Monster on a Plane: Y a-t-il un monstre dans l'avion?

Horror-comedies often thrive on absurd premises, but it's the execution, particularly in tone and humour, that determines their success. Monster on a Plane teased a fun ride with its trailer, promising gore and a cheeky tone. But does the film deliver on that promise?

Well, that depends on your tolerance for low-budget genre fare. The creature's rampage is mildly entertaining, and the film shows occasional flashes of inventiveness. However, the decision to shoot a German production in English backfires somewhat as the dialogue, acting and line delivery is absolutely brutal to get through. May be this one works better with the German language track.

In more capable hands, this could have been a gleefully chaotic cult hit. As it stands, it's a curious misfire with moments of charm buried beneath its many flaws.

You know, when you try to make an intentionally bad movie, you probably shouldn't be a bad filmmaker, or else the "intentionally" becomes a redundant word.

MONSTER ON A PLANE is bad. Not good bad, not funny bad, just bad. Surprisingly, it features some very decent practical gore effects that look way too good for this, so the "filmmakers" decided to obscure the only good thing in this travesty of a movie under really bad digital blood. Intentionally bad, of course.

I can only admire the manic energy to even try to make something like this, but I'd strongly advise to skip this one if you should ever cross its path. Time is precious, and to waste it on something like this is a sin I can never get redemption from. But I sinned so you won't have to.

The title alone would tell you that this is a derivative plot along the lines of "Snakes on a Plane" or any other number of movies that feature in-flight disaster by some creature. It is interesting that this is a German-made movie mostly all in English but that resulted in weird accents and poor acting. There are gratuitous scenes of sex and nudity, and the plot in general was so familiar that the main distinguishing factor was the monster in question, which is really not explained how it came about or for what reason this mad scientist was transporting it. For lovers of horror movies, there is enough gore to satisfy them, and while some reviewers give this movie a better rating than I am, well, everyone is entitled to their taste. I am usually generous when it comes to bad horror films but in this case, I could not bring myself to give it more than three stars.

Remember the (internet-) hype caused by "Snakes on a Plane" back in 2006? It was a big hit, simply because the title was straightforward and because the film delivered exactly what the title promised. 18 years later, writer/director Ezra Tsegaye considers it's still a brilliant idea to rip off the idea! Obviously, "Monster on a Plane" will never cause a hype. It probably won't even been seen by many people, but one thing's for sure: it is a lot of fun to watch under the right circumstances.

Make no mistake, "Monster on a Plan" is a terribly bad movie! But it's a FUN bad movie, and sometimes horror fanatics can really enjoy those. There's nothing remotely original about the film. The concept is stolen from "Snakes on a Plane" - duh - while the monster looks exactly like the design of "Critters", and its infrared vision is borrowed from "Predator". Oh wait, there is one original gimmick! The monster's flatulence is a sophisticated attack-mechanism a causes people to hallucinate. Awesome! Some irresponsible scientist smuggles it on board of a charter flight to Berlin, it escapes during a bit of turbulence, and naturally goes on a bloody killing spree.

"Monster on a Plane" is a German production, but entirely shot in English, and the language skills and accents of the entire ensemble cast are hilariously atrocious. Although gory, the digital effects are lousy and the complete opposite of disturbing. Luckily, the film doesn't take itself too seriously. The performances, the inside jokes (like casting a pilot who's a dead ringer for Peter Graves in "Airplane!"), the evolution of the critter into a giant kind of Venus Flytrap, ... it's all very tongue in cheek.

Is he too old for that ... stuff? No pun intended and yes I know it's a famous line from a different actor! That's the fun with this - and if you had an issue with the joke I made ... well I should warn you, the quality of jokes in this movie ... and the quality of "acting" (intended and not) ... well there may not be a bottom to that barrel - just saying and warning.

Still if you suspend your disbelief and like movies with blood (and some nudity), with terrible one liners and a lack of a script ... well you could do worse I reckon ... which might have been funnier too than whatever it is we got here.

Still the actors know what they are in (movie wise but also sometimes body wise) ... and the monster that also is practical (to see and to touch as you may say) ... well quite the critter .. well it is what it is ... and you should know by the name of the title what you will be getting.