Synopsis

After attending her grandmother's funeral, hotel manager Lisa Reisert boards a delayed overnight flight from Dallas to Miami. Her charming seatmate, Jackson Rippner, soon reveals that he is involved in a plan to assassinate a government official staying at Lisa's hotel. Threatening her father's life, Jackson forces Lisa to help relocate the target, but she secretly searches for a way to fight back.

Factoids & Trivia

• Cillian Murphy was so eager to play Jackson Rippner that he flew from England to Hollywood for a meeting with Wes Craven just two days before his wedding. Craven later said Murphy's eyes helped win him the role.

• The screenplay was built around a deliberately confined setting. Most of the first half unfolds during the flight, allowing the tension to come from conversation, restricted movement, and Lisa's inability to seek help openly.

• Fake airline tickets were printed for the production. Their backs included a set of mock passenger terms, ending with a joke that the provisions were "completely bogus" and that anyone reading them should have brought a good book.

• The airport scenes were filmed at Ontario International Airport in California, while other production locations included Los Angeles, Miami, and Miami Beach.

• Filming took place from November 15, 2004, through January 28, 2005. The finished film runs approximately 85 minutes.

• The name Jackson Rippner resembles "Jack the Ripper," giving the character's otherwise ordinary name a deliberately sinister undertone.