I saw the coolest news the other day when I was surfing the internet. Shout! Factory is releasing a Blu-ray collector’s edition of the movie Slither (2006). If you haven’t seen Slither, then you’re missing out a fun flick. It’s a ninety-five-minute comedy, horror, sci-fi movie with a great cast! Now, if you haven’t heard of Slither, don’t stress. Back in 2006 when it was released it bombed at the box office. Slither had a budget of $15 million and only brought in $12.8 million. Even though it received (generally) positive reviews it just couldn’t bring in the money. A lot of other films with those numbers would have been forgotten about and faded out of existence. Slither on the other hand found a ledge, sunk it’s slimy teeth into it and held on for dear life and over time fans have raised it to cult status. Part of the reason Slither is seeing its fan base grow is the usual word of mouth. Fans turning other people onto the movie. I think another part is Slither was written and directed by James Gunn. Now that Gunn’s in the spotlight and his popularity has grown due to his work with Guardians of the Galaxy (1&2) and The Belko Experiment (2016) people are checking out his other films. If you’ve seen a film that Gunn has written then you know he has a unique style. Gunn is able to bring a level of comedy that fits about every scene of a movie and Slither is a perfect example of that writing style.
What’s Slither about? A meteorite, carrying an extraterrestrial parasite, crashes in the small town of Wheelsy, South Carolina. As a man and woman, Grant and Brenda, are wandering through the woods one night, they stumble across the meteorite. Grant’s curiosity gets him attacked by the parasite and taken over by it. Once the parasite is in full control, Grant starts to change both physically and mentally. After a chain of events, the Police Chief Bill Pardy starts looking for Grant so he can answer some questions. Unfortunately, by the time they find Grant he’s not the same man he uses to be. Now the town has a killer tentacle Grant monster on the loose and… that’s only half the town’s problem.
I liked the storyline because Slither wasn’t a typical monster movie with a weak storyline where “it” crashes and now let’s see if humanity can survive. What helped make Slither different, to me, was that Gunn threw a bit of backstory in for the monster. Anytime you give backstory to the antagonist of a film it adds value to the overall story. It shows why the antagonist is doing what it’s doing and adds to the threat level of the antagonist. Also, those kinds of stories always feel complete to me. Something else that makes Slither stand out is Gunn’s writing style. Through all the carnage and mayhem, Gunn is able to keep Slither from being a straight horror film with injections of (dark) humor and wild characters.
The playthrough is really entertaining and never gets boring. My biggest complaint (not really) about this one is that it doesn’t feel like it’s a ninety-five-minute movie when you’re watching it. From the very opening you’re sucked in and before you know it the movie’s over. For me, that’s a sign of how good a movie is when you can lose track of time. Throughout the movie the I kept catching moments where Slither would remind me of other films like Society (1992), The Thing (1982) and Night of the Creeps (1986). If you’ve seen Society or Night of the Creeps then that’s the kind of cheesy cool vibe Slither has in store for you.
As far as the cast goes, you’ll get to see Nathan Fillion (Serenity), Elizabeth Banks (Power Rangers), Gregg Henry (Guardians of the Galaxy), Michael Rooker (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2), Tania Saulnier (Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief) and Frank Welker as Alien Slugs (creature vocals) bringing some fun and interesting characters to life. It’s hard to pick who my favorite character was in this one because for one reason or another they all have their standout moments.
Most of the special effects are practical with a bit of CGI here and there. The practical effects looked great and the CGI was good for the most part, but there were spots that it stood out in scenes. I have to say, watching the Grant creature change throughout the movie was cool and it showed great imagination from the creators.
Quick heads up for those wondering. Slither is rated R for language, violence, and nudity. You will see things get kind of gory throughout the movie. So, if you’re not a fan of gore, you may want to pass on this one. However, if you can stomach it… watch it! There’s just too much cheesy fun to be had watching this one to let it pass you by.
For all those interested, Slither’s collector’s edition was released August 1st, 2017. Now, with the Blu-ray collector’s edition you get some new special features added to the list and here they are.
NEW Audio Commentary With Writer/Director James Gunn And Actors Nathan Fillion And Michael Rooker
NEW The Genesis Of SLITHER – An Interview With Writer/Director James Gunn
NEW The Other MacReady – An Interview With Actor Gregg Henry
Audio Commentary With James Gunn And Nathan Fillion (From 2006)
Deleted And Extended Scenes With Optional Commentary By James Gunn
Visual Effects: Step By Step
Slithery Set Tour With Actor Nathan Fillion
The Sick Minds And Slimy Days Of SLITHER
Brewing The Blood – How To Make Blood
Bringing SLITHER’s Creatures To Life
Lloyd Kaufman’s Video Diary
Gag Reel
Who Is Bill Pardy? Featurette
Theatrical Trailer
Optional English SDH subtitles
Along with new case artwork illustrated by artist Justin Osbourn
Overall, this is one of those films that I can watch over and over and still get a kick out of it every time.