REVIEW: Slither
Aliens, zombies and worms, oh my!
An alien being crash lands on Earth. A man is attacked by a creature that parasitically begins to transform him into something inhuman. Slimy red slugs begin crawling everywhere, with one goal: to leap into your mouth and thereby infect you.
And all of this may have something to do with sex.
That’s the premise behind James Gunn’s latest horror-comedy Slither, which stars Nathan Fillion and Michael Rooker. The plot follows a married couple as the potentially unfaithful husband (Rooker) is body snatched by a creature from another world intent on infecting mankind. It isn’t long before Sheriff Pardy (Fillion) from the small town of Wheelsy is in over his head. What follows is bloody, funny, and downright entertaining.
In the vein of The Evil Dead and Eight Legged Freaks, the film pays homage to horror films of old while also poking fun at the genre itself. The acting has that slight overdramatic feel to it. The blood flies everywhere. The plot twists are shallow and unbelievable. But these are what make the film shine!
Sure, it’s not perfect. The beginning is slow and the ending is painfully anti-climactic. But once Slither gets moving, it doesn’t stop until it’s touched on every major horror element the classics are made of. Zombies? Animal attacks? Gratuitous nudity? It’s all here, in one 96-minute package, ready for your viewing pleasure.
Gunn has written a fantastic script, complete with witty dialogue and the perfect campy mood. But even more impressive is his directing. Besides the verbal swordplay, there are also plenty of visual gags. The interesting thing is that most of these physical jokes, though innocent on the surface, hint at a larger – dare I say it – point layers down.
Perhaps it’s the exaggerated monologues about the sanctity of marriage. Or the tongue-in-cheek shots of penetrating tubes and phallic-shaped slugs. Or maybe I’m just a pervert. But it seems clear that, for the intellectual viewer, Gunn’s script might actually be more intelligent than it first appears, working entirely as a metaphor for infidelity and the corruption of marriage.
If you’re looking for escapist entertainment at its near finest, Slither is worth checking out. It’s also recommended for people who appreciate a little thought behind the all the slime and guts.
The big-budget B-movie is back, at least for now. And if this film is any indication, hopefully they’re here to stay. It’s far from perfect, but in the end, Slither is just plain fun.
Rating: 7/10 stars
An alien being crash lands on Earth. A man is attacked by a creature that parasitically begins to transform him into something inhuman. Slimy red slugs begin crawling everywhere, with one goal: to leap into your mouth and thereby infect you.
And all of this may have something to do with sex.
That’s the premise behind James Gunn’s latest horror-comedy Slither, which stars Nathan Fillion and Michael Rooker. The plot follows a married couple as the potentially unfaithful husband (Rooker) is body snatched by a creature from another world intent on infecting mankind. It isn’t long before Sheriff Pardy (Fillion) from the small town of Wheelsy is in over his head. What follows is bloody, funny, and downright entertaining.
In the vein of The Evil Dead and Eight Legged Freaks, the film pays homage to horror films of old while also poking fun at the genre itself. The acting has that slight overdramatic feel to it. The blood flies everywhere. The plot twists are shallow and unbelievable. But these are what make the film shine!
Sure, it’s not perfect. The beginning is slow and the ending is painfully anti-climactic. But once Slither gets moving, it doesn’t stop until it’s touched on every major horror element the classics are made of. Zombies? Animal attacks? Gratuitous nudity? It’s all here, in one 96-minute package, ready for your viewing pleasure.
Gunn has written a fantastic script, complete with witty dialogue and the perfect campy mood. But even more impressive is his directing. Besides the verbal swordplay, there are also plenty of visual gags. The interesting thing is that most of these physical jokes, though innocent on the surface, hint at a larger – dare I say it – point layers down.
Perhaps it’s the exaggerated monologues about the sanctity of marriage. Or the tongue-in-cheek shots of penetrating tubes and phallic-shaped slugs. Or maybe I’m just a pervert. But it seems clear that, for the intellectual viewer, Gunn’s script might actually be more intelligent than it first appears, working entirely as a metaphor for infidelity and the corruption of marriage.
If you’re looking for escapist entertainment at its near finest, Slither is worth checking out. It’s also recommended for people who appreciate a little thought behind the all the slime and guts.
The big-budget B-movie is back, at least for now. And if this film is any indication, hopefully they’re here to stay. It’s far from perfect, but in the end, Slither is just plain fun.
Rating: 7/10 stars
posted by Andrew Johnson at 11:41 PM
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