Coventry Review of Slither

Slither (2006)

They don't make 'em like this anymore. Oh wait, ... they DO!

[7/10 · 23 September 2006]

In case you're a loyal fan of horror movies, I'm pretty sure you've already heard (and probably even USED) the cliché saying in this comment's subject line. We sometimes get the impression that the only horror films Hollywood serves us nowadays are uninspired slashers and colorless remakes, all staring untalented bimbos and washed up hip hop stars that urgently need to boost up their careers by playing a film role. For all these reasons (and many more), James Gunn's "Slither" is an immensely joyful movie to observe, as it's a genuine homage to the cheesy, gooey and especially GORY old-school horror days! Gunn's fluently written script catapults us straight back to the 1980's, with its typical little town setting, witty redneck characters and – above all – make up effects that don't rely on advanced computer techniques. The story opens when an evil alien monster crash-lands his "eggshell" in the woods and literally invades the body of local town figure Grant Grant (Michael Rooker). Grant then impregnates a slutty townsgirl and she "gives birth" to thousands of eerie slugs that go on infecting the rest of the villagers. Grant's loving wife Starla teams up with the Sheriff, who's also her biggest admirer, to battle the slugs and prevent total elimination of the hunting town's population. Judging by James Gunn's age and background, he grew up during one of the golden eras of horror and this is clearly noticeable by the amount of tributes and references he put into his own film! Little aspects and gimmicky ideas from "Basket Case" over "The Blob" onto "Tremors" all feature in "Slither" and yet never at one point the film becomes overly hectic or stupid. It doesn't contain much tension or originality, but that largely gets compensated by the imaginative splatter. Grant gradually turns into a large-sized pile of slimy smut (similar to Brian Yuzna's "Society") that sucks innocent villagers into his stomach...or something like that. Other people get their head blown to pieces by a shotgun, or entirely eaten by the slugs and one poor sucker is even cut in half by Grant's tentacles. The dialogues are often hilarious, particularly the mayor is quite a character, and the cast members all seem very happy to be a part of this production.