Slugs

The premise behind Slugs sounds ultra cheesy - mutated killer slugs. But it actually turns out to be quite fun and better than any regular "nature-run-amock" horror flick. I was expecting another god awful cheesy, campy bug movie along the lines of Ticks or Skeeter. In other words, I didn't expect anything good at all, who would ever be scared of a slug? I mean, it is one of the slowest creatures in the world after all!. Imagine my surprise then, when I found that not only is this movie not that bad, but.... it is actually pretty damn entertaining and good! Actually, the best word to describe Slugs is FUN! Sure, it's pretty damn cheesy and the general idea is pretty laughable, but with the delivery, Slugs actually turned into a decent little horror movie. Not only that, but it does even manage to...ahem, get under your skin a bit. Plus, for those gore hounds out there, there's a ton of that as well.

This is a very highly rated horror from the 80's, a fantastic movie with a well paced out plot and a great budget for effects, a good cast and an erratic tension building soundtrack, you wouldn't think slugs could be scary but they are now, only in the 80's could they get away with a creature feature like this, its chock full of amazing effects, plenty of marvelous stand out bloody gore moments throughout, if you're big on 80's horror then this is a must have!

Overall rating: 7 out of 10.

Why isn't Juan Piquer Simon celebrated for the repulsive cinematic magic he has created? No only did he makes "Slugs", he made "Pieces", too, and even took a crack at Jules Verne's "Journey To The Center of the Earth". I read Shaun Hutson's "Slugs" long before I experienced the movie, and I even read the sequel, "Breeding Ground", before seeing the movie. In three words, it is thoroughly disgusting entertainment, with echoes of Jeff Lieberman's great "Squirm". The Spanish/Mexican blending of scenes doesn't really work, but who cares? The film, like any Ed Wood or Rene Cardona film, is entertaining. The slug attacks are gory and unrestrained and Simon's direction of the little critters is better than his direction of the actors. Lap it up!

It's a monster film's homage with lots of man-eaters slugs and loads of blood , including revolting , repulsive scenes. This chiller with middling budget packs thrills, chills , some good action , gore , horror and few funny moments. It's a hybrid of monster movies from the 50s and modern American production in B series style . People are dying mysteriously and terrifyingly , and nobody has a track what the cause is . Only health inspector named Mike Brady (Michael Garfield) finds a possible origin , but his theory of murderous slugs is laughed at by the authorities . When his wife named Kim (Kim Terry) is attacked , he discovers that spilled toxic waste is being helpfully cleaned up by the slug population and causing countless deaths . Only when the slugs are mutating into blood-thirsty man eaters and the body count begins to rise , the police goes into the action . A slug expert from England begins snooping around does it begins to think Mike had the right idea after all.

This humdrum adaptation based on Monster movies from the 50s results to be a special version based on the bestseller titled ¨Slugs¨ by Shaun Hutson with screenplay written by also producer José Antonio Escrivá , Ron Gantman , and the same director Juan Piquer Simón (as J.P. Simon) . The thrilling screenplay is a bit yawn-inspiring but nifty special effects will keep you from dozing off , its author is Emilio Ruiz , he's a nice creature effects designer, a perfect craftsman who made effects , monsters , miniature and matte shots in ¨Pan's labyrinth ,The Devil backbone , Dune , Conan , Cat's eye¨ and many others . There're gruesome killings , rip-roaring action , thrills , chills and results to be briefly entertaining . Plenty of repellent images , it was X classified in England and was banned in the Australian state of Queensland until the early-'90s when the Queensland Censorship Board was disbanded . Average main cast with unknown actors as Michael Garfield and Kim Terry . There appears usual secondary actors seen in co-productions of the 60s and 70s , Spaghetti and Terror genre , as Frank Braña , Manuel De Blas and Patty Shepard . It's a slight fun with acceptable special effects by Emilio Ruiz Del Rio supported by Benito Cortijo and Juan Mirame , passable set decoration , functional art direction and none use of computer generator . The slugs monsters are the real stars of this production , being rightly realized , some of them are authentic Asturias (Spain) slugs and others are made by plastic miniature ; it has numerous "older technique" special effects such as matte paintings, rubber-suited monsters, Piquer uses the standard film technique of reverse-footage to create certain effects .

