.A high budget production of the movie would be intriguing.