slither

THE FLICK: Nostalgia is a weird and wonderful thing. It can make even the most lowly of cultural achievements seem like works of art worthy of high praise – or at least high bids on Ebay. By way of example, Slither, written and directed by James “yes-I-wrote-Scooby-Doo-but-also-the-Dawn-of-the-Dead­-remake” Gunn is an unapologetic re-hash of ‘80s horror/sci-fi; films like Critters, From Beyond and, most directly, Night of the Creeps, which were mainstays of VHS video rental shelves for an entire decade. We’re talking gooey, cheesy exercises in excess that only now – by the passing of time and the advent of DVD – are hailed as cinematic milestones by a small but fervent fanbase. And like a low-rent Tarantino, Gunn has channeled the masses’ desire for a retro-rekindling with a movie that – besides the addition of copious CGI effects - feels very much like it was produced in 1985, warts and all. When an alien consciousness crash lands on Earth by way of a stray meteor, town bigwig Grant Grant (Michael Rooker) decides to poke it with a stick, which results in his being turned into a squirming sperm bank anxious to impregnate the town slut with his slug-like spawn. These slimy critters then proceed to spread through the populace, creating an instant army of flesh-eating zombies that share a group mind determined to hunt down the local sheriff (Nathan Fillion of Serenity) and his group of hold-outs. Just the plot synopsis is enough to turn off most of the general populace, which explains Slither’s disappointing performance at the box office. But this kind of stuff is simply gold on home video, where most of its ‘80s inspirations made their reputation anyway. And which also explains why Universal went all-out on the DVD release, which includes a good 1 1⁄2 hour of extras plus a commentary. There’s an audience out there for this kind of stuff, and they won’t be disappointed. The film uses the one-two approach, delivering a quick body blow with something scary then following up with a comedic smack to the side of the head. Although he gets carried away at times, Gunn is pretty adept at this sort of thing, haven’t started his career at the notoriously goofy Troma studios. Gregg Henry is great as the foul-mouthed Mayor MacReady (named after Kurt Russell’s character in The Thing) and Rooker goes through a variety of disgusting make-up appliances in his transformation from sex-deprived husband to sympathetic squid creature. Nathan Fillion makes for a rather passive lead (he’s also stuck with a constant barrage of smart-ass dialogue), but co-star Elizabeth Banks is more nuanced than usual as the woman in jeopardy. However, like its 80’s forebears, Slither is never good enough to rise above it the goo it wallows in. The only difference is this time that’s how Gunn wants it to be! His script rolls out-of-control after the first act, picking up new characters and introducing ever more outrageous situations, fattening itself on all the detritus of Reagan-era cinematic leftovers. Like slapping a new coat of paint on an old house, there’s nothing new inside but it sure is pretty to look at. THE FEATURES: Universal’s single-disc release – which isn’t even advertised as a special edition – certainly puts you knee-deep in the slime. Beyond the assorted deleted and extended scenes, feature commentary, and gag reel you can expect several featurettes on the film’s creature and visual effects plus a slew of on-set experiences, including a video diary from Troma Studios head Lloyd Kaufman. The extras are all perfectly in keeping with the film’s sense of humor, down to the clever menu design laid out like cuts of meat.