When a genre feels played out, or overexposed, filmmakers look for ways to surprise viewers, to bring the genre back to life.  So it is and so it shall always be, and that is a good thing, because it prevents audiences from having to watch the same darn thing over and over again.  This German example twists two disparate genres into one tantalizing mix, bringing together a terrorist hijacking plot . . . with vampires.

Peter Thorwarth’s film finds diabolical hijackers taking control of an airliner, making authorities believe that it is on a suicide mission and then planning to bail out and cash in on the insurance money when the jet is shot down, destroying any evidence that they were there.  When a mysterious passenger (Peri Baumeister) tries to foil their plan she is shot and killed — only to revive because she is (almost) a vampire, having taken medicine to postpone the inevitable.  Realizing that only fully transforming into a vampire can save her young son (Carl Anton Koch), she sacrifices her future for his sake and works with the astounded passengers to help save the plane.  Except that the most diabolical hijacker, Eightball (Alexander Scheer), discovers her secret and wants vampiric powers for himself.  Will anybody survive this aviation nightmare at 35,000 feet?

The mixing of the genres is unexpectedly well done and intrinsically exciting, partly due to the confined space available, partly due to the vampire mythos (which is at least partially explained in flashbacks) and partly due to the very smart hijackers, who alertly change tactics when Nadja the vampire begins fighting back.  The hijacking of the plane is believably shocking and brutal; the vampiric effects are spectacularly bloody and tangible.  I often don’t care for such violence but this is a case where the bloodletting is unapologetic and rightfully so, and the filmmakers don’t hold back at all.

The story works on a few levels, most deeply as a reinforcement of the  bond between mother and son, which is sorely tested as Nadja inevitably loses her humanity.  It is politically valid (of course the authorities would shoot down the jet, believing it to be on a suicide mission toward London) and psychologically valid, as the passengers traumatically face not only evil hijackers but a half-vampire who wants to fight on their behalf.  Snakes on a Plane seems like a Sunday picnic compared to this story.  It’s a bit much, at times, but fans of both genres should definitely check out this bloody adventure.  ☆ ☆ 1/2.  14 May 2026.