Three renegade scientists bring a cryogenic coffin containing a woman infected with a zombie-transforming virus onto a commercial jet liner. Turbulence causes the refrigeration unit to breakdown and the woman is soon running about, turning the crew and passengers into flesh-eaters. A mix-matched group, including a sexy stewardess, an air martial, a golf pro, a cop, a biologist (Erick Avari), and a conman (Kevin J. O’Connor), attempt to hold off the undead and keep the government from shooting down the plane.
Well, it was bound to happen. There’s only so many buildings that hordes of zombies can besiege. It was just a matter of time before the rotting-challenged moved on to public transportation. I’m a little surprised that planes were first. I’d have thought Bus of the Living Dead would have come before the plane. Then there’s Cruise Ship of the Living Dead, Amtrak of the Living Dead, and of course, Taxi Cab of the Living Dead. Funny thing is, you could make a pretty good film out of zombies on a cruise ship or a train. And they’ve made a pretty good one out of “Zombies on a Plane.” Not exceptionally good, but for a theme-less low budget affair, it’s not bad.
The title (changed from Dead Plane) brings to mind the blogger-hyped Snakes on a Plane: “I have had it with these muthafuckin’ zombies on this muthafuckin’ plane!” Both have unlikely critters chomping on a large number of unlikable and/or uninteresting travelers, and both take far too long to get to the meat of the movie. For nearly half it’s running time, Flight of the Living Dead is a lethargic drama, drowsily introducing us to character after character, but never giving us enough development for the few that aren’t instant zombie-chowder. It was clear to me that the scientist nearing a breakdown was going to be important. Why else elaborate on his emotional state and family situation? But he isn’t important, and vanishes early on. Likewise, the twenty-somethings must be leads. We learn all about their relationships, but they too turn out to be filler. Youthful and attractive, they head off twice for the requisite nude mile-high-club scene, but we don’t even get that. Why hint at a sex scene and not include it? Non-chewed-on skin is hard to find overall. I’m used to more nudity in my zombie flicks, and more gore. We’re in PG-13 territory here; don’t get fooled by the “unrated” label on the DVD.
Once the zombies get going and the humans get whittled down, the movie comes…well…alive. All the running, falling, and dying I’ve come to expect from an adventure flick wrapped in horror-film clothing is here in abundance. The last half hour is jam-packed with squishy goodness. There’s blazing gunfire, screeching zombies, and innovative ways to destroy the undead, one involving an umbrella. Kevin J. O’Connor even adds some real laughs (OK, every other joke sucks, but 50% isn’t bad for comedy). He repeats his routines from The Mummy and Deep Rising; if it works why not give it another shot?
Flight of the Living Dead did strain my suspension of disbelief. I was willing to accept zombies, but the labyrinthine duct system on the plane is a bit too much. It isn’t so much a 747 as a huge habitrail for humans.
The average movie-goer with nothing against walking corpses will be passably entertained by Flight of the Living Dead. Horror fans should find more of interest, and for zombie aficionados, buy it now.