Espinhos

"Splinter" was really a rather nice surprise for a horror movie. There haven't been that many horror movies in recent years that have managed to actually impress me, as most have seemingly been cast from the same mould. "Splinter", however, took me right back to the late 1990's where horror movies were great.

The story is somewhat of a mix between Carpenter's "The Thing" and "Cabin Fever". There is this unknown strange mutated creature prowling the woods, where people are isolated and miles from help. The story's two main characters are out camping when suddenly taken hostage by two fugitives and from thereon things take a turn for the worse. When you are struck with the splinters from the creature, you become infected yourself, and it is just a matter of time when you will turn.

Pretty simple and straight forward storyline that was easy to follow. There weren't any huge surprises or plot twists in the movie, but "Splinter" didn't' suffer from lacking that, the movie worked out quite well at its plot course and the progress the movie made. Predictable, sure, but entertaining.

Despite the cast being held at a relative small number, mainly four characters, with the occasional supporting character thrown into the midst, the movie did work out quite well. Because it is building heavily on fear, paranoia and thrills.

The creature effects were actually quite good, and when you saw body parts twisting in unnatural directions, accompanied by bones breaking, you can't help but curl your toes, or enjoy the whole scene (if you are a gorehound like I am).

"Splinter" is pretty good entertainment and will take you back to the good old horror movies of the 1990's. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, and I am sure that you will too if you are a fan of horror movies in general. Just don't expect any inventive new-thinking or radical plot twists, because they just ain't there.

So this movie is a kind of an independent horror film. It's working with a lower budget.

But first off the acting is not just adequate, it's great.

The characters are believable and well cast.

Splinter makes great use of it's low budget. With good acting, some gnarly gore and good creature design. It's the best it can be on a low budget. And it is good.

Is it amazing? No. But it doesn't have any glaring flaws. A nice movie for a friday night.

It's a great indie sci-fi/creature feature movie. With a solid script and no glaring flaws.

I thought about giving it a 6/10 because it's not earth-shattering but I think it deserves a 7/10 for how solid and well executed it is.

In the end it is a smart little creature feature that makes the most of it's budget.

This is a quick-moving well done little horror film. It has some similarities to John Carpenter's The Thing, but def isn't on that level. If you like Monster movies/Body horror this is one to check out.

The acting is solid. The FXs were really well done. The movie moves along at a great pace. This is a prime example of a film working because of a shorter runtime. I think any longer and this might have started to bog down some. Instead, it kicks into high gear early and doesn't slow down until the end.

I really didn't have any major issues with anything in the film. Some of it did feel familiar, and there were a few annoying character moments. Overall, that's all very minor and nothing that hurts the film in any sort of way.

If you haven't checked it out, it's worth a watch!

My Rating: 6/10

The premise has been done many times before, but this film does it right. Apparently "Splinter" is an independent film, but it doesn't deserve to be lumped in the same category as the hundreds of "low budget" horror movies out there that are hardly more than a few friends with a camcorder and some ketchup packets. The production value here looks as good as many Hollywood movies, and the "monster" is done particularly well. The three main actors are great, and the characters are likable.

This movie isn't going to change the genre or make anyone's Top 10 list, but it's definitely one of the more entertaining horror films I've seen in the last couple of years. It's a fun way to spend 80 minutes. My 8 out of 10 rating is a bit over-inflated simply because there have been so many terrible horror movies put out recently that it was refreshing to genuinely enjoy one from start to finish. A more realistic rating would be 6 or 6.5. Totally worth the price of admission, and I look forward to seeing more from this director in the future.

In all honesty, I actually thought it would be rubbish. However, to my surprise it was quite good. Okay it is not perfect, some of the effects are mediocre, the sound is murky and the editing in scenes could have been tighter, there are times when it is rather shaky. That said, Splinter could have been so much worse than how it turned out. The story is loose, well paced and benefits from a good and well-thought-out idea, the monster is appropriately effective and the direction, script, performances and characters(the antagonist especially is very interesting and original, which was really refreshing in itself) are all good. All in all, I thought it would be really bad, but it was actually much better than expected. 7/10 Bethany Cox