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When Indiana Jones climbed into an airplane 25 years ago and escaped a throng of spear-throwing tribal warriors, he discovered he wasn't the only passenger. Coiling at his feet, a boa constrictor hissed a hello.

"There's a big snake in the plane, Jock!" Indy shouted to the pilot, hysterical.

Smiling, the pilot assured Indy that the fellow with the forked tongue was just his "pet"—Reggie—and there was nothing to worry about. Sure enough, Jones survived, and went on to face far more dangerous snakes, escaping unscathed every time.

But I would imagine that even the most accomplished snake handler would squirm at the thought of being trapped on an airplane with a snake on the loose. And what if there were dozens of snakes? What if there were more than four hundred?

So, it's no surprise that when the aptly (asp-tly?) titled Snakes on a Plane opened this week, theaters across the country filled with screams. But, thanks to director David R. Ellis, there was a lot of laughter as well. The cast—including Hollywood's favorite tough guy Samuel L. Jackson, and Juliana Marguiles of TV's E.R.—takes things over the top, and almost anything that could go wrong on that airplane does go spectacularly wrong.

Thanks to the Internet, the movie was a cult classic even before it opened. (One website challenged us to come up with the best sequel idea; suggestions included Kittens on a Kayak and Sharks on a Rollercoaster, but my favorite was Walrus on a Conveyor Belt.) And, according to film critics, the film may not be a classic, but it apparently delivers sufficiently on its promise of madness, mayhem, thrills, and chills. The hilarity has inspired some of them to compare Snakes on a Plane to Arachnophobia and Gremlins.

Russ Breimeier (Christianity Today Movies) recommends you see it "in a crowded theater, or at home with a group of friends while making Mystery Science Theater 3000-styled remarks. … The pacing is skillfully executed, but it's familiar B-movie territory that goes over-the-top with intentionally gratuitous scenes played for laughs and shock value."

And he concludes that it's "one of the best bad movies ever made. It's certainly not a first-rate thriller like The Birds or Jaws, nor is it trying to be. Rather, this is a loving tribute and quasi-parody of B-movie conventions … though it is unquestionably more adult and vulgar than those movies, to the thrill of some and the chagrin of others. … Make no mistake, this movie is trash, but it's meant to be, and I'd be lying if I said it wasn't also a lot of fun."

Other Christian film critics are quicker to dismiss the film as unacceptably gratuitous.

Harry Forbes (Catholic News Service) says the film's "setup" is "wildly improbable, and it's a wonder that the capable cast … can deliver some of their lines with a straight face. Yet, to the film's credit, the premise is undeniably original, and the movie is never dull."

But he adds that "the frequent expletives and occasional sexual elements … are quite objectionable, all the more for being so gratuitous."

Adam R. Holz (Plugged In) calls it "sadistically obscene."

Mainstream film critics, meanwhile, are divided, but most agree that it's "neither as good or as bad as you hoped it would be."

Film critic Steven D. Greydanus has pointed out that the plot of The Illusionist is, in a way, similar to that of The Princess Bride.

It's about a man who falls in love with a woman who becomes engaged to marry a rich and powerful prince. Thus, he must use every trick in his book to ensure that true love wins the day. But instead of challenging the prince with a sword, Eisenheim the magician (Edward Norton) employs some impressive hocus-pocus in order to win the heart of the lovely Sophie (Jessica Biel).

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August (Web-only) 2006, Vol. 50