After months of intense buzz on the Internet, "Snakes on a Plane" is finally about to be let loose on audiences -- and one of the film's stars, Kenan Thompson, said he's just as much jazzed with anticipation as the legions of online fans that have already made this movie a phenomenon.

That's because Thompson, along with Joe and Jane moviegoer, has yet to see the hotly anticipated action horror-thriller. Part of the film's marketing strategy has been to not screen it for anybody in advance, from preview audiences to critics, to even the film's cast.

But unlike the general public, Thompson has gotten some bigger glances of the film -- and he loves what he's seen so far.

"I've seen 10 minute-clips of the movie cut together," the former Nickelodeon star and current "Saturday Night Live" featured player told me in an @ The Movies interview Monday. "The movie looks great. It really looks like it's going to deliver on a grand scale."

For those who haven't been rattled by what they've seen or read of "Snakes" online, the premise is simple, but deadly: On board a flight over the Pacific Ocean, an assassin looking to silence a witness in protective custody unleashes fury on the passengers by letting loose a crate of hundreds of poisonous snakes.

To counter the terror, FBI agent Neville Flynn (Samuel L. Jackson) tries to rally the passengers together in order to survive the flight, which is only halfway across the Pacific. Thompson plays Troy, a member of a hit rapper's entourage on board whose expert video game skills come in handy as the aircraft becomes paralyzed with fear.

The film, which also stars Julianna Margulies, Bobby Cannavale, Rachel Blanchard and Nathan Phillips, opens in theaters nationwide Friday.

Yes, They're Real
While the film surely relies on special effects to deliver some of its thrills, Thompson said the snakes -- some 450 of them -- were the real deal. Thankfully, Thompson said, he has no problems with flying.

However, he approaches his feelings about snakes with caution.

"I'm not too afraid of snakes, but if I saw a wild snake, I wouldn't go approach it," Thompson said. "When I was growing up, my friends had a python that I would hold. I found those interesting."

But just because of his past experiences, don't think that Thompson is totally charmed by the squirmy creatures.

"There's still that little percentage of a chance that it just might bite you at any moment," he said.

Of course, the driving force behind "Snakes on a Plane" is the film's no-room-for-interpretation title -- four simple words that has the mesmerizing power to clamp down on not one, but two of people's major phobias.

It's a far cry from the film's working title, the very-generic sounding "Pacific Air Flight 121." But no matter what the title would end up being, the intentions of the actors and filmmakers were always the same, Thompson said.

"We didn't know what the title of the movie was going to be while we were shooting it. The 'Snakes on a Plane' title was just a rumor," Thompson said. "We were more focused on making a good thriller and I think we accomplished that."

Thompson recognizes that the title will only get people as far as the ticket counter. But he's confident the reaction is going to be strong.

"The buzz on the title only helps with the anticipation of it. It's only going to help opening weekend," Thompson said. "But the second weekend, it's going to be about word of mouth on how good the movie is, honestly."

Thompson added another reason that the film is going to be successful is the tireless efforts of Jackson, who was completely enthralled by the title from the get-go.

"The guy's just got a crazy work ethic. He's really spearheaded this whole promotional campaign," Thompson said in admiration. "He's doing three times as much promotion on this movie as anybody else because he believes in the movie. I learned about how much it means when somebody like Sam takes his own power and puts it behind a project and really committing to it. He's a stand-up guy."

It's been well-publicized that the film went back into production for five days to give the dialogue, well, more bite -- including Jackson's now iconic line with a couple of mother F-bombs (which also effectively obliterated the film's planned PG-13 rating).

But Jackson wasn't the only one who got a chance to beef up his lines.

"I dropped a couple of F-Bombs," Thompson quipped. "I had to go back in and put my F-Bomb damage down. I had to juice it up a bit."

Of course, the language won't be suitable for Thompson's Nickelodeon fans, the actor warned. You have to remember, the actor first got his notices on the kid-friendly shows "All That" and "Kenan and Kel," and Bill Cosby's big screen star of "Fat Albert," before venturing off into the grown-up world of "Snakes on a Plane."

"It's rated R, so parental guidance is suggested," Thompson laughed.