Slither (2006)

Review by Sean Patterson



"Meat!"
Overbearing, inadequate husband Grant Grant's (Michael Rooker) body is snatched up by an alien that just arrived on a meteorite. Invaded by the parasite, he begins growing disgustingly alien and reproduces using the local slut, unleashing fast slugs on the small town of Wheelsy.
The slugs, when they crawl into a human or animal mouth, zombify the host and make them a remote limb of the new Grant-alien intelligence. This allows Grant to see and hear everything the zombies see. It's not clear, though, what the ultimate goal is, other than zombifying earth and moving on to the next planet.
Elizabeth Banks is Grant's gold-digging wife, Starla. The part is written, like all the female parts in this movie, so stereotypically that it's no surprise Banks doesn't close her mouth the entire movie. She is perpetually in distress just as the female cop is perpetually butch and the rebellious teenager (Tania Saulnier) is perpetually saving or being saved, deus ex machina style. And who better to save Banks again and again than the local sheriff who she's carried a torch for since high school?
Nathan Fillion makes ample use of his "worried and pensive" face as Sheriff Bill Pardy. His hero character is simple and predictable. That's why Fillion deserves much of the credit for making this movie humorous and watchable. A lesser actor, one without such a winning smirk, could have easily tanked the film by taking the part too seriosuly.
The accents in Slither are terrible all around, but Banks' is particularly bad. I can't tell whether she's supposed to be southern or Canadian. Come to think of it, the small town of Wheelsy could be any small town at least 100 miles from any American city. The town is quite possibly the best character in the movie. It's atmosphere is convincingly redneck, invoking the very best of America's unique brand of white trash. It's equal parts rural Pennsylvania and Southern Tennessee.
The directing is competent, as James Gunn shows what he has learned from his Troma days. The movie never gets ahead of itself, slowly and creepily building to a disgusting and explosive climax.
Better than Gunn's directing, though, is the screenplay he's written. The characters are always in the right places and nothing feels forced. The humor shines through and some moments are genuinely hilarious. The only negative here is predictability, which doesn't matter so much since the movie never takes itself seriously.
The special effects are surprisingly good. Although the CGI is dated, it's clear that the effects makeup and puppetry are done by professionals. By the end of the movie, Grant Grant is hideous enough to make Jabba the Hutt horny.
I would now like to dedicate a special paragraph to the music. Gunn has chosen a wonderful selection of country, rock, and pop music to set the mood. The biggest compliment I can give the movie is that it could easily be a radio play.
So, despite its flaws and some poor acting, Slither is solid and fun. It's not the best horror movie you'll ever see, or even see this year. But you will be left with the feeling that your time was well spent and you can cross Slither off of your list of Nathan Fillion movies to see.
6/10