azathothpwiggins
In THE HORROR AT 37,000 FEET, a typical flight from London, England to Los Angeles California, USA is transformed into a supernatural nightmare. It seems that, aside from the passengers, there's something quite different in the cargo hold. A man (Roy Thinnes) is transporting an altar from an ancient abbey. An eeevil abbey! Odd occurrences begin almost immediately, like sudden cold, and female flight attendants wearing go-go boots and jockey helmets! The passengers, including a pseudo-cowboy, a Cindy Brady clone, a cranky zillionaire (Buddy Ebson), and a disillusioned ex-priest (William T. Shatner), are unaware of the brewing mayhem. Thankfully, Captain Chuck Connors and his crew, including Professor Russell Johnson are in the cockpit. What the... ? The jet stops dead in the air, floating in place! Could it be that spooky abbey? The creepy Mrs. Pinder (Tammy Grimes)? Or, is it the fact that Bill Shatner is aboard? After all, he just might have seen something on the wing of the plane! THE BIGGER QUESTION IS: Are airline tickets refundable if the flight engineer has been quick-frozen, or if pea soup begins bubbling up through the floor of the aircraft? THE BIGGEST QUESTIONS ARE: Can anything, even the sacrifice of Mrs. Beasley, possibly assuage these dark forces? Could there be any hope left, once ex-Father, T.J. Kirk begins sanctimoniously pontificating? HA37KF is what early 1970's made-for-TV cheeeze was all about: An all-star cast in peril, with Captain Kirk as a clergyman! The thought of him flying into the heavens shall stay w/ me forever...
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.
AaronCapenBanner
A familiar cast of TV veterans star in this entertaining, reasonably effective TV movie that stars Roy Thinnes("The Invaders") as an architect transporting an old Abbey altar on an airplane from London to L.A. that comes to demonic life, threatening all aboard, like William Shatner("Star Trek") as a former priest called back into action to defeat the evil, and Chuck Conners("The Rifleman") as the pilot. Buddy Ebsen("Barnaby Jones") and Russell Johnson("Gilligan's Island") costar.Interesting coincidences here: both Shatner and Johnson starred together on an excellent episode of "Thriller" called 'The Hungry Glass', and Shatner also memorably appeared on "The Twilight Zone" as a similarly tormented man('Nightmare At 20,000 Feet') Both Shatner and Conners would later costar in spoof "Airplane II: The Sequel" Just out on DVD, and worth a look.
Seb
A waspish couple are flying to America with an altar from a convent. Travelling with them is a typical cross section of the public; a lone little girl, a woman obsessed with her dog, a black doctor in a bowler hat, a millionaire, a flirty cowboy and a model. Best of all though there's a priest who has lost his faith (Shatner!) and what seems to be his girlfriend.Not long into the flight some moss gets loose from the hold, you see that altar was sealing up some kind of evil spirit thing that looks like bubbling blob moss.When things start going wrong the passengers take about 30 seconds to decide that they should probably just offer the kid as a sacrifice, can the power of Shatner help them or will he just sit getting drunk through the entire movie while making cryptic comments about God? Although this film is pure hokum and the effects are seriously quite awful it's got a certain charm. Much like the plane though you may encounter some serious drag in the last half an hour or so.
AD
