Given the clarity of this title, coming up with a plot for SOAP must have been a simple matter of connecting the dots. Though relatively few details have been released, it's my understanding that this movie focuses on an assassin who decides to strike while his victim is flying on a trans-pacific flight. Already a precarious situation, the assassin elects to further compound the difficulties by employing an unusual and unpredictable weapon: snakes. That's right; he's planning on smuggling a whole whack of snakes onto the plane so that they can bite one specific target, and presumably refrain from doing anything that might cause the plane itself to crash. What could possibly get in his way, aside from logic itself? There's clearly only one star who can take on this fiendish villain, and fortunately they happened to cast him in the leading role! Yes, it's the King of Cool himself, Samuel L. Jackson! He'll take care of those damn snakes! Probably by swinging them around like whips, if the preview is any indication. That's really the only way to deal with such an assassin.
Believe it or not, the studio was initially skeptical about this amazing release. There was even a time when they were hoping their movie would be taken seriously! They were thinking that Snakes On A Plane should be a legitimate entry into the horror genre instead of the cheese platter with a side helping of snakes that it would inevitably become. To this end, the producers sought to change the original name to the more generic and less ridiculous Pacific Flight 121 (don't quote me on the number, it's the principle that counts), which would effectively rob the movie of the only crutch it had - especially when Samuel L. Jackson declared that he would walk off the set if he had to work under such a boring title. Now that's conviction! It takes a star with real acumen to make a stand on this sort of issue. In the interest of keeping their leading man, the studio decided to take the movie to an altitude far over the top, as befits such an airplane movie. They even filmed extra scenes to sate the internet fans, wherein an authority figure angrily demands that someone get those damn snakes off his plane.
At the same time, it's still supposed to be a scary movie, albeit a rather cheesy one. Feeding into the public's paranoia surrounding flights in recent times will probably help on that score. But more importantly, they've got snakes. Snakes can turn any movie into a terrifying thrill-ride. I suspect it's only a matter of time before other modes of transportation are subjected to these fearsome creatures. Snakes on a Bus, perhaps? Or how about Snakes on a Bike? Eventually, this is sure to lead straight to the ultimate sequel, as necessary with horror series, with Snakes in Space. In the meantime, we'll just have to be satisfied with Snakes On A Plane. Have a good fright!
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