Review of Slither (2006) by Ryan M — 26 Aug 2011

7.6/10.

Give me intentionally corny genre homages over the usual Hollywood bull-crap any day. Most of the time, these sorts of movies work; and for good reason. Some filmmakers can go beyond the ambitions of a fanboy and really make a solid movie. James Gunn, who penned 2004's "Dawn of the Dead" remake, has officially gone on to direct his own movie with "Slither"; which is indeed a homage to the B-movie side of the horror genre, and at that, I think it's a pretty good one.

What this movie does that so many homages like it fail to do is keep it simple. We've all seen movies like this one, and while most entries try to do something new (and fail miserably), here's a movie that sticks to the genre rules, and therefore, succeeds. It has charms of its own; one of them being its director, Gunn, who clearly put a lot of effort into the film. It looks nice and cheesy - just the way I would have wanted it. I had fun with it, and it's clearly one of the best horror films of its year.

In an obvious but loving nod to "The Blob", a meteor falls to earth, but this time, it contains a parasite-like needle that infects a man named Grant (Michael Rooker), who lives in a small town called Woodsville. The parasite kills Grant, but takes over his body and mind; thus creating a zombie out of him. However, writer-director Gunn doesn't let the idea start there; he takes a detour down "Night of the Creeps" lane. By that, I mean that he adds small little parasite slugs into the story, as well as tentacles that come out of Grant's chest and infect anyone he can corner.

Meanwhile, in Woodsville, the local authorities, including town sheriff Bill (Nathan Fillion) try to cope with the situation. The town mayor (Gregg Henry), a school-teacher and the wife of Grant (Elizabeth Banks), and many other locals join in on the case; and hunt Grant down as he begins to hideously deform day-by-day. There's a great scene, taking place in the night, which takes up a good deal of the film; that brings zombies into the mix. As it turns out, the little slug parasites can infect people and turn them into the walking dead!

I appreciated all the movie references and B-movie clichés, and Gunn seemed to know what kind of movie he was making. There's plenty of gore, presented in comedic fashion, for those who can appreciate that kind of thing. I liked the sense of humor that the film had, and it's pretty much consistently funny (in a cheesy sort of way, but it's all intentional, don't worry). It's not for everyone, but fans of the genre; they will like this.

Naturally, one of my favorite aspects of the film was Grant himself. I love Michael Rooker (I'm a big fan of the compelling masterpiece that is "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer"), and it's nice to see him finding good work once again within this genre. However, when he transforms into the slimy slug being, he's one disgusting son-of-a-bitch. It just keeps getting worse, his infections and stuff, as the film goes on; eventually, he's just one big orgy of blood, meat, and flesh. He's absorbing humans, who become part of his body. This was a nice addition to the film, as it hits just the right combined note of funny and revolting, but what's a horror comedy without its share of shock value?

There's an appeal to "Slither", and it is affectionately made enough for me to recommend it. I laughed a lot, and so will you, depending on how much you can laugh at, and how far your own sense of humor will go. Some people will probably go into this thinking it's a straight-up horror movie, thus they expect to be scared, and they come out dumbfounded that they weren't. I've already said it (kind of) many times, and I'll say it again; this is COMEDY-HORROR film. That means that it combines the standard genre expectations with a sense of humor, and it's a winner. I enjoyed myself, I admired Gunn's craft, and I hope he goes on and makes plenty of other fun, solid films in the near future. On the bright side, and oh, there are many when it comes to "Slither"; here's another movie I can plan for some sort of a "guy's movie night". I can imagine getting drunk to this, but in a non-insulting and all-around good way. Alcohol is not required, but with it, you can still have fun; and that, my friends, is a goddamn blessing.