2 out of 5

Director: Kaare Andrews

Well shot, well acted for what it is, and with a worthwhile monster reveal at the end, why, exactly, does Altitude not succeed as a cohesive whole? Perhaps it has something to do with not feeling like any of it matters. First off, let’s own up: that cover, the hints that this might be a Lovecraft deal, you and I are watching this to see a monster. And Altitude mostly pays off in this regard: while the creeper’s appearance is super short, it does look great, and the movie is smartly shot to save its budget for these creature shots. “Smartly” shot is also key. Almost all of this takes place with a handful of people on a small plane, and director (and comic book writer, natch) Kaare Andrews knows where and how to place the shots to keep things moving and interesting. The principles do their job and act their roles believably, and are written rounded enough to make sense that they’re together and speaking the way they do. By the way: teens board a small plane to fly to a concert, weird things start to happen in the air. That’s your plot. A good isolation premise for a horror movie, but the sinker here is that when the weirdness starts to happen… you suspect that it’s all going to be for naught. That’s not to suggest that nothing happens in the movie, it’s just that the way the plot winds its pieces together doesn’t make anything feel consequential enough. It’s entertaining for 90 minutes, and the monster is a big tease, it just doesn’t move you in any particular direction, and thus ends up feeling like a cop out.