BlownPotential

Slither
Review by Thomas Huff

With the special-effects in horror films reaching their pinnacle years ago, we’ve gotten adept to scary images on the screen, and for the most part – they really just aren’t that scary anymore. In fact, a lot of the time you’ll find movie-goers chuckling at a filmmaker’s feeble attempt to shock them. This might be why, in the past few years, horror-comedies, such as 2004’s Shaun of the Dead, have made a come back, as some filmmaker’s are heeding the old maxim, “They’re laughing at you, not with you.” The maker’s of Slither try to capitalize on combining the fun of a cliché-filled B-Movie with the coolness of a special-effects flick with a decent-sized budget, as alien slugs invade a small rural town populated with the usual hillbilly stereotypes.

The premise of this movie pretty much selects its audience all by itself. There are no misnomers about this film. It is exactly what it claims to be; if you think you’d be interested in a movie about an alien-slug invasion, then you’ve come to the right place, and you probably won’t be disappointed.

Writer/Director James Gunn, who also directed the Scooby Doo movie and the 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead, throws in nods to countless classic (and some not-so-classic) horror flicks: Night of the Living Dead, The Blob, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Critters, Tremors, any movie that’s title starts with “Earth vs.”… Part of the fun of a movie like this is trying to figure out where you’ve seen ‘that’ before.

In front of the camera, Nathan Fillion stars as the town sheriff. Fans of TV’s Firefly will attest to his wit and sarcasm making him a perfect match for this type of script. He’s joined by Elizabeth Banks (Spider-man) who plays a modern-day southern bell, Gregg Henry who plays the town’s sleazy mayor (a must for every small-town horror film), and Michael Rooker who plays — well — a man-slug.

Slither gets off to a pretty slow start; for a movie marketed as a horror/comedy there’s not much of either in the first half-hour of the film. The pace, however, does pick up considerably upon the commencement of the invasion. Although this movie probably isn’t for everyone, fans of the horror genre should get a kick out of it.

Grade: B- (but an A+ if you can find it playing at a drive-in)
Potential: Realized

Notes: There’s a kicker after the end-credits of the film.
Also recommended Shaun of the Dead (2004), The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra (2001), Gremlins (1984).

Slither stars Nathan Fillion, Elizabeth Banks, Michael Rooker, is directed by James Gunn, and opens March 31^st. It is rated R, for strong horror violence and gore, and language.