‘Slither’ fulfills tradition of horror movies; Film contains ‘jump’ moments, along with intelligence, wit
Telegraph – Herald (Dubuque) April 7, 2006 | JEFF HUETMANN All of us have fond youthful memories of horror movies that might not have been high art, but satisfied us in a way that charmed and excited. in our site horror movies 2010
It is in this tradition that “Slither” delivers its entertaining take on icky, sticky, gooey filmmaking. Its intelligence, humor and legitimate sense of suspense harmonize nicely to produce a bubblegum horror flick that exceeds expectations in very satisfying ways.
“Slither” is written and directed by Troma studios alumnus James Gun. Don’t remember Troma studios? Perhaps you remember “The Toxic Avenger?” How about “Sgt. Kabukiman?” “Class of Nuke ‘em High?” If those franchises don’t ring a bell with you, congratulations, your brain operates within safe and acceptable social parameters. If the work of Troma studios is familiar to you, “Slither” pays dutiful homage to the hyper-underground sci-fi stylings from Troma films of old.
The film sets itself to motion in the small bucolic town of Wheelsy, where a cast of archetypal characters quickly handles the film’s exposition and establishes their basic relationships.
It is here that small-town big-shot Grant Grant (Michael Rooker) has an unfortunate experience with an alien life form that does some emotionally and anatomically unpleasant things to him.
At this point, moviegoers will begin to lament the purchase of the overpriced popcorn that will not be eaten any time soon.
The alien infection transforms Grant and engorges an obsession with his young and beautiful wife Starla (Elizabeth Banks).
Grant and his primal nature become the central platform for this alien parasite to start infesting the world through a completely disgusting process involving love, rancid meat and a human host that produces an army of giant slugs that search out humans to occupy and control.
Joss Wheden crony, Nathan Fillion, mans the role of local sheriff Bill Pardy. Fillion flirts with permanent typecasting here by reprising his Mark Twain meets action hero shtick. It’s a shtick that brought him limited fame in the sci-fi TV phenomenon “Firefly” and its subsequent feature film spin-off, “Serenity.” It’s difficult to fault Fillion in any real way here as he turns a very entertaining performance by carrying a sizable amount of the film’s wit. here horror movies 2010
As “Slither” runs screaming into its action-packed story arc, Banks and Fillion band together with the local, misfit small-town law enforcement officials and the boorish mayor to stop this local evil from going global. The film indeed works toward a somewhat predictable final resolution but does so in an undeniably entertaining fashion.
“Slither” provides more than its share of “man, I hope nobody saw me jump like that” moments and intersperses a genuine wit and intelligence throughout the proceedings.
The gross-out moments are thankfully of the “eeewwww, yuk” variety, as opposed to the recent trend of torturous, bloody, cruelty. If you are even a passive fan of the horror genre you will probably like this film’s attitude and lack of pretension.
At its worst “Slither” is a clunky, rubber mask, sci-fi farce with some off-key story telling. At its best, it’s a funny, suspenseful, non-committal, visceral experience.
Huettman spends his days tinkering with and playing on his beloved dirt bike. He spends his evenings fending off his children who try to keep him from obsessing over his collection of old Italian horror movies.
JEFF HUETMANN
