Ahoy, squirts! Quint here... I've recently been out of commission thanks to the double whammy of my internet going down followed by my Powerbook deciding it didn't want to boot up anymore. The Mac should be completely fixed tomorrow, but I did get the internet up today and have been playing catch-up on a crappy cheapo Dell computer I'm borrowing from my brother. I saw this review come in and thought you folks might want to hear about this flick...
Now... the below reviewer compares this film, from James Gunn, called SLITHER to one of all time personal favorite films: NIGHT OF THE CREEPS. That film is genius, a masterpiece of '80s horror/comedy that preceeded the equally, but differently brilliant MONSTER SQUAD from Fred Dekker. So, comparing this film to NIGHT OF THE CREEPS might not mean much to most people, but to me thems is strong words. The plot seems to liberally "borrow" from the story of NIGHT OF THE CREEPS as well... will that be for good or ill?
I know there will be a SLITHER panel at Comic-Con this year and I'll be there... So, to paraphrase Tom Atkins, I want James Gunn to thrill me. Here's the review from the test screening! It's fairly spoiler-free and doesn't go into much detail at all, but the enthusiasm for the film can be felt through and through. Enjoy!
Hi AICN.
I just got back from a screening of “Slither” and felt compelled to tell you all about it.
I am a horror fan through and through. My introduction came at the age of 13 when one summer whilst hanging out at my dad’s place of business, a man with a suitcase came to call and I rented a dodgy copy of a copy of “The Evil Dead” his suitcase was full of classic horror fare like “Basket Case”, “Friday the 13th”, “Halloween”, “Dawn of the Dead”, “The Beyond, “The Hills Have Eyes”, as well as “Lemon Popsicle” and “Porky’s” but my interest in those came a year or so later. Needless to say I was hooked. I’m in my 30’s now and I still pine for those glory days when I first discovered and first experienced all these classics.
I’m a hardened horror fan now and it takes a lot to impress me.
This brings me to “Slither”. It is directed by James Gunn – Director of Tromeo and Juliet and writer of Scooby Doo 1 and 2 and the recent and worthy Dawn of the Dead remake (maybe if it was named something else purists wouldn’t get their knickers in a twist but perhaps less people would have seen it). Mr Gunn attended the screening and before the movie started he explained to the audience that it was almost finished apart from some of the music, sound effects, color treatment and all of the CG effects. During the film we would hear James shout from the back of the theatre “AND THOUSANDS OF WORMS COME SPILLING OUT” and “HIS ARM STRETCHES ALL THE WAY ROUND HER” It was pretty funny.
“Slither” stars Nathan Fillion (Capt. Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds from Firefly) as police Chief Bill Pardy. Michael Rooker (Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer) as Grant Grant (not a typo), Gregg Henry (Great character actor who plays the resident bad guy in almost every 80’s and 90’s crime movie you’ve ever seen) as the Mayor. His character is gonna crack you up! Everyone else in the film is excellent. Of particular note is the receptionist at the police station and a silent cameo from Troma-head Lloyd Kaufman.
This film has all the makings of being a cult classic! It is so reminiscent of old school 80’s horror/comedies (or “Horromedys” as they might say in “The Biz”). If you like “Brain Damage”, “Night of the Creeps” and “Society” with the same high caliber mix of gore and humor as the original “Return of the Living Dead”, then this is the film for you. If you like The Wedding Date, The Wedding Planner or long walks in the park then………not so much!
The story is not really anything new but it is given some truly original spins and ideas. It’s basically a killer alien slug brain burrowing zombie gore movie with great acting, high production values (compared to most in the genre) and some classic one liners. I can already hear the cheers of delight on the horror festival circuit.
The make-up is superb. It reminded me of the effects by Screaming Mad George in Brian Yuzna’s “Society” in places. One character has to be seen to be believed, think human bloater fish at full bloat!!
At the end of the movie we all filled out a questionnaire and one of the questions was “describe the movie in one word”. I wrote “SLIMY”. I actually wrote “SLIMEY” but I just spell checked it. I could go into more detail about the plot but do you really want me to spoil the surprises? This is a really fun movie, go check it out.
Thanks AICN for keeping me informed on all things cool.
Sluggy Sluggerson
