Excellent but underrated film

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

This is a perfectly directed, well written, well acted masterpiece of a horror movie. Whether or not Final Destination or It Follows lifted from it doesn't even matter. The "death is coming to collect a debt" plot was bound to pop up in someone's head again at some point. What really makes a difference is the way this whole thing comes together. If you're allergic to the stylistic tendencies of 80's horror cinema or 80's cinema in general, please steer clear. This is that decade done to perfection. If you're like me, you will be floored and wonder why the world has kept this a secret for so damn long.

A young woman who survives a plane crash is hunted by nightmares and dead people, coming to collect her. A decent, typical 80s horror film, to enjoy on a lonely friday/saturday night.

Perky young TV commercial producer Denise Watson (a fine and sympathetic performance by the fetching Anita Skinner) is the sole survivor of a terrible plane crash. Denise soon finds herself being stalked by the malevolent spirits of recently deceased people. However, she can't convince anyone else that something is seriously amiss. Writer/director Thom Eberhardt (who later gave us the delightful "Night of the Comet") relates the compelling story at a deliberate pace, does an expert job of creating and maintaining an arrestingly uncanny and ambiguous "Twilight Zone"-style atmosphere, effectively grounds the fantastic premise in a credibly rendered everyday mundane reality, and delivers a fair share of flesh-crawling moments (the sequence with Denise alive amidst the mangled dead bodies of victims of the airplane wreckage is truly grim and disturbing stuff). Moreover, the smart script puts an intriguing spin on a psychological condition known as "Survivor's Syndrome," in which folks who manage to be the only survivor of a horrific incident often wind up dying 24 months after said incident occurs. The sound acting from a capable and appealing cast rates as another major plus: Kurt Johnson as helpful, likable physician Dr. Brian Richardson, Robin Davidson as Denise's spunky best gal pal Kristy, Caren Lackey as neurotic psychic actress Karla Davis, and William Snare as cynical, puzzled coroner Artie. The ever-foxy Brinke Stevens contributes a neat cameo as a sexy lass who removes her top during a game of strip poker. David F. Anthony's supremely eerie and shivery score further enhances the unnerving creepy mood. Russell Carpenter's polished cinematography likewise does the trick. The nightmarish last third is genuinely harrowing. A nifty and most worthwhile fright feature sleeper.

This film was very nicely done despite it's budget. The director thoroughly developed each scene so that you knew exactly what was going on.I use to watch this film along side of the classic "Carnival Of Souls" with Candice Hillagoss. The difference between the two was that in carnival the lead character was half dead, but in this film the dead were hell bent making the lead character very dead.Cudos to Leon in his prelude role to Madonna's "Like A Prayer" video. You really don't know who he is until he opens his mouth. This is where you hear him sounding like his "5 Heartbeats" character JT.This is a must see for all true horror fans, and those who still enjoy the late Saturday night "fright night" features.8 out of 10 hands down.