Aliens bent on taking over the world, a rural Southern town, careless people who try to investigate mysterious sounds and objects, zombies, a damsel in distress... Do any of these things sound familiar?
These are some of the basic characteristics of any normal comedic horror film, and the recent release "Slither" is no different. In a film where aliens are taking over small-town America, the only readily apparent difference between "Slither" and other films of this genre is that giant red slugs and a squid man replace more conventional monsters as new alien creatures to fear.
Directed by James Gunn, famed writer of films like 2004's "Dawn of the Dead" and 2002's "Scooby Doo", "Slither" is the story of alien-controlled humans bent on conquering the human race (which is not unlike the mission of the flesh-eating zombies Gunn introduced us to in "Dawn of the Dead"). The film centers on four major characters: Grant and Starla Grant (played by Michael Rooker and Elizabeth Banks), Bill Pardy (Nathan Fillion) and Jack MacReady (Gregg Henry).
Grant ventures out one night after having a fight with his wife Starla, and promptly is possessed by aliens. As a result, he turns into a giant squid that loves to eat raw meat and plans to take over the world. Bill, a local cop who is secretly in love with Starla, comes to her rescue after her husband goes on a killing rampage and slaughters all the animals in the rural community. After witnessing this rampage, the town's mayor, Jack, teams up with policeman Bill and others to find, capture and kill this "squid." As more and more members of the town succumb to alien control, Starla, Bill and Jack, along with a few supporting characters, must find a way to survive.
Like the spoof "Shaun of the Dead" (2004),"Slither" is meant to be both a comedic and horror film simultaneously. And although it is not really all that scary, "Slither" does its job when it comes to being humorous. For example, once Grant becomes an alien-man, the police officers and mayor responsible for his capture constantly refer to him as a "giant squid," even substituting an actual photo of Grant for a picture of a squid on the creature's wanted poster.
"Slither" pokes fun at the average horror film through the exploitation of genre conventions. The aliens-take-over-human-bodies premise has been covered in horror films from 1956's "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" to 1998's "The Faculty."
The small-town setting is also a genre staple, and although the "squid man" might be one of the "Slither"'s more original elements, the slimy slug creatures that actually penetrate the townspeople's brains are highly reminiscent of the title creature in 1958's "The Blob." "Slither" even has the token scary child, as a small child who has also fallen victim to the invading aliens takes on the role of freaky kid that many films like "Hide and Seek" (2005) and "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" (2003) utilize.
The acting in "Slither" is by far one of its best qualities. Elizabeth Banks, who has roles in "Catch Me If You Can" (2002) and the recent "40 Year Old Virgin" (2005), does an excellent job playing Starla. She portrays a smart and sneaky damsel in distress; although her husband is off trying to conquer the world, she is a strong-willed woman who wants to help stop him.
Nathan Fillion, formerly of TV's "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Firefly," 2005's "Serenity," and 2000's "Dracula 2000," expertly creates the wonderful character of Bill Pardy, the comedic hero. However, the best comedic performance has to go to Gregg Henry as Mayor Jack; his crazy, rambling monologues about how weird everything is becoming in Wheelsy echo what every viewer is thinking while they are watching the film.
Finally, Michael Rooker as Grant does a fantastic job of creating a creepy yet cunning villain. Through his hard facial expressions and earnest love for (and pursuit of) Starla, he is able to portray a truly terrifying alien.
Although this film is meant to be funny, the special effects do not lack in quality, and Gunn sticks to his original plan of making a comedic horror film that is equally strong in both genres.
"Slither" is extremely disgusting with images like a man split in half and giant slugs who have an affinity for the human mouth, and its special effects are amazing. During the film, the viewer will amazingly never feel like the alien slug he or she is watching crawl down the street is at all fake; the creatures in the film look so realistic that one can just feel the slime on the slugs.
And this might be the problem with "Slither." The effects are so convincing that audience members can't help but leave the theater with bad tastes in their mouths - and it's not just from the Raisinets.
