I Rewatched Red Eye On Netflix, And There Are Two Characters Who Might Be Even Bigger Monsters Than Cillian Murphy's Villain

SPOILER WARNING: The following article gives away a few crucial details from Red Eye. So, if you have not yet seen the 2005 thriller, now streaming with a Netflix subscription, I recommend you make like Rachel McAdams’ Lisa and think very carefully about your next move.

I could not believe 20 years had passed since I last saw director Wes Craven’s Red Eye when I decided to give it a rewatch on Netflix. I was also happily surprised to find that the film, about a hotel manager coerced into helping achieve a political assassination by the menacing stranger seated next to her on a “red-eye flight,” holds up incredibly well, even if star Cillian Murphy disagrees.

Speaking of, the Irish Oscar winner is fantastic as the deceptively charming, frighteningly sinister terrorist Jackson Rippner, which is one reason why I still believe it is one of the best Cillian Murphy movies. However, I must admit that, for me, the character pales a bit in comparison to whom I believe are the more maddening villains of Red Eye, mainly for personal reasons. Allow me to explain…

The Taylors Made My Blood Boil

Before landing my dream job at CinemaBlend, I worked at a grocery store for the better part of a decade. During that time, I encountered my fair share of customers who had absolutely no patience for even the slightest inconvenience and could not even be satisfied by seeing the situation resolved, choosing to continue being unreasonably rude for the hell of it. So, you might be able to imagine how I reacted to the Taylors during my Red Eye rewatch.

Played by Robert Pine and Terry Press, Bob and Marianne Taylor bookend the film with scenes that demonstrate their staunch entitlement. First, they treat front desk employee Cynthia (Jayma Mays), who does everything in her power to help the couple find their missing reservation, like she shot them or something. At the end of the film (less than 90 minutes later), they have the audacity to complain about a spill of plaster in their room from the nearby assassination attempt instead of considering anybody else’s well-being amid such violence. On top of that, they still demand that Lisa fire Cynthia.

I am thankful to have never faced customers quite as bad as the Taylors during my grocery store tenure. However, because of my previous experiences, I found myself genuinely more infuriated by their behavior than much of the terrible acts we see Rippner commit.

I Believe The Taylors Are Two Of Red Eye's Most Important Characters

It might be easy to write off Bob and Marianne as the comic relief of Red Eye. However, I actually believe the couple hold a lot of water in the story in how they represent the transformative arc of its hero.

At the beginning of the film, when Cynthia consults Lisa about how to resolve the reservation mix-up, she recommends giving them two nights free in one of the nicest rooms at the hotel. However, in a satisfying final move at the end, she responds to the Taylors’ complaints by telling them to fill out a comment card that they can then shove up their asses.

Lisa even refers to herself as an indiscriminate, 24-7 people pleaser early on in the story when getting to know Rippner (before she gets to know the real Rippner, of course). However, after surviving a traumatic experience with a manipulative criminal, she seems to have reinvented herself into someone who chooses not to take crap from those who do not deserve her kindness, and her differing responses to the Taylors illustrate that evolution wonderfully.

I could understand if there are people who felt this thriller was a movie with misleading marketing and, I cannot deny it is certainly one of Wes Craven’s lighter efforts. However, with expert pacing, top-notch performances all around, and a strong character arc represented by two of the most insufferably impolite people I have ever seen in a film, I think it is absolutely worth your time to stream Red Eye on Netflix again, especially if it has been a while. Cillian Murphy might choose not to rewatch it, but that does not mean you can’t.