Slugs

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 .

Slugs (1988)

** (out of 4)

Gory, dumb but fun "nature attack" movie about a small town coming under attack by mutant slugs. These slugs might move slow but that doesn't mean they don't like to eat some human flesh and it's up to one guy (Michael Garfield) to try and stop them. SLUGS comes from director Juan Piquer Simon who is best remembered for his cult favorite PIECES but this here is every bit as entertaining so we can really give him credit for two of the most fun bad movies of the decade. This one here wouldn't have worked even if Stanley Kubrick or Martin Scorsese had directed it because, really, who on Earth would even try to make a movie about killer slugs? No matter how much carnage they do, the viewer just isn't going to be scared of a bunch of slugs. With that said, instead of scares the director gives us some pretty wild and pretty over-the-top gore scenes and many of them have to be seen to be believed. The highlight of the film has to be a sequence where a couple gets done having sex only to find out too late that the entire floor is covered in slugs. The poor woman who falls on the floor makes for a very gory sight. Other highlights include a very memorable chain of events where one man unknowingly eats a slug. The aftermath has enough gore for two movies. There's no question that the death scenes are the highlight of the film and help it move along. The performances are a mixed bag with most of the cast giving pretty wooden work. Can you blame them considering they're in a movie about killer slugs? The pacing in the film is a bit too slow for its own good but there's no doubt that fans of silly horror films will want to check it out.

From Juan Piquer Simon, the late, great director who also blessed genre fans with such unforgettable gems as "Pieces" and "Pod People", comes this ode to those slimy little animals, who have mutated and become carnivorous thanks to that old cinematic standby, toxic waste. The monsters start claiming victim after victim, and only a select few individuals are willing to do anything about the problem, including County Health Inspector Mike Brady (Michael Garfield).

Based on a novel by Shaun Hutson, and scripted by Ron Gantman, this movie is delicious...really. Who can see the scene with the lettuce and not feel hungry? "Slugs: The Movie" (named this way to avoid confusion with "Slugs: The Musical"?) is such good fun, and when watching it, it's hard to believe that Gantman, Simon, and company didn't have their tongues in their cheeks the whole time, what with the unrelenting delivery of so much priceless dialogue ("You ain't got the authority to declare Happy Birthday, not in this town!") and performances.

They also show their willingness to cast aside expectations in terms of one scene late in the game involving an attempted rape. One memorable sequence features two young lovers who get besieged by the titular killers, and the male of the pair quite prominently displays his backside for the camera. Of course, if you want a true highlight sequence, it has to be the one in the restaurant with the VERY unlucky David Watson (Emilio Linder), which is so very appropriately timed.

The gore and effects are quite fun to watch in this thing, and they're the work of Carlo De Marchis. The actors are all a hoot, especially Santiago Alvarez as John Foley, John Battaglia as Sheriff Reese, and prolific veteran Spanish actor Frank Brana in a brief cameo appearance.

Horror fans whose tastes include the silly & cheesy 80s material are sure to find this a real treat, right from its amusing beginning to its impressive conclusion where a lot of things blow up REAL good. It's 90 minutes worth of engaging nonsense.

Eight 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!

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.