As slap stick horror films go this one is in third place on my all time favorite list. No. 1 - Evil Dead, No. 2 - Shaun of the Dead, No. 3 - Slither.
Nathan Fillion stars as Bill Pardy, chief of police in a small town who soon has to deal with an alien invasion that is essentially turning the town folk into mindless zombies.
The fun starts when the sexually frustrated Grant Grant (played by Michael Rooker), after being shut down by his wife, goes for a walk with a townie who picked him up in the local bar. While stumbling home through the woods they come across a giant slimy egg/meteor. It would seem that from that point forward the least of his problems would be having two first names!
Grant Grant gets infected and becomes the fleshy epicenter of rest of the movie.
Like with most zombie comedies, of recent memory any way, there's a romantic sub-plot. Seems that Chief Pardy has been carrying a torch for Grant Grant's wife Starla (played by Elizabeth Banks) for a long time. As the bugs slowly start to turn Grant and other town's folk into mindless zombies, or worse in some cases. Pardy teams up with his deputies, a local girl who was able to escape being turned and the foul mouthed town Mayor Jack McReady (Gregg Henry).
McReady's expletive laced out bursts paired with Pardy's spot on dead pan make for some comic gold. Thrown in a rant on no Mr. Pibb in the middle of an alien take over. An attack by a zombie deer. And more disgusting slug like aliens than you can throw a hand grenade at and you have the makings of a classic.
Fillion has always been a favorite of mine. From his days on Two Guys, a Girl & a Pizza Place (a show so old that I forgot he was on it!) to Caleb the secondary big bad of season 7 of Buffy, the short lived Firefly and now as the title character on ABC's hit show Castle. Fillion brings a sense of humor and charm to each and every role that makes you care...no matter how silly the role.
If an alien/zombie/comedy/romance/action/horror film plays to your taste...you need to watch this film.
1 comment:
Great review. I totally agree with you. This movie had a great script that was pulled off wonderfully by some great actors. They were able to be serious without being so serious to kill the humor.
I think this movie plays an important role in the horror genre beyond just another zombie/alien flick. I call it the King of the B-Reels.
I go into more depth in my own review. If you have time you should check it out and tell me if my ideas hold up.
http://horrormoviemedication.blogspot.com/2013/02/slither-a-quality-b-film.html
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