Aug 25, 2006 By Calkins Media Film Critic 2 min read

By Lou GaulThe wily producers of “Snakes on a Plane” promised that their film would be an old-school exploitation picture with low-brow scare tactics, campy lines and sexual mischief. Mission accomplished.

Due to its outrageous title and story line, the R-rated picture generated an incredible amount of buzz on the Internet, where Web surfers were encouraged to send suggestions for plot twists and dialogue. Originally, the $30 million production was envisioned as a PG-13 disaster picture with the bland name of “Pacific Air Flight 121.”

That all changed, of course, once teens and young adults went online and suggested that director David Ellis pack the screen with “Friday the 13th”-type violence and “American Pie”-type sex and nudity.

The in-your-face picture certainly doesn’t pull any punches in terms of gross imagery. The snakes munch on passengers, swallow a pet and attack the private parts of both male and female victims. The film proves about as subtle as a cobra bite.

That, of course, is the point.

“Snakes on a Plane” is designed to provide fun via outrageously staged B-movie attacks, and those who take absolutely nothing seriously should have plenty of exploitation-film fun. Others will be slithering toward the nearest exit.

The plot of “Snakes on a Plane” could fit on a matchbook cover.

A grizzled FBI agent (Samuel L. Jackson, who seems to be having great fun as he plays a variation of his “Shaft” character) is assigned to protect a government witness during a flight from Hawaii to California. A crime kingpin, who will be indicted by the testimony, orders that a crate filled with hundreds of snakes be placed on the aircraft.

The container opens after the 747 takes off, the exotic creatures exit and all hell breaks loose.

“Snakes on a Plane” often plays more like a silly “Saturday Night Live” skit than a big-screen thriller, but that approach and the low-budget look of the film actually work in its favor, especially in tandem with Jackson’s wink-of-the-eye performance.

“Snakes on a Plane” should go down in Hollywood “hiss-tory” as a fun-to-watch guilty pleasure, one with plenty of bite for those in the right frame of mind.

FILM REVIEW

“Snakes on a Plane”

Grade: B

Starring: Samuel L. Jackson; written by John Heffernan and Sebastian Gutierrez; directed by David Ellis.

Running Time: 95 minutes.

Parental Guide: R rating (very strong violence, sex, nudity, harsh four-letter profanity, drug use).