Instead of snakes, it's "malicious druid-spirit on a Plane" in this overall pitiable, sluggish and dreary attempt at supernatural horror/thriller. I'm usually ecstatic when stumbling across made-for-TV thriller from the blessed year 1973, because this period brought forward some of the absolute best and most atmospheric horror stories in history (like "The Night Stalker", "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark", "Scream Pretty Peggy"), but "The Horror at 37,000 Feet" clearly doesn't belong in the same list of honor. Instead, it's a poor attempt to cash in on two contemporary popular film genres at once, with a cast that is full of famous faces but a screenplay that is even more full of imbecilic content. Director David Rowell Rich and his crew simultaneously try to benefit from the successful disaster-movie formula ("Airport 1970" is the obvious role model) as well as from the hype of demonic/satanic possession chillers (like "Rosemary's Baby" and "The Exorcist"; - although I'm not entirely sure the latter one was already released). They seemingly forget, however, that they are working with a TV-movie budget and the inevitable TV-movie restrictions. The result is a totally anti-spectacular disaster movie, with laughable images of a plane supposedly "stuck" in the air and stewardesses desperately trying to look hysterical, mixed with an embarrassingly lame horror picture with ordinary play dolls being sacrificed to the evil demon and allegedly possessed women babbling words in Latin. An obnoxious architect has chartered a plane from London to New York to transport pieces of an abbey - including an ancient altar - that belongs to his wife's family heritage. There's also a small dozen of other passengers on board, including a former priest turned drunkard (the one and only William Shatner), a religious freak, a young model and a black doctor. Oops, the altar apparently homes the vengeful spirit of a druid! The invisible demon attempts to possess one specific passenger while the plane is stalled in the sky and largely covered in frost. Shatner's performance as the foul-mouthed ex-priest is hilarious! I'm not sure if he depicts the arrogant drunkard perfectly because he's so naturally talented or because he also thought the script was sheer rubbish and got drunk for real. The script is a mess and clearly nobody had any bright ideas for the climax. The ending is a vague hodgepodge of miserable special effects and a ridiculously random self-sacrifice. Oh well, at least it deserves two extra points for Shatner's wonderfully hokey performance and the cool DVD-cover.

The Horror at 37,000 Feet (1973) ** 1/2 (out of 4)AIRPORT with demons is the best way to sum up this made-for-TV flick that isn't one of the best out there but thankfully there's a terrific cast that helps make it entertaining. What we've basically got is a flight from London to Los Angeles where a couple bring on board an ancient abbey. Half way through the flight an invisible demon breaks free and goes after the passengers. THE HORROR AT 37,000 FEET isn't a masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination but if you enjoy these TV movies and you like the genre then you should be able to at least get a few kicks out of it. We get a pretty impressive cast that includes Chuck Connors, Buddy Ebsen, William Shatner and Paul Winfield and there's no question that these familiar faces help keep the film moving at times. I think out of all of them Winfield comes across the best as a good-hearted doctor trying to help people. Shatner is fun to watch as the former priest who has turned to alcohol instead of God. The screenplay offers up several interesting ideas, although not too much can be done with such a short running time of 74-minutes. I really liked how the demon was using the cold to work its magic as this here is something I've never seen before. There are some major problems in the picture and one is the incredibly bad and campy sound effects that play whenever the demon is at work. These things are never scary and quite often they kill whatever the film had working up. The shots of the plane flying are also quite laughable in how cheap they are but this here doesn't kill the film too much. THE HORROR AT 37,000 FEET is short enough and contains enough fun to make it worth viewing.

you know it is going to be a really cheesy movie that is really bad, but at the same time it is also going to be fun to watch in the so bad it is good kind of way. I saw this movie a couple of times, but it has been a very long time since I last saw the movie so I only remember bits and pieces of this film, but what I do tend to remember is a rather bad movie, with a bad plot (a bit of brick is somehow haunted, bad acting (actors and actresses collecting a paycheck) and a very forgettable ending as I have no recollection of it at all. I do remember them trying to sacrifice a doll in a woman's stead, the plane somehow being stuck in the air as its fuel supply continued to dwindle and William Shatner being William Shatner. The rest of the movie is inconsequential as there are no scares to be had, but then what does one expect from a made for television movie that has a runtime of 73 minutes so they can take time off for commercials and such. If you can find it though it is good for some laughs.

Reasons to recommend this TV-movie:The story centres around an evil druid artifact that threatens the passengers and crew of an airliner in flight. Now how much more potential for good creepy fun could a premise hold? It's like something Matheson and Lovecraft might have put their heads together to come up with.Eerie phenomena galore as the windows on a aircraft suddenly frost over as if blasted by an arctic breeze, spooky sounds (borrowed from "Forbidden Planet") echo through the plane and a flight officer inside an on board elevator is turned into a frozen corpse. Great atmospheric music courtesy of Morton "Hawaii Five-0" Stevens. William Shatner in one of his best post "Star Trek" roles plays an ex-priest who reclaims his faith to combat the evil force threatening the plane. It's almost too good to be true seeing Shatner once again on a plane encountering the supernatural just as he did in the similarly titled "Nightmare At 30,000 Feet" episode of "The Twilight Zone." And he's really good in this, too.Roy Thinnes from "The Invaders" and "The Norliss Tapes" comes along for the ride playing the guy who brought the cursed artifact on board.Also on the passenger list: grabbing an extra pay cheque in between episodes of "Barnaby Jones" is the one and only Buddy Ebsen. Hmm, actually he coulda' stayed on the ground, but then with a cast so jam-packed with stars at least one actor's presence is likely to stick out like a sore thumb, right?Anyways, despite a little bit of questionable casting, a smidgen of scenery-chewing and a dash of dated effects, this is still quite an enjoyable little horror story that someone really ought to consider remaking.