Classic Horrors Club

Row 19 (2021) demonstrates the reason it’s important to stay seated with your seatbelt securely fastened on an airplane flight. If the plane makes a sudden drop and you’re standing in the aisle, you’ll be thrown to the ceiling, then slammed down on the floor, likely left unconscious. If such imagery disturbs you, or that of engines exploding or passengers being sucked out a gaping hole, you better not watch the movie. On the other hand, if you can stand it, you’ll experience a pretty good little supernatural thriller.

I have no information on the making of Row 19. Although there are a few American-looking names in the credits, it’s a Russian production. That means there are some sketchy CGI effects. If you’ve ever seen the Russian superhero film, The Guardians (2017), you’ll know exactly what I mean. Those happen outside the plane, though. While inside, the creatures and mysterious portals to other locations look just fine. There are a couple jump scares, but directors Alexander Babaev and Samantha A. Morrison seem more focused on the consistently spooky atmosphere.

When she was a little girl, Katerina (Svetlana Ivanova) was the sole survivor of a plane crash. Now an adult, she boards a plane to take her daughter to visit her grandfather. It turns out she’s not as much over the trauma as she believed but has a purse full of pills for backup. Or maybe she is over it; the winter storm that has caused delays and made them take a late flight would contribute to a nightmare flight for just about anyone. That is, except for handsome Aleksey (Wolfgang Cerny) who sits across the aisle from Katerina.

Speaking of nightmares, Katerina has plenty. In some, she’s a little girl again, visiting with her mother during breakfast. In an eerie scene, the girl pauses and asks, “Aren’t you dead?” Her mother says that the flight was three months ago, and the plane didn’t crash. That’s our first sign that what is real and what is imagined will frequently collide to confound us. For example, is the plane really haunted by the ghosts of those who died, or is Katerina dreaming and/or hallucinating?

Although she’s rude to him at first, Aleksey offers emotional support. He’s a former war correspondent who was wounded before returning to being a civilian. We never really learn more about him, and he’s either withholding information or doesn’t remember himself. That’s a big clue to what’s really happening, and I’d better change the subject or I’ll spoil the film’s surprises. Near the end of the story, we learn that Katerina hasn’t been watching for clues, so my recommendation is that when you watch this (and I think you should), pay close attention.