Slither

A horror comedy that doesn't take itself too seriously, and delivers scares and laughs in equal and effective measure, and serves as an affectionate homage to low budget B horror movies. Its over-the-top violence may be hard to watch, but its compelling performances, witty and clever script, stylish direction and stunning visual effects make for an entertaining and thrilling viewing experience.

It is absolute fun, plain and simple. It gets in, does it scares and it's laughs, and gets out quick. As what it was meant to be, it was absolutely brilliant. It does its own thing, and it does it perfectly, and the result is pure entertainment, nothing more. So, if you like movies like Shaun of the Dead, Army of Darkness, Dead Alive, Gremlins, Tremors, or anything in that vein, you will like this movie.

Or if you just wanna see Captain Mal Reynolds (Nathan Fillion) again on the big screen and wistfully wipe a tear or two away, you can go see this movie too.

It's creepy, it's gleefully gross, it's HILARIOUS, and I don't think I wasted a single minute watching it. Great movie.

(Synopsis) The movie opens with a meteorite landing in the backwoods of the small town of Wheelsy. The bad news is that our atmosphere did not burn up everything inside the meteorite. One of Wheelsy's rich business men, Grant Grant (Michael Rooker), who is married to the young and beautiful high school biology teacher, Starla (Elizabeth Banks), finds a slow moving slimy thing behind the town bar. The slug stops moving as Grant moves closer, he becomes infected by the slug. Grant begins to change and evolve into a bloodthirsty meat-eating squid creature with a need to kill to maintain his life. Sheriff Bill Pardy (Nathan Fillion) and Starla must defeat this creature or the entire earth will be consumed.

(My Comment) Slither is a 1950's type B-grade horror/comedy movie scenario that has everything. A billion-year-old alien parasite from outer space with penetrating tentacles that sucks the life out of you, fast moving slugs that want to get inside your mouth, dogs and cows being eaten by human and deer zombies, an enormous mother glob, and the small town being terrorized by a monster. This is your classic B-grade movie that is a lot of fun watching. You will laugh from beginning to end. For budget reasons, it looks like they used the old standby, tomato ketchup, for blood. There are some scary moments, but most of the scenes are hilarious. If you want an enjoyable night and a good laugh, this is the movie to see. (Universal Pictures, Run time 1:36, Rated R)(8/10)

First off, I'm a horror nut and no matter what anybody else says, this is NOT a rip-off of "Night of the Creeps" or "The Deadly Spawn". James Gunn himself said at a recent Fangoria Weekend of Horrors in Chicago that the only film that played a part in "Slither" was David Cronenberg's "They Came from Within" (AKA - "Shivers"). There's a blatant homage to it that fans of the Cronenberg film will spot right away, and that's cool. That what James Gunn is about. You forget, this is a guy from the house that Kaufman built - Troma. Nods and inside jokes abound in "Slither". It's a horror movie for real horror movie fans. Slimy, not gory. Funny, not insipid. "Slither" is the next logical step from the guy who wrote the remake of "Dawn of the Dead". It's a little more fun, a lot less serious, and features a great cast that makes this movie what it should be - hugely entertaining. Perfect, no. But it sure is fun and makes you look forward to what he'll do next.

I think I might enjoy the comedy/horror genre more than the actual horror films they parody. James Gunn, (yes, the man who brought us what I can only imagine are fantastic scripts for Scooby Doo 1 & 2—not sure since I would never watch them), has broken into the mix with his film Slither. It appears he understands the appeal these films have and jam-packs it with gore, camp, and humor. The audience can never wonder if what transpires is unintentionally funny because they are too busy thinking about the parts that are unintentionally scary. A comedy, through and through, Gunn gathers a nice group of actors to play up the cheese yet still make us believe they are smack in the middle of the otherworldly situation they are in.

The basic premise here is that an alien life form—not Martians as they are from Mars of course—has come to Earth to make it its next world for consumption. Our villain inhabits a local and makes him go out to either infect, impregnate, or devour all other forms of meat, human or otherwise, along his journey. This host just happens to be involved in a somewhat loveless marriage with the resident good-looking teacher, who or course is the object of our hero's affection, the chief of police. Once the creature's first mate unleashes his spawn of collective-consciousness worms, the town comes under attack and only the chief, the host's wife, and the obnoxious mayor can save the day.

Amidst all the zombie-turning and the blood, acid spit, and limb jellying, we are treated with some great laughs and one-liners from people who truly know how to deliver the script deadpan for added effectiveness. The great Michael Rooker plays the host body to campy perfection. What role of his hasn't oozed tongue-in-cheek outbursts and over-the-top facial expressions? Gregg Henry takes the unpolished politician to new heights and everything he says gets a laugh as result. Even his introduction in the film, swearing in the midst of his constituents and their children, is a tired gimmick, but still effectively funny. As for our real heroes, we are treated to some good forbidden chemistry between Nathan Fillion and Elizabeth Banks. Fillion is king of sarcasm and always stays in a realistic mode unfazed by the horrors happening around him. Someone else could have allowed the film to become unhinged if they didn't take this role seriously; the comedy relies on this character not seeing the humor around him. With Banks, a favorite of mine who is underused in movies, I was not a big fan of the fake accent, but I guess it does fit the aesthetic of what is going on. And as the mayor says, she is hardcore—when she kills her first infected assailant, it's priceless.

Definitely more entertaining than expected, I can still understand the lack of love at the box office. The trailers showed that there would be some subversion to the horror with humor, but didn't quite go all the way with it. I'm sure people were confused in what to expect and those who wanted scares were disappointed as were those that wanted pure laughs. To me, Gunn masterfully mixes the two just right for an enjoyable ride in Hicksville, USA during an interstellar battle for supremacy. He gets all the little moments right, the grenade folly, the corny love scene music, and even the extras looking like they are from a backwoods/ incestuous town. The look was right and the delivery just as effective as I laughed pretty much straight through.