I'm struck with the thought that with the proliferation of VCR's and DVD's the cinematic experience has been lost. We complain about people talking in the theater and peoples cell phones going off. But as I was sitting there in the theater watching SLITHER I dreamed of a time when cinema was about the audience, when people laughed at movies, screamed when things were scary, and I long for that time when going to the local theater was a collective experience, and not about total silence and good behavior.
James Gunn's SLITHER is a throwback film. A horror comedy that feels like it was written in 1985 from a screenplay that was written in 1954. One night in a small West Virginia town a meteor falls to ground and an alien life-form is released from it's core. That alien infests a local man, and then through some amazingly gory special effects creates small slug like creatures that infest the local population and turns them into zombies. It's now up to the local sheriff, his childhood sweetheart, a foul-mouthed mayor, and a teenage girl to stop this menace from taking over the rest of the world.
Trust me if you've seen NIGHT OF THE CREEPS, CRITTERS, or GHOULIES you've seen SLITHER. If you like that kind of thing then this is the movie for you. It's short, sweet, and too the point. You won't be gushing about how wonderful it is or anything, but as a diversion the movie works.
The film jumps when it needs to jump. The characters while not very developed are alive enough that you care about them, and while the film need more laughs, it still winks back at you with its tongue firmly in cheek. You leave the movie not very fulfilled but satisfied.
What would have helped the movie was some more humor, a ton more gore, and well just more. The first act just goes on and on, and the finale is really lackluster and breezes by an breakneck speed. I easily could have given this movie fifteen or twenty more minutes to build to something a lot more substantial. But alas it begins and ends without really paying off. What's there works, but with all the potential it had, the final showdown was so fast I felt a little cheated. For once I just wanted a little more.
But if you like this kind of thing, a fast moving silly horror movie with a lot of gore than the film benefits from the cinematic experience. An audience that likes silly horror comedy's and gets the in jokes will make it more fun. The experience is also enhanced by the jokers who throw popcorn, and the teenage girl who screams after every jump scene. Alas that experience is probably few and far between in the modern multiplex but it would certainly help those who go see SLITHER.
James Gunn's SLITHER is a throwback film. A horror comedy that feels like it was written in 1985 from a screenplay that was written in 1954. One night in a small West Virginia town a meteor falls to ground and an alien life-form is released from it's core. That alien infests a local man, and then through some amazingly gory special effects creates small slug like creatures that infest the local population and turns them into zombies. It's now up to the local sheriff, his childhood sweetheart, a foul-mouthed mayor, and a teenage girl to stop this menace from taking over the rest of the world.
Trust me if you've seen NIGHT OF THE CREEPS, CRITTERS, or GHOULIES you've seen SLITHER. If you like that kind of thing then this is the movie for you. It's short, sweet, and too the point. You won't be gushing about how wonderful it is or anything, but as a diversion the movie works.
The film jumps when it needs to jump. The characters while not very developed are alive enough that you care about them, and while the film need more laughs, it still winks back at you with its tongue firmly in cheek. You leave the movie not very fulfilled but satisfied.
What would have helped the movie was some more humor, a ton more gore, and well just more. The first act just goes on and on, and the finale is really lackluster and breezes by an breakneck speed. I easily could have given this movie fifteen or twenty more minutes to build to something a lot more substantial. But alas it begins and ends without really paying off. What's there works, but with all the potential it had, the final showdown was so fast I felt a little cheated. For once I just wanted a little more.
But if you like this kind of thing, a fast moving silly horror movie with a lot of gore than the film benefits from the cinematic experience. An audience that likes silly horror comedy's and gets the in jokes will make it more fun. The experience is also enhanced by the jokers who throw popcorn, and the teenage girl who screams after every jump scene. Alas that experience is probably few and far between in the modern multiplex but it would certainly help those who go see SLITHER.