An important thing for me in a horror movie is the presence of humor, a balance and compliment to the gore and scariness. The worst thing the horror genre can do is to take itself too seriously. Yet the main audience for horror, douchey teens, isn't looking for that. They want whatever has one or two of the latest teen stars, probably from High School Musical or Gossip Girl, its usually a slasher film, nothing supernatural, and will probably be rated PG-13. That is the kind of horror movie that makes money these days.* And I don't understand why, when people like James Gunn are putting out quality films like Slither.
A brief disclaimer, this is more a "here are things that are great about this" than an actual review.
Slither is a love letter to the films of John Carpenter, Fred Dekker, and most of the brand of horror that came out in the late 70's into the 80's. The mayor is named Jack MacReady after Kurt Russell's character in The Thing. The worms of extraterrestrial origin that "slither" into peoples bodies turning them into zombies of sorts is reminiscent of Dekker's Night of the Creeps, and the humor in the film has its inspiration in both these directors as well as Lloyd Kaufman, founder of Troma.
The plot is this, a meteor crashes to earth, unleashing some small gelatinous creature, which stings local pervy old guy, Grant Grant. He is then taken over by the creature and its need to procreate. He kidnaps a young woman, feeds her raw meat and she explodes sending out little worm things that take over people with the alien consciousness resulting in them becoming hive mind zombie type creatures. Eventually, it comes down to police chief Bill Pardy; Starla Grant, Grant Grant's wife and Pardy's unrequited love; and a hot teenage girl; to stop Grant/alien monster from taking over the world.
Nathan Fillion of Firefly and Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place fame, plays police chief Bill Pardy. Like his role as Captain Mal Reynolds on Firefly, Fillion, as Pardy, is someone who's a good mixture of badass and goofball. Much like Harrison Ford when he's on his game. Michael Rooker, as Grant Grant, brings a good mix of the funny and the creepy as well. Never again will I hear someone say "meat" without thinking of him saying "MEAT." And Gregg Henry as the mayor hilariously curses his whole way through the movie. He says "Fuck" enough times to earn the R rating without any of the guts.
Also great is the song "Baby I Love You" by the Yayhoos which plays over the credits. Download it right away, it's awesome.
Now, while I do believe Slither to be worth 5 out of 5 hive mind zombie creatures, I will subtract half a zombie creature for its lack of nudity. If you're getting an R rating anyway, you might as well throw in some sweet boobs.**
*I know Saw has been successful, but I haven't bothered to see any of those films, thus it is irrelevant to me.
** Pronounced "sweet bewbs" as per the 6th graders on South Park
4 1/2 out of 5 hive mind zombie creatures
1 comment:
I downloaded the song - it was worth it - but not something I'd listen to all the time...maybe when it was time for some 'doin' it'
Let's not forget how disgusting that movie was too - in the best possible way obviously.
Lastly, your mention of John Carpenter's The Thing has reminded me how freaking AWESOME that movie is. Review it if you have it - Kurt Russel at his non-Snake Pliskin best.
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