Slither (2006)

Everybody’s got to start somewhere, and before James Gunn gained fame writing and directing Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, he kicked off his directing career with Slither. The sci-fi/horror movie, also written by Gunn, stars Nathan Fillion (Serenity, Castle) and Elizabeth Banks (Hunger Games), including a sizable role for Michael Rooker (Guardians of the Galaxy).

Summary
After an alien lands on earth with sinister intent, local sheriff Bill Pardy (Fillion) and his team must survive long enough to prevent the extra-terrestrial from destroying their town, and everyone in it.

A Positive
It would be very easy for Slither to become nothing but gore and violence, or to be filled with poorly fleshed out characters and an incoherent plot, but I felt that Gunn was able to balance everything quite well. While it includes some suspenseful moments and is loaded with disgusting imagery, the tone is actually more lighthearted than one might expect. While humor is scattered throughout, it is mixed well with the rest of the script and brings some extra life to the screen without turning it into a bad comedy.

An Unfortunate Negative
While some interesting lore was created for the alien in the way it functions, where it comes from, and what its plans are, much of it just does not seem physically possible. While that was a bit of a distraction, I got past it pretty easily. The movie knows what it is and doesn’t expect you to take it too seriously.

Conclusion (aka Too Long, Didn’t Read)
I found Slither to be quite enjoyable as a fun, lightly-toned horror movie that includes a smattering of humor, and lot of gory violence.

Score – 7.5/10

Recommendation – The movie was rated R for Strong Horror Violence and Gore, and Language by the MPAA and I agree that there is a lot of bloody, disgusting imagery not suitable for children or the queasy. I would recommend it if you can handle some language and a very bloody, gory, violent horror movie

 

Fun Facts

James Gunn’s directorial debut

Released in March of 2006 against Ice Age: The Meltdown – http://www.boxofficemojo.com/schedule/?view=bydate&release=theatrical&date=2006-03-31&p=.htm

$15 million budget/$3.88million opening/7.8 Million total domestic gross – http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=slither.htm