The Horror at 37,000 Feet

Looking for some hilariously bad, cheesy, early 70's TV movie horror this Saturday morning? Great news, I've found a banger.

With fond memories of watching this as a CBS TV movie of the week in 1973, I watched THE HORROR AT 37,000 FEET on YouTube.

Unintentionally hilarious, it reads like a classic disaster movie, mixed with the horror craze at the time, which was driven by the mega success of "The Exorcist" the same year.

It's nearly as funny as "Airplane" but sadly, its not a comedy.

A cavalcade of slumming TV stars boards a 747 from London to NYC. Perhaps because of a limited budget, there are only a handful of passengers aboard the flight. It might be due to the fact that architect Alan O'Neill (Roy Thinnes from TV's "The Invaders", man I loved that show as a kid) is transporting a massive stone altar piece from a very old cathedral back to the states.

There's a crazy lady, Mrs. Pinder (Tammy Grimes, chewing the scenery like mad) who has tried to sue O'Neill from exporting the abbey and she makes sure to waddle her way up from economy to the first class seats to hassle Alan and his wife Manya (Lynn Loring).

The crew has barely had the chance to take off the fasten seatbelt sign when spooky bangings and noises start from the cargo hold. And what a flight crew it is!

Chuck Connors (The Rifleman) is no nonsense Captain Ernie Slade and his navigator is played by Russell Johnson, better knows as The Professor on "Gilligan's Island". Look for Darleen Carr (Liesl in "The Sound of Music") as one of the flight attendants.

There seems to be a nearly one-to-one crew to passenger ratio and they are going to need it with this lot. William Shatner is at his Shatneresque best as a fallen Priest named Paul Kovalik, who spends a lot of time pouring liquor minis into his coffee and stammering and ........hesitating........... at the absolute premium Shatner spots in his dialogue. He got the assignment.

France Nuyen (South Pacific) is a model on the flight and Paul Winfield seems to be playing some bizarre mashup of a proper English Doctor and the Monopoly Man as Dr. Enkalla.

Then there is Buddy Ebsen (The Beverly Hillbillies) as Glenn Farley, a wealthy businessman who likes to brag about how successful he's been. Where is Mr. Drysdale from the bank when you need him?

Finally, there is Will Hutchins (Clambake, The Shooting) as Steve Holcomb, a very strange hippie dude/cowboy that seems like he probably has a whole lot of restraining orders against him.

Watching this motley crew react when spooky noises and shuddering vibrations hit the plane is very funny.

The special effects budget must have been the same as one week for the Carol Burnett Show. They are bargain basement.

We see a lot of shots of a model 747, but things get really funny when the plane appears to be going nowhere, stuck in some kind of mystical limbo. Trying to wrap my head around the physics of a plane able to execute a 180 degree turn when it's not moving made me SMH.

The cargo hold gets freezing cold and Rover down in his cage comes up looking like Jack Nicholson at the end of "The Shining". By the time the passengers were stealing a little girl's doll to offer as a human sacrifice by gluing fingernail clippings to it, I can only assume the entire affair has gone off the rails.

Shatner is absolutely a blast to watch, lighting a torch and heading down into the cargo hold like he's exploring an ice cave. By then, even the back of the plane is covered with moss and ice. Moss & Ice? okay.....

If you think this is Director David Lowell Rich's WORST airplane movie, you'd be wrong. He took everything he learned on this stinker and then cultivated it for 7 years in order to direct his B-movie airplane disaster masterwork, "Airport 79" The Concorde", one of the worst films of all time.

There's a reason the demon in this one is invisible, they didn't have $50 to make one.

There is certainly high camp value to be had here. As camp, its upper echelon.

Shatner has laughed many times over the years saying many of his fans consider this the worst movie he ever made.

I only have one question. Have they seen "Kingdom of the Spiders"? How about "The Devil's Rain"?

I won't argue with the Shatner masses though, its definitely a bad movie. Only its nostalgic value of the era keeps it off the F list.

THE HORROR AT 37,000 FEET never takes off, screaming, banging and laughing its way to a D.

If you're in the mood for BAD, CAMPY scareless horror, check out the entire movie below!

https://youtu.be/Q7E49h_MAlM?si=Pr5IhRsJiXALXUTY