Snakes on a Plane (2006)

Dir: David R. Ellis

Yes, it's a horror film. At least, by my definition it can slot snugly into the genre anyhow. It's surprisingly retro in its structure and theme; there haven't been many good 'killer animal' movies since the early 80s so it's nice to get one that doesn't mess around and delivers exactly what the title promises. Snakes. On a plane. And tons of them too. Sadly they're almost all CGI (they turn to rubber snakes when they die though!) but, aside from this, I've really no complaints. A Bad Man lets loose hundreds of deadly, illegal snakes on a plane in order to bring it down. There's a key witness on there whom he intends to destroy. What he hadn't banked on was Samuel L Jackson, a hard-boiled FBI Agent, who, before long, has "had it with these motherfucking snakes on this motherfucking plane". The script is sharp, funny and vibrant, playing inventively with a tried-and-tested formula. It's loaded with gratuitous gore (ie: nipples are bitten off by snakes, snakes eat a guy's penis, snakes go in eye sockets, down throats, etc) and a few decent jump shocks. What really makes it is that, unlike so many modern films that purport to be thrilling and aren't, it's never boring. Good on them for that. It's all too rare. ***