‘Snakes on a Plane’ in 4K rewards viewers who embrace absurd horror spectacles

A 2006 horror thriller most remembered for its massive Internet pre-buzz rather than a compelling story gets a special 4K disc release to allow fans to reappreciate its outrageous premise in Snakes on a Plane: Limited Edition (Arrow Video, rated R, 2.39:1 aspect ratio, 106 minutes, $49.99).

In the finest traditions of 1970s disaster and exploitation films, viewers meet two FBI agents, Neville Flynn (Samuel L. Jackson) and John Sanders (Mark Houghton), tasked with bringing murder witness, Sean Jones (Nathan Phillips), from Honolulu to Los Angeles

They board Boeing Flight 121 for a relaxing flight in first class, but the crime lord Eddie Kim, fingered by Mr. Jones for the killing, has a slithery trick up his sleeve.

Specifically, adding a crate of venomous snakes to the cargo that are made aggressive by a special pheromone infused in the passengers’ leis and released mid-flight.

Jump-scare chaos soon follows in a flight also complicated by a turbulent thunderstorm as well as a pair of dead, snake-bitten pilots.

Those who appreciated star power movies such as “Airport 1975” will enjoy seeing the pop culture-infused archetype cast that includes Julianna Margulies (“ER” and “The Good Wife”), scream queen Lin Shaye (“Insidious” and “A Nightmare on Elm Street”) and Sunny Mabrey (“Species III”) as flight attendants; Kenan Thompson (“Saturday Night Live”) as a bodyguard; Taylor Kitsch (“X-Men Origins: Wolverine”) as an amorous passenger; David Koechner (“Anchorman”) as a co-pilot; Elsa Pataky (“Fast & Furious”) as a mother with her infant daughter; and Rachel Blanchard (“Clueless’) as a socialite in love with her Chihuahua.

Its R rating also comes warranted with multiple gruesome death scenes, including a pair getting bitten to death while entering the Mile High Club, a man getting bitten on his private parts, a snake crawling out of the mouth of a victim and an anaconda eating a passenger.

4K in action: The ultra-high definition restoration was built using original 2K digital intermediate data, and viewers will want to focus on the snakes to appreciate the various live, animatronic and computer-generated presentations of the 30 species represented.

The translucent, neon green, fish-eye perspective for the creepy snake vision offers an unusual, vivid hue for viewers to immerse themselves in, while the detailed and complex colors of the creatures’ bodies and scales stand out, as do the snakes in motion with fangs drawn to strike. Those moments will send chills up spines.

Best extras: Viewers get a few new but mostly recycled digital goodies for the 4K release, all on a single disc.

First, one of the new, more unusual and informative featurettes offers an 18-minute look into the world of writing new novelizations of movies and TV shows.

The segment includes words from writer Christine Faust, who adapted “Snakes on a Plane” into a novel (based on an early draft of the film), publisher for Encyclopocalypse Publications Mark Miller and historian David Spencer.

Next, an optional commentary track features film journalists — Max Evry out of Brooklyn, New York, and Bryan Reesman out of Boston — who promise not to simply make fun of a stupid movie but instead, deliver more facts and appreciate the absurdity of it all.

Mr. Reesman pulls out a bunch of note cards when talking about the cast and the making of the film, while Mr. Evry talks about the movie origins, including reading from the original production notes focused on snakes and Mr. Jackson wanting to be in the film. The track offers plenty of insight despite being a bit encyclopedic and mechanical from the two participants.

Now, for legacy extras all pulled from the 2009 Blu-ray release, start with a very entertaining group commentary track with Mr. Jackson stealing the show with his amusing quips. He’s joined by director David R. Ellis, producer Craig Berenson, associate producer Tawny Ellis, VFX supervisor Eric Henry and second unit director Freddie Hice.

Move to the featurettes to find 18 minutes on the production, 13 minutes on the snakes, six minutes on digitally animating the snakes, 10 minutes on the internet marketing of the film, as well as 12 minutes of deleted scenes with optional commentary for each.

The package includes a South Pacific Airlines safety instruction card specific to snakes infiltrating a plane; and a 28-page full-color illustrated booklet with a retrospective essay by film historian Daniel Burnett and an article by exotic animal keeper Charlie Brigden on venomous snakes and the realities of them attacking humans and pets on a plane.