Flight 19-X is bound for New York City from Heathrow Airport in London. The pilot of the flight is Captain Ernie Slade (Chuck Connors). The co-pilot is Frank Driscoll (H.M. Wynant) and the flight engineer is Jim Hawley (Russell Johnson). The flight attendants are Margo (Darleen Carr) and Sally (Brenda Benet). This is an extra flight hence the X. Most of the weight on the plane is cargo.
There are 10 passengers on the flight. They are Alan and Sheila O’Neill (Roy Thinnes and Jane Merrow), the owners of what is in the cargo hold, a defrocked priest, Paul Kovalik (William Shatner), his girlfriend, Manya (Lynn Loring), a model named Annalik (France Nuyen), a physician, Dr. Enkalla (Paul Winfield), Mrs. Pinder (Tammy Grimes), country and western actor Steve Holcomb (Will Hutchins), industrialist Glenn Farlee (Buddy Ebsen), and a little 8-year-old girl named Jodi (Mia Bendixsen).
In the cargo hold is the remains of an old abbey that belonged to Sheila O’Neill’s family. Alan is having it shipped to the United States. Mrs. Pinter and the O’Neills had been in a legal battle over the abbey. Mrs. Pinter wanted it to stay in England but the O’Neills prevailed and won the British end of the legal battle. Mrs. Pinter plans on continuing her crusade, but now in New York.
The remains are of an altar to an old Druid chapel that was used for human sacrifice. No sooner does the flight take off when there seems to be a problem with the plane. Captain Slade sees that the plane is up against a head wind of 600 miles an hour. They try to turn around but they hit the same wind. No matter what they do, the plane acts as if it is suspended in air and they can’t get anywhere.
In the meantime, the giant crate in the cargo hold begins to act as if something inside is trying to punch out. Noise coming from the hold draws Margot. She gets stuck in the elevator and calls for help. After she is freed she tells the captain that the cargo hold is freezing and that there is a wind blowing down there. She believes that there is a blow-out in the hold, and that outside air is rushing in. Captain Slade and Engineer Jim check it out. Jim freezes to death in a manner of seconds, Slade ends up with a freezer burn on his arm. Something ancient and evil hidden in the altar of the abbey breaks the bonds of the container and begins trying to force its way out of the cargo hold. The passengers eventually realize that they are faced with a malevolent spirit looking for its sacrifice.
“The Horror at 37,000 Feet” was released in 1973 and was directed by David Lowell Rich. It is an American supernatural horror made for television film.
There isn’t much to this movie, some not so good special effects and a cast of standard 70’s players. The film is rather corny but kinda fun, a sort of guilty pleasure. Instead of Snakes on a plane you have ancient druid demon on a plane. Cool. Especially silly was the section where they take the little girl’s doll and try to offer it to the demon as a sacrifice. I think it just pissed him off more. The movie starts out on the creepy side, but by the time they get to the end things got really ridiculous, which does nothing to disturb the entertainment value of the movie. It’s still worth checking out even if all you’re looking for is some mindless amusement.
The highlight of the film is, of course, William Shatner. Shatner plays a defrocked priest who has lost his faith but found alcohol and long winded speeches about devotion or lack thereof. He’s the only one who takes everything with a wry smile and a grain of salt, or grain alcohol, whatever the case may be.