Slither
Director: James Gunn (Tromeo & Juliet)
Writers: James Gunn (Dawn of the Dead, Scooby-Doo 1 & 2)
Producers: Paul Brooks, Eric Newman
Starring: Nathan Fillion, Elizabeth Banks, Michael Rooker, Gregg Henry, Tania Saulnier
MPAA Rating: R
Running time: 95 min
read my spoiler disclaimer

     This will be one of the easiest and shortest reviews I've ever written. Those that are going to this movie know what they're going to see and are probably going to love it. Mainstream movie patrons will argue that the film is campy, stupid and above all, not scary. And they'd be right. Which in the case of "Slither," is exactly what the film makers intended.

      "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" meets "Night of the Living Dead" meets "Evolution." That's it, if you've seen or know anything about those films, you know what "Slither" is all about. The problem is, Slither isn't as good as any of the aforementioned films. It just takes the basic premise of each of those and shoves it straight up your ass.

      Nothing special about any of the actors. Mostly no-names. You know Rooker when you see him, and Banks is a familiar face. If you're a Serenity/Firefly fan you know who Nathan Fillion is. Who, by the way, is a great protagonist; funny, charming and always has the answer...even if he thinks he doesn't. Everybody else? Zombie food. Fillion was the only character I really cared about or even liked. Aside from the foul mouthed, whiny mayor of the samll town.

      It's a gross out movie with jokes. Some of the jokes may appear to be unintentionally funny, but I think these particular film makers knew what they were doing. You may find yourself laughing at times that you think you're not supposed to be laughing, but you'd be wrong.

      It's a campy, yet dressed up, B-movie. Alien slugs take over people's brains on earth and the people become zombies; infecting other good townsfolk in their path. Several gross-out tactics are used along the way: from slimy "Jabba the Hutt-esque" characters to thousands of creepy crawly leaches attacking a girl in a bath tub. Zombies munching on dead dogs and people puking blood on one another. It's so zany that it works.

      The only problem I had with it, was the pacing. It took way too long for the good stuff to start happening. And with a 90 minutes movie, we just don't have the time for exposition; just get on with the blood-letting...please! I got my wish though. Once this thing starts, it races on and on until the end; so hang on.

      If you're into this stuff you'll have a good time. You know who you are. As a mainstream movie critic, I would of course give this movie a thumbs down. But knowing what I was getting into and the point of the film, I have to give it a thumbs up. There's nothing new here, but it's so over the top and when the jokes are enough to make me laugh out loud many times, it's worth high praise. It's just silly, campy, good fun. Cover your eyes if you need to, and make sure there are screens on your windows after seeing this one.



Links:
IMDb - full cast a crew
Official site