Categories: Entertainment

What do you get when you pit one bad motherlover against thousands of earth’s deadliest reptiles aboard commercial aircraft? One hell of a movie, fans hope. Snakes on a Plane will slither into theatres in 8 days, and it looks like it may be the last great movie of the summer. The hype has been building dramatically, mainly due to Internet parodies and fansites, a testament to the power of geek culture. At first the hype began, where else, the geek underground, where fans of the man who played Mace began salivating over his next flick. Shows like Attack of the Show fueled the hype, with interviews and behind the scenes info. In fact, they’ve dedicated this week to the movie, even having their own tribute to the movie called “Snakes on a Set.”

Fans got busy creating parodies, which can be found, where else, but YouTube. Fansites like BlanksonaBlank, where people can show off their own movies about animals on a mode of transport (featuring Sam’s trademark line from the movie, of course), began to pop up. And of course the obligatory ads, for those strangely oblivious to the hype. A bit of hype is good for any movie. It builds anticipation, and the greater the anticipation, the greater the profit. But more often than not, a movie gets crushed under the weight of its own hype. Case in point, Superman Returns. But it’s unlikely that Snakes will suffer a similar fate. After all, the premise is simple, snakes on a plane. But even with all this hype behind it, is there enough money left in moviegoers’ pockets after Pirates’ box office plunder for Snakes to be a success? We’ll if it doesn’t, it’s sure to be a cult favourite anyway.