Slither

Directed by: James Gunn
Starring: Nathan Fillion, Elizabeth Banks, Michael Rooker, Jenna Fischer
Running Time: 1h 35min

Nothing is more fun than settling down with a couple of friends to watch a B horror flick, filled with enough laughs, both intentional and unintentional, along with just enough plot and scariness that you remain involved. Slither does this to perfection, resurrecting a lost art that was beginning to die in a sea of horror films that take themselves too seriously, while seriously sucking up the screen.

Slither announces its awfulness right off the bat, when Rooker starts running around looking like a grotesque elephant man mixed with The Fly; yet when confronted about his appearance he casually says, "It's just a bee sting." Instant credibility and appreciation from this reviewer! The preposterous plot is played with full on dedication and seriousness by the leads, which adds to the pleasure of watching this one. There's no attempt to cleverly wink at the audience; just a knowledge that if they are watching this, they know just as well as the filmmakers that it is everything it is supposed to be.

The pleasant surprise of Slither wasn't the silly plot about an alien possessing a man so that he could procreate. Instead, it was a pleasant surprise that the action and suspense were good enough to warrant genuine fear and fright amongst the laughs. There is a bathtub scene, wisely used for the film's poster, that makes taking a bath akin to Psycho's effect on taking a shower. Even though it seems out of place in the film, it works along with the rest of it, and gives the viewer more than they expect from such a low budget film.

Slither is a definite renter and has me anxiously awaiting a sequel. This is to slug films what Chuckie is to possessed doll movies. A total guilty pleasure and sure to please B movie lovers.

Grade: B-