Slither (2006)

Movie Info

Just love me!!!

When an asteroid crashes on Earth an evil is released on the small town of Wheelsy, South Carolina.  The asteroid contains an organism which first infects a man named Grant Grant (Michael Rooker) and creates spawns in a woman named Brenda (Brenda James) as Grant begins terrorizing the area searching for food.  Grant’s wife Starla (Elizabeth Banks) and local sheriff Bill Pardy (Nathan Fillion) must hunt down Grant…but the hatching of Brenda releases slugs all over the area.  Each slug contains the mind of the alien, and the alien’s goal is to consume the Earth by taking over the population.

I want more!!!

Written and directed by James Gunn, Slither is a horror sci-fi comedy along the lines of The Blob and Night of the Creeps.  The movie was relatively well received by critics but did not fare well in the box-office.

I didn’t see Slither in the theater, but not many did.  Despite this, the movie did well on DVD and video rentals.  As a result, the film has gained a mild following since its release, and I think it is too bad that the film didn’t do better since it is rather fun.

Pictures that can be misconstrued if taken out of context…

Slither combines elements of a ton of classic horror-sci-fi films.  The slug creatures resemble the slugs from Night of the Creeps and scenes in the bathtub are reminiscent of A Nightmare on Elm Street and Cronenberg’s Shivers.  The basic plot set-up reminds me of The Blob (old and new) and Grant’s monster resembles The Thing and the monster of From Beyond.  All these elements are infused with an element of humor which some might find a bit too much.

Nathan Fillion has made a career of being the wise-cracking authority figure type.  It feels like he has a bit of a James Garner thing going for him in his acting style and with this type of script, that works well.  Rooker’s character is interesting in that you expect him to be a completely bad guy, but he changes his mind about cheating on his wife.  Banks is a good “good girl” but Gregg Henry and Tania Saulnier both feel like undeveloped stock characters.  James Gunn’s wife at the time Jenna Fischer has a small role as the sheriff secretary.

Give me some sugar!!!

The movie also does look pretty good.  I like the design on the Grant monster (especially early when it is almost a giant slug).  The slugs themselves look a bit digital, but once they begin infecting people (and zombiefying them), the slugs disappear.  The giant swollen Brenda also a fun creation…too bad she exploded so quickly.

Slither was missed by a lot of people but if you get a chance you should seek it out.  It is a fun, dark comedy with a few gross-out scenes.  If you are looking for a bit of a different type of horror film Slither might be just what you are looking for (and make you want to seek out some of the movies that inspired it).