Twenty years ago, 7-year-old Katerina was the sole survivor of a plane crash that killed 61 people onboard—6 crew members and 55 passengers, including her mother. It is now 20 years later and the cause of the crash remains a mystery. Katerina (Svetlana Ivanova) is now a psychologist, and claims to have conquered her fear of flying. She is taking a late flight with her 6-year-old daughter, Diana (Marta Kessler, The Mysterious Benedict Society, Cosmoball), to visit her father. The weather is acting up, an there’s a storm brewing outside . Most flights have been grounded, but Katerina’s flight has been cleared for takeoff, with just 7 passengers, 2 flight attendants, and the pilot. However, shortly after take-off, strange things start happening onboard the plane—things that feel eerily similar to what occurred 20 years earlier. Katerina starts to have dreams about her previous flight, and even visions of her mother as though she were still alive. Katerina also believes she sees the same old witch (Yola Sanko) who was praying some foreign incantation just before the last flight went down. She starts to have difficulty determining what is reality and what is just a waking nightmare. And she becomes even more unhinged once seemingly-foretold tragedies start occurring to the other passengers. But she must regain her grip on reality and figure out what’s going on if she and her daughter are going to have any chance of preventing history from repeating itself and survive this doomed flight.
Row 19 is an entertaining horror/thriller that does a nice job of slowly building the mystery and tension, putting you on edge as you wonder what dark turn this plane trip is going to take. Then things start going haywire and get even more creepy and crazy. The filmmakers set up this really ominous atmosphere, whether its the two stewardesses who give off a robotic, emotionless vibe, or the mysterious black figures crawling around the plane, or the creepy witch-like woman who keeps appearing with her eyes rolled back and spurting out some warning. There are lots of twists and turns and red herrings as to what’s going on. As things amp up and Katerina starts to have visions and questions her reality, the film gets a slightly confusing at times. However, the story ultimately comes together in the end in a very creative and satisfying way.
The main actress playing Katerina does an excellent job of making you feel invested in this character, and care about the fate of her and her daughter. The flight is also filled with an assortment of other interesting passengers. Sitting across the aisle from Katerina and her daughter is the overly-friendly Alexey (Wolfgang Cerny, Vikings: Valhalla, Cosmoball). In the back is older couple Galina (Irina Egorova) & Evgeniy (Ivan Verkhovykh), whose names sound familiar to some off-screen dialogue from Katerina’s previous ill-fated flight. And up front are anxious and harried businessman Nikolay (Anatoliy Kot), and mysterious hipster artist Pavel (Denis Yasik), who is behaving strangely and appears to know more about what’s going on than he cares to share. The interplay between these characters leads to some exciting and horrifying turns of events aboard this flight. There is some evil force that wants these passengers dead, and not all of them will make it through the night.
Well Go’s Blu-ray release includes both the original Russian soundtrack as well as an English dub. With these foreign Well Go releases, I always try the English dub first so that I can fully enjoy the visuals of the film, and not just reading the lower third of the screen the entire time. I found this English dub to be very well done, with natural-sounding dialogue and performances. I never felt the need to switch over to the Russian track. The opening title sequence showing the newspaper reports about young Katerina’s plane crash are also displayed in English, so the dub didn’t feel out of place. The audio track makes excellent use of the stereo and surround channels to enhance the viewing experience and make it feel more immersive. This is noticeable in the echoing that is used as Katerina starts seeing her visions and getting confused, or as her daughter calls out to her. The track also makes nice use of the bass to build the tension, such as when the plane is first taking off in the storm. The Blu-ray’s video presentation is quite good. One or two of the darker exterior shots look slightly muddled, but the rest of the film looks very good. Inside the plane there is excellent use of color and lighting to really add to the ominous and creepy atmosphere. There is also a solid level of detail in close-up shots, and the effects look very natural.
The Blu-ray release is pretty much barebones, only including the film’s trailer, along with some previews for other Well Go releases. The disc comes packed in a locking HD keepcase, and while our review copy didn’t include a slipcover, the official artwork shows one, so retail copies may or may not contain one.
What’s Included:
Film: (1:17:58)
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Blu-ray:
- 1080p / Widescreen 2.39:1
- Audio: Russian DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Russian Stereo, English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English Stereo
- Subtitles: English
Extras:
All remaining trailers play back-to-back after starting playback for one item.
- Trailer (2:09)
- Previews
- The Pilot (2:04)
- They Crawl Beneath (1:40)
- Hostile Territory (1:43)
Final Thoughts:
Row 19 is a tense and exciting thriller that takes some unexpected supernatural turns. It features interesting characters and lots of creepy visuals and twists, ultimately building to a satisfying conclusion. Well Go’s Blu-ray release features a solid technical presentation and offers both an English dub as well as the film’s original Russian language track. However, it is lacking in any bonus material other than the film’s trailer. That said, it’s worth a look for anyone interested in a different take on the airplane horror/thriller genre.
Row 19
$11.99 $7.00 (as of January 11, 2025 20:54 GMT -05:00 – More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
Row 19
$8.99 $5.39 (as of January 11, 2025 20:54 GMT -05:00 – More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
