I watched Slither as my Halloween movie for 2006 and - WOW - it's a great choice for anybody who loves alien invasion movies and gory zombie flicks. The movie starts out with the husband (Michael Rooker) of a popular schoolteacher (Elizabeth Banks) getting "invaded" (read here - his body is taken over) by the alien which starts out looking like a crawling brain. He soon acts weird (of course... he's been taken over!) by eating raw meat and killing neighborhood dogs and cats for more, shall we say, nourishment. He then impregnates a woman (alien style that is, NOT human)then tries to mutailate his wife. When the town sheriff (Nathan Fillion)a man who's always had feelings for her comes to the rescue the real trouble explodes... literally as our victim carrying the alien spawn burst forth letting them loose (they look like slugs). When they enter a person - abracadabra! instant transformation into flesh eating zombie/alien invader - and now it's up to the sheriff, the wife, and a teenage girl (Tania Saulnier) who almost gets taken over (she manages to escape) to save the day and stop the invading flesh eaters. The effects here are great. Those slug things will gross you out and the "birth" scene with the woman (Brenda James) as big as a house (really) with blood pouring out of her mouth crying out "The pain, the pain! before exploding will turn your stomach. Not for the squeamish I'll say that! James Gunn (who wrote Scooby Doo, wrote and produced Scooby Doo 2 - Monsters Unleashed, and wrote the Dawn of the Dead remake)shows that he truly enjoys telling a good horror yarn, along with a good dollop of comedy thrown in. He wrote and directed Slither and this man shows impressive talent. The acting is all good here, especially Gregg Henry as the obnoxious, foulmouthed mayor of the small town with a cowardly streak. Gunn has a bit part at the beginning as a nerdy looking co-worker of Banks who tries to hit-up on her, Gunn's wife Jessica Fischer plays the police dispatcher, and look out to see Gunn's old boss, Troma Pictures legend Lloyd Kaufman (from Gunn's days working for Troma Pictures) as an arrested drunk sitting in the police station. (Gunn appeared in Kaufman's entertaining DVD intitled Make Your Own Damn Movie... you need to check this one out) In all zombie fans will be tickeled pink (or blood red) with this one while fans of evil alien invasion flicks will be in hog heaven.
My rating (from excellent to poor) is a GOOD. Way to go James Gunn!
My rating (from excellent to poor) is a GOOD. Way to go James Gunn!