We've seen a slew of horrific gore movies hitting the screens lately, from Saw to Hostel, some hits, some misses, some remakes, brought to us by a new age group of horror directors like Darren Lynn Bousman, Eli Roth and Alexandre Aja. Slither, written and directed by James Gunn, continues the blood fad with them slimy creatures combined with zombies who walk the earth.
Don't bother figuring out the whys and the hows, and forget about the plot, which has holes punched right through by the introductory meteorite. Just sit back and enjoy whatever thrills and spills this movie throws at you. It's great mindless fun as you see slimy red worms forcing their way into their prey's (read: humans) mouths, in order to take over control, kinda like Invasion of Body Snatchers. During this state, the humans will walk, talk, act like generic zombies, minus the strength, but the lust for human MEAT still remains. Oh, did I mention it was a bit phallic looking, the way the worms force their entry into the human mouth? M18 it screams.
As always, with horror movies like these, the chicks score in the looks department, and little else. Serenity/Firefly's Captain Mal lends some die-hard action chops as Bill, cop extraordinaire, probably picking up lessons from John McClane in staying alive despite unsurmountable odds. Again there are plenty of throwaway characters, as they serve only the sole purpose of increasing the bodycounts.
The main villain in the movie is this meteorite carrying some space alien which is making its rounds cannibalizing planet inhabitants. So Earth is next on the radar, and it found its host in unsuspecting Grant (Michael Rooker), whose young wife Starla (Elizabeth Banks, Spiderman's Betty Brant) is lusted after by Bill. Starla turns out to be one faithful spouse, and it is exactly those matrimonial vows that Grant takes a mickey of when things go horribly wrong. Characterization take a backseat here, as the target audience is only interested in who's gonna be the next victim of a spectacular death sequence. It took a while for the set up though, so be prepared to be a little bored by the first act.
The special effects team did a tremendous job in bringing the gooey slithery slimeball worms to life, dressing up folks as humongous squids, and empowering the zombies with green icky spit. Then again, dumb newbie zombies don't know how to fully harness their powers. There are many of the usual splice-and-dice scenes with innards pouring out, but somehow they still provided me with the usual kicks. Same goes for the close quarter combats, and those up close gunfire.
All in all, it's quite enjoyable, from a warped point of view. It's part Aliens, part Living Dead, part Anaconda, part everything that moves on its belly. Stay tuned until after the ending credits for one forgettable sequence.
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