DVD Review: Slither (2006)

(aka Night of the Creeps 2.)
Release Date: March 31st, 2006.
Country: USA.
Rating: R.
Written by: James Gunn.
Directed by: James Gunn.
Starring: Nathan Fillion, Elizabeth Banks, Michael Rooker, Gregg Henry, and Tania Saulnier.

You know, with all of the zombie movies that we've been watching lately, it's become apparent that when done right, the zombie comedies tend to be the best of the bunch. We know: Slither isn't exactly a true zombie movie, but it does involve a viral outbreak which turns people into zombie-like monsters, so it counts.

Either way, Slither is a clever little movie that bears more than a passing resemblance to another "alien slugs turn everyone into zombies" movie, Night of the Creeps. Both movies are highly entertaining, but there's just something about Slither that excites us more. It's probably that Slither is more grandiose and crazy in its delivery, and goes to crazier places than does Night of the Creeps, but it could just as easily be the presence of Elizabeth Banks that makes us love it so much. It's complicated.

A meteorite crashes into the woods near a small South Carolina town, bringing with it a gelatinous parasite that has a vagina on its back. When a horny Grant Grant's wife refuses to put out, he heads to a bar where he picks up a local strumpet and lures her into the woods, presumably to get laid. His romantic plans go awry however, when they happen upon the parasite and it shoots a barb into his chest, thus taking over his consciousness.

BACKGINA.

With his transformation into a mutant octopus thing well underway, Grant begins killing small animals around town, because he's hungry. When his wife begins to question his rapidly deteriorating appearance, Grant runs off and jams his overpositors into the same strumpet's tummy, and injects her with his slug seed. Then he kidnaps her and starts her on the same diet of dead animals and fresh meat that he's been on. She's going to be a mother, after all, so she needs her nourishment.

WAS IT RAPE?

It's not long before the whole town is infected by Grant's slug babies, and they turn into zombie-like extensions of him, forcing the Sheriff and his men to hunt him down and stop him. Will the Sheriff stop Grant from taking over the world? Will the Sheriff take the opportunity to movie in on Grant's hot wife, now that hes a mongoloidal monster? Is there any Dr. Pibb in the cooler? Far be it from us to spoil anything for you here, but suffice it to say that there is no Dr. Pibb in the cooler, and somebody is not going to be happy about it.

SHE DOESN'T CARE THOUGH. SHE PREFERS FRESCA.

As Horror Comedies go, this movie is top-notch. Slither hearkens back to the time of 50's B-Movies, where cheesy monsters besieged Anytown, USA and wreaked havoc on its citizens, and it does so with a healthy amount of affection, and a great deal of levity. There are plenty of nods to other Horror properties throughout the movie, like The Thing (1982), Stephen King's The Stand, The Brood (and a few other Cronenberg flicks), The Blob, Predator, Troma, Frank Henenlotter, to name a few. It's really great to see a Horror movie like this made by someone who obviously loves Horror movies.

Slither is also a gory beast of a movie which boasts some fantastic practical FX work. 

Slither is also blessed with a solid cast of actors that have great comedic chops. Nathan Fillion is a vastly underrated actor by just about everyone outside of Geek circles, and his brand of sarcastic humor is a perfect fit in this one. As creepy and imposing as Michael Rooker can be, he's equally as funny, and his performance as Grant Grant in this one shows just how dynamic his range is. Some of the funniest bits in Slither belong to Gregg Henry, another underrated character guy who is awesome in everything he stars in.

And let's not forget about Elizabeth Banks. She's a super QT, she's funny, and she's no stranger to genre work. It's easy to see why she seems to be in everything lately.

SHE'S GOT THAT PREGNANT 'GLOW' ABOUT HER, DOESN'T SHE? 

The only scene in the movie that was even remotely scary was the part where Tania Saulnier's home is invaded by the slugs, and that sucks. It's not a big complaint, as the movie was definitely played more for laughs than it was Horror, but that whole sequence worked so well, and was so intense, that we just wish there had been a few more like it.

THEY'RE ITCHY.

Poor kitty!

NO, WHISKERS, THAT'S NOT A CAT TREAT!

There's no shortage of gore and disgusting imagery in Slither. Whether it's slugs crawling into people's mouths, "zombies" eating people, people getting split in half, thousands of slugs exploding from a person's bloated body, or people getting their faces shot off, this movie is all sorts of wet and red.

THE PRACTICAL FX IN THIS MOVIE WERE RIDICULOUSLY GOOD.

We get a very quick flash of Tania Saulnier's goods during a bath scene, but aside from that, this movie is pretty tame in the sexy department.

STAND UP, WOMAN!

The real bright spot of this movie is its dialogue, which was sharp and laugh-out-loud funny. Clark Gregg's rant about Dr. Pibb was probably the best verbal bit of the movie, but both he and Nathan Fillion had plenty of great lines throughout.

THIS GUY lol

James Gunn is a mad genius. Also, Nathan Fillion and Michael Rooker should be bigger stars; God, they're so good.

WORST BABYSITTER EVER.

We've always been baffled at how poorly Slither was received by audiences; not only did it bomb at the Box Office, but to this day there's been no U.S. Blu-ray release, and it remains for many people a largely unknown movie. That's a real shame, because Slither is probably one of the wittiest and most entertaining Horror Comedies that we've ever seen.

It's no surprise to us that Guardians of the Galaxy was one of 2014's biggest hits, because James Gunn knows how to make an entertaining movie. The proof is right here.

A

Slither is available now on DVD and VOD.

These lovely ladies make the world of Slither a far prettier place to visit.