Kaare Andrews does more than just draw pretty. The artist behind the recent relaunch Astonishing X-Men and Spider-Man: Reign (a Dark Knight Returns-esque take on Spidey) is also a movie director. His first feature length film is the low budget horror flick Altitude, starring Jessica Lowndes (“90210”) and Julianna Guill (Friday the 13th remake – the chick with perfect nipple placement).
In Altitude, a group of teens decides to take a plane trip to a concert, as one of them is now recently a licensed pilot. The problem is, they end up navigating into a seeming unending storm, and suddenly, they’re under siege by a giant tentacled creature.
I’ve been dying to see Altitude. I mean, watching the trailer, it looks like Cthulu in the clouds, stalking a group of teens? What can go wrong with that, right?
Problem is, while there’s plenty of tentacled horror in Altitude, you may end up being a little disappointed at the true nature of the horror in the story. That’s not to say it’s bad – in fact, I actually really enjoyed Altitude. It’s just not exactly what I was hoping for. Without giving too much away, I’m just going to put that out there as a warning to potential viewers.
Kaare Andrews does a pretty great job on his directorial debut. The film is solid, suspenseful, and good to look at, despite entirely taking place within the confines of a small plane. Andrews manages to make the film interesting throughout – it never drags, and the tension just builds until the sh*t really hits the fan. The special effects are okay for a DTV film – really, have to admit, I’d actually have prefer to have seen them dial in the effects at the end, rather than strain their limited budget on mediocre effects that take you out of the film. How much they bother you will really depend on how invested you are in the story after the “twist” of the film reveals itself.
Still, Altitude is a solid film, and definitely worth taking a peek at. You won’t be yelling “f’taghn” when it’s all done, but you may be satisfied at a solid DTV experience.