The fable is silly and laughable ,though the effects and action are professionally made . Among the most spectacular of its visuals there are some deeply shrouded caverns , several monsters roaring menacingly towards the camera , the colorful backgrounds of the sewers and slaughters and massacres committed by the horrible slugs . On the whole this is a suspenseful and tense thriller especially at the amazing ending tableau when Michael Garfield and his helper have to tackle the massive slugs at the lair in the final . Some scenes are clumsily shot but the movie has some good moments here and there . Some illogical parts in the argument are more than compensated for the excitement provided by the slugs , though sometimes are a little bit cheesy . Highlights of the story includes a roller-coaster ending , some terrifying frames in a restaurant and many others . Functional cinematography by Julio Bragado , being filmed the interiors in Madrid and exteriors in Lyon , (New York) , a population about 5.000 inhabitants . The motion picture was middlingly realized by Juan Piquer Simon . Piquer who recently passed away was a good craftsman , he owns his own studio and created and/or designed many of the simple special effects sequences you see in any of his many imaginative undertakings . Juan who was director of the Mostra of Valencia (Spain) , displayed a professional career and specialized on all kind of genres as Terror (Slugs, Piezes , Cthulhu ) and Sci-fi (The rift , The new Extraterrestres, Supersonic man) and made some adaptations about Jules Verne novels ("Fabulous Journey to the Center of the Earth" , "Mystery on Monster Island") . While his films have been universally panned by the prestigious reviewers, they have a kind of quality that must be endured to be fully appreciated .

Killer slugs on the rampage in a rural community.

Believe it or not, the story behind the screenplay started as a book. In the original novel, the titular slugs were not caused by radiation or any such thing, but actually on author Shaun Hutson's knowledge that there were three species of carnivorous slugs. (The book's success apparently was enough to get the author the gig to write "The Terminator" novelization.)

If you love the late J. P. Simon's "Pieces" (a true cult classic if ever there was one), you may also love "Slugs". It has some of the same great things going for it: incredible special effects on the gore, a great 1980s mentality and some of the worst dialogue ever to hit a screen near you (which may be due to the fact that the actors are not proficient in English).

The film is best enjoyed by taking it as not seriously as possible. I mean, thousands of slugs that come and go in unison, eat people and apparently have the ability to plan ahead? Not very plausible. A high school teacher who has his own lab for experiments? Not likely.

But I personally love this movie. I think it is so unbelievable that it is just perfect for a good film with friends, some Tootsie Rolls and a soda. And if you have the legendary horror historian Jon Kitley lurking around making slug-shaped chocolates, that just tops it off. This Spanish film made in America featuring Italian actors is a must-see.

The Arrow Video Blu-ray is jam-packed. We have audio commentaries with "Slugs" author Shaun Hutson and filmmaker Chris Alexander. The Hutson commentary is interesting in that he never actually met any of the film's producers, actors or director, so the focus there is much more on horror literature. There are also new interviews with actor Emilio Linder, special effects artist Carlo DeMarchis, art director Gonzalo Gonzalo and production manager Larry Ann Evans. The last one, with Evans, is really very insightful and tells you more stories about the making of the film than you're likely to hear anywhere else.

The paint-by-numbers plot of "Slugs" is hardly innovative, even for a horror movie: chemical wastes generate mutated, flesh-eating killer slugs in a small community whose authority figures refuse to believe the stalwart head of the local health department until it is too late. Our heroes are on their own to devise a way to kill the beasties and do so with explosive vigor and sacrifice...except. And although the film was made after Roger Corman left New World, it has his trademark drive-in blend of teen sex, blood, and gross-out makeup effects.

But the direction is tight, efficient and never lagging, with good production values within its budget and mostly competent acting and dialog that lets the clichés roll. Special effects are quite well done (if generally repulsive), and the small town atmosphere (exteriors were primarily filmed in the upstate New York town of Lyons) is effective.

Slugs is an above average entry into the low budget eco-horror genre, good for those who still miss Saturday night at the drive-in.