The year was 2005, the summer was sweltering with sequels (Pirates of the Caribbean 3, X-Men 3, Mission: Impossible 3, Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift), new superhero movies (Superman Returns), family fair (Over the Hedge, The Devil Wears Prada, Monster House, Nacho Libre), but it was lacking something over the top, insane, and downright ridiculous. Then we got the Samuel L. Jackson-led vehicle that gifted cinema one of the most meme-able moments where he loudly declares he’s had it with these MFing snakes on this MFing plane. This pedigree of outlandish cinema, directed by David R. Ellis (Final Destination) and written by John Heffernan, Sebastain Gutierrez (Gothika), and David Dalessandro, holds a soft spot in my heart, can absolutely be described as a guilty pleasure, but is by no means a “good” movie. There are no other movies that come to mind where someone getting lucky in the Mile High Club gets brutally attacked by venomous snakes or an FBI agent decides the only reasonable way to take out the problem at-hand is to destabilize air pressure on a plane in mid-air.
Snakes on a Plane focuses on surfer Sean Jones (Nathan Phillips) as he witnesses a murder by a mob boss he was never supposed to see. Upon trying to leave the scene of the crime unnoticed, he is ultimately discovered and now the mob wants to make sure there are no lose ends. Thankfully for Sean though, FBI agent Neville Flynn (Samuel L. Jackson) finds him first, gets him to safety, and is ultimately responsible for him to get to his court date safely and alive to testify against the ruthless crime boss. Of course, though, the mafia is not going to let some surfer who was in the wrong place at the wrong time put their boss away, so after they somehow learn that Jones and Flynn are flying to keep Jones safer, they load hundred of venomous snakes onto the cargo of the plane and devise a trap to let them loose to wreack havoc all before the plane can touch down. Problem is, there’re now hundreds of venomous snakes on a plane 30,000 feet in the air with an FBI agent who refuses to let the mafia win.
SNAKES ON A PLANE packshot. Photo courtesy of Arrow Video/MVD Entertainment Group.
Getting into the nitty gritty of Snakes on a Plane, in this new 4K restoration by Arrow video that is presented in Dolby Vision and is HDR10 compatible, the image is really nicely restored. While there is no artificial cleaning, the movie is clearly still a 2005 movie with significantly improved CGI of the snakes. They no longer look like bad graphics from the DOOM video games, and almost look out of place at some moments in the movie now, but with the outrageous things these snakes get up to, it’s hardly noticeable that they look more modern than the rest of the picture. The biggest detriment to rewatching Snakes on a Plane on Blu-ray was how dated and laughable the graphics were with that not-so-charming effect removed, it makes for this cult classic viewing to be that much more enjoyable. While the rest of the picture still appears to be in the 2005 frame, there is no noticeable brightening done to the picture and there is no grain present (presumably because this was a digital film to begin with). The restoration from Blu-ray to 4K isn’t a gigantic leap, but the improvement in the VFX department is more than worth the upgrade. Speaking of upgrades though, along with a slew of archival features there are a few new features including an audio commentary by critics Max Evry and Bryan Reesman, and Snakes on a Page, a brand-new mini documentary exploring the movie tie-in novelization phenomenon. This feature while focusing on the Snakes on a Plane novelization itself and the phenomenon is a must watch for anyone interested in tie-in novelizations.
Overall, the 4K restoration from Arrow video for Snakes on a Plane is a day one buy for anyone whose a fan of the sheer madness that is delivered by Samuel L Jackson and this incredibly fun guilty pleasure movie, but if you’re more on the fence about the movie since it is not a limited edition boxset, this will most likely be on shelves for a while and can wait for a sale – it really comes down to how much the slipcover is needed and how much love there is for those MFing snakes.
Snakes on a Plane 4K UHD Special Features:
- Brand new 4K restoration by Arrow Films
- 4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
- Original DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- *NEW* Brand new audio commentary by critics Max Evry and Bryan Reesman
- Archival cast and crew audio commentary, featuring director David R. Ellis, actor Samuel L. Jackson, producer Craig Berenson, associate producer Tawny Ellis, VFX supervisor Eric Henry, and second unit director Freddie Hice
- *NEW* Snakes on a Page, a brand new mini-documentary exploring the movie tie-in novelization phenomenon, featuring publisher Mark Miller, historian David Spencer and Christa Faust, author of the Snakes on a Plane novelization
- Pure Venom, an archival feature on the making of the film, featuring interviews with the cast and crew
- Meet the Reptiles, an archival featurette on the work of snake wrangler Jules Sylvester and the various snakes featured in the film
- VFX, an archival featurette on the use of CGI to bring the snakes to life
- Snakes on a Blog, an archival featurette on the online hype surrounding the film prior to its release
- Snakes on a Plane music video
- Making of the music video
- Gag reel
- Deleted and extended scenes
- Trailers and TV Spots
- Image gallery
- Easter eggs
- South Pacific Airlines safety instruction card
- Reversible sleeve featuring two original artwork options
- Collectors’ booklet featuring new writing by Daniel Burnett and Charlie Brigden
Available on limited edition 4K UHD and Blu-ray January 20th, 2026.
For more information, head to the official Arrow Video Snakes on a Plane webpage.
To purchase, head to the official MVD Entertainment Group Snakes on a Plane webpage.
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Categories: Home Release, Recommendation
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