Blood Red Sky
A vampire mother fights hijackers on a transatlantic flight.
Blood Red Sky (also known as Transatlantic 473) is a 2021 British-German horror film blending science fiction and action, directed by Peter Thorwarth, who wrote the screenplay alongside Stefan Holtz. Its cast includes Peri Baumeister, Roland Møller, Chidi Ajufo, Alexander Scheer, and Dominic Purcell. Netflix released the film on 23 July 2021. Critical reception was generally positive. In 2025, IndieWire included it on a list titled "the 25 Scariest Movies on Netflix."
The story follows a German widow named Nadja and her son Elias as they board a flight to New York. Nadja, who appears to have leukemia, intends to see a doctor for treatment. At the airport, Elias befriends a man named Farid, while Nadja takes medication that causes her severe discomfort. During the night, a group of men—including the co-pilot Bastian—kill the sky marshals and disable the black box so the plane cannot be tracked. Their leader, Berg, announces a hijacking and demands everyone stay put until a ransom is paid. Elias tries to hide, and Nadja follows him. A hijacker called Eightball shoots Nadja, assuming she is dead. The hijackers then force Farid to record a false statement making it look like a suicide attack, knowing the plane will be shot down.
As Nadja regains consciousness, she recalls the day her husband Nikolai died. He had gone to a farmhouse for help after their car broke down. When he did not return, Nadja went looking and was bitten by his murderer, a vampire who died at sunrise. Nadja, now a vampire, returned to the farmhouse and was attacked by an elderly vampire who wanted to stop the spread of "the evil." She beat him to death and escaped with vials of vampire suppressant. In the cargo hold, Nadja removes her contacts and dentures, feeds on a dog, and is caught by a hijacker. She kills him and drinks his blood, fully transforming into a vampire. She finds Farid, and with help from a student named Mohammed, they regain control of the plane as the hijackers prepare to parachute out. Mohammed returns the plane to its original flight path. When Berg tries to retake the cockpit, Nadja bites him and stabs him before he can fully transform.
Eightball is tasked with killing Nadja. He subdues her with UV light and extracts her blood, but as he is about to stake her, Elias accidentally depressurizes the plane with Berg's gun.
Quick Facts
- Director
- Peter Thorwarth
- Producer
- Christian Becker / Benjamin Munz
- Writer
- Peter Thorwarth / Stefan Holtz
- Starring
- Peri Baumeister / Roland Møller / Chidi Ajufo / Alexander Scheer / Dominic Purcell
- Music
- Dascha Dauenhauer
- Cinematography
- Yoshi Heimrath
- Editing
- Knut Hake
- Studio
- Rat Pack Filmproduktion
- Distributor
- Netflix
- Released
- 23 July 2021
- Runtime
- 121 minutes
- Country
- United Kingdom / Germany
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The film follows a German widow, Nadja, and her son Elias as they board a plane to New York. Nadja appears to suffer from leukemia and takes medicine that causes severe discomfort. During the flight, a group of men led by Berg murder the sky marshals and sabotage the black box, taking control of the plane. After being shot by a hijacker named Eightball, Nadja regains consciousness and relives the day she was bitten by a vampire and became one herself. She accesses the cargo hold, removes her concealing contacts and dentures, feeds on a dog, and kills a hijacker, fully transforming into a vampire. With help from Farid and a student named Mohammed, she regains control of the plane. Eightball later injects himself with Nadja's blood and becomes a vampire, turning most passengers into vampires. Nadja sacrifices herself using explosives, but Elias stops her. Farid steers the plane into morning sunlight, burning Eightball. Elias uses his blood to save Nadja, but she flees, knowing her taste for his blood endangers him. The plane lands at an RAF base in Scotland, where authorities ignore pleas and board the plane, resulting in a massacre. Elias activates a detonator hidden in his teddy bear, seemingly killing Nadja and the other vampires.
Reader's Guide
Blood Red Sky is notable as the most successful German original title on Netflix, watched by 50 million subscribers in its first four weeks. The film received mixed to positive reviews: on Rotten Tomatoes it holds an 81% approval rating with a critics' consensus calling it 'a fast-paced treat for genre enthusiasts,' while Metacritic gave a weighted average of 43 out of 100, indicating mixed or average reviews. IndieWire praised it for getting 'more mileage out of its vampires on a plane story than it had any right to,' noting its psychological drama and real scares despite not being as gory as its logline suggests. The film was part of Netflix's 2021 strategy to release at least one new film every week. A sequel reportedly began development by Netflix a few months after release, though director Peter Thorwarth declined to direct, stating he was 'looking for the next challenge.' No further plot or casting details have been confirmed.
Did You Know?
- The film was also known as Transatlantic 473 during production.
- Filming in Prague was temporarily closed on 11 September 2020 after an extra tested positive for COVID-19.
- The film was watched by 50 million subscribers over its first four weeks on Netflix.
- A sequel reportedly began development by Netflix, but director Peter Thorwarth declined to direct.
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