Monster on a Plane

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.

This film is the best mix of entertainment and fun I've seen in a long time. First of all, the camera and special effects are simply marvellous. CGI has obviously been skilfully used, but the monsters have been specially built and are not digitally produced, so they look particularly real. The shots are so fantastically done, the scenery so incredibly well created, that this small independent film can really hold its own aesthetically with the blockbusters without any problems. Just look at the aeroplane! Not only is the interior design an absolutely convincing imitation of a real aeroplane, but the ceiling and floor are also completely coherent and look absolutely real. This really is film art at a very, very high level. The story is funny, cheeky and tries to cleverly incorporate a series of film quotes. It brings to mind "Snakes on a Plane" or "Critters", only realised in a much more exciting, witty and aesthetically pleasing way. The cinematic Hollywood look, which is not at all familiar from German cinema, is simply so well executed that it leaves you speechless. To be able to be entertaining and at the same time realise an independent film in such a way that is really in no way inferior to the blockbusters impressed me deeply. The acting is also remarkable. German stars such as Eva Habermann and Dieter Landuris gave their best, and Fred Aaron Blake and Phillipe Brenninkmeyer also stand out. In particular, the acting performance of model Kim Kelly stands out, who has probably ventured into the acting profession for the first time and has done it so absolutely skilfully. But really the best and most remarkable thing was the cinematography. Ezra Tsegaye and Kristina Schippling did an exceptional job here.

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.

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.

Movies like this are not meat to be taken seriously. In the same vein as movies by The Asylum or a movie like Sharknado this could be either laughably bad or just plain bad and sadly falls somewhere in between. I did laugh at some of the preposterous dialogue and ridiculous situations, but there were long stretches where it was just boring. The actual monster looked like a deranged Muppet. There were some sexy scenes thrown in that added nothing. The acting was all over the place, as if some of them took the role seriously and others were hamming it up. The script appeared to be written by a 13 year old. Be warned, this is a German production and while all actors except one speak English , their English is atrocious. There is some good gore, but for the most part this isn't very good.