I am very much looking forward to New Line’s thriller Snakes on a Plane for one reason: the title.

In this day of bland, would-be exciting one-word movie names — Derailed, Havoc — there is something refreshingly straightforward and old-school about the title of this Sam Jackson movie about, well, poisonous snakes let loose on a plane.

Apparently, I’m not the only one who feels this way. Today Dave McNary has a piece in Variety about the buzz for the pic created just by its title:

“Though New Line has done no publicity and the thriller is eight months away from release, buzz has reached epic proportions — surprising for a high-concept, moderately budgeted film that would ordinarily be dismissed as late-summer horror fare aimed at teens.”

He goes on to say that the title has already prompted songs, t-shirts and even a bit of descriptive slang:

“Or take this recent posting in the Urban Dictionary site explaining just what the phrase ‘snakes on a plane’ means: ‘How’s your relationship with Chloe going?’ ‘It’s getting close to being like snakes on a plane, man, seriously.'”

UPDATE: Ray Pride has been on this story for some time. He forwards a link to the film’s blog as well as “Josh Friedman’s epic anecdote about the film’s title.”