Slither (film)
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| Slither | |
|---|---|
 Official Poster for Slither |
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| Directed by | James Gunn |
| Produced by | Paul Brooks Eric Newman |
| Written by | James Gunn |
| Starring | Nathan Fillion Elizabeth Banks Michael Rooker Gregg Henry Tania Saulnier Brenda James Don Thompson Jenna Fischer |
| Music by | Tyler Bates |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures Gold Circle Films TVA Films |
| Release date(s) | March 31, 2006 |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $29.5 million[1] |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Slither is a 2006 Universal horror / comedy film, written and directed by James Gunn. The film stars Nathan Fillion, Elizabeth Banks, Michael Rooker, Gregg Henry, Tania Saulnier, Lloyd Kaufman and Jenna Fischer, and was produced by Paul Brooks and Eric Newman. Slither was James Gunn's directorial debut; with parallels to classic alien invasion films such as The Blob, and Night of the Creeps.[2][3][4]
Contents |
[edit] Plot
When Grant Grant (Michael Rooker), the wealthiest citizen of small town Wheelsy, South Carolina contracts a strange illness, unusual things begin to happen. Pets go missing, followed by livestock, and finally people, with all of it somehow leading back to Grant. However, Grant isn't feeling too well given that he has developed an unusually massive appetite for red meat, and has begun to sleep in the basement of his home, away from his wife Starla; portrayed by Elizabeth Banks. Starla is beginning to notice her husband's new unusual behavior, and physical changes. As Grant slowly transforms into a hideous creature capable of committing any number of gruesome tasks, the town of Wheelsy faces a threat against humanity itself. The town's citizens are gradually being overpowered by an intergalactic alien Parasite (Slither) plague, which is slowly transforming them into bloodthirsty zombies. The zombies are being controlled through a hive mind relationship with the leading monster Grant. It is up to a select group of survivors led by the town's slightly inept sheriff Bill Pardy (Nathan Fillion), to prevent this once peaceful town from being overrun by the creatures, which loosely resemble slugs. When the heroes finally realize that all of the zombies can be traced back to Grant, it becomes apparent they need to kill him. In a desperate attack, the survivors manage to blow up the Grant monster, and in turn the zombies become corpses. Lastly, an after-credit sequence shows Grant's remains infecting a cat.
[edit] Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Nathan Fillion | Bill Pardy |
| Elizabeth Banks | Starla Grant |
| Michael Rooker | Grant Grant |
| Gregg Henry | Jack MacReady |
| Tania Saulnier | Kylie Strutemyer |
| Jenna Fischer | Shelby Cunningham |
| Brenda James | Brenda Gutierrez |
| Don Thompson | Wally Whale |
| Haig Sutherland | Trevor Carpenter |
| Jennifer Copping | Margaret Hooper |
| Lloyd Kaufman | Sad Drunk |
[edit] Reception
Slither was a box office bomb, earning a disappointing $3,880,270 in its opening weekend, and grossing a worldwide box office total of $12.2 million, substantially less than its total budget of $29.5 million (when marketing costs are included).[1] Consequently, Slither's poor box office performance may have a profoundly negative affect on the future of the horror/comedy genre, discouraging studios from producing them.[1]
Ebert & Roeper gave Slither two thumbs down, with Roeper saying he was "all zombied out", after reviewing a wave of similar zombie-themed movies from the year before. [1] However, Slither received an 83% favorable rating among the consensus of critics tracked by Rottentomatoes.com.[5] Slither managed to pick up the 2006 Fangoria Chainsaw Award for the Highest Body Count. The film also garnered nominations in the categories of Relationship From Hell, Dude You Dont Wanna Mess With, and Looks That Kill.[6] The movie was also featured in the April 14th, 2006 issue of Entertainment Weekly, as #1 on "The Must List"; "Ten Things We Love This Week."[7]
[edit] DVD release
Slither was released on regular DVD and on HD DVD / DVD hybrid disc on October 24th, 2006.[8]. The HD version is presented in 1.85:1 widescreen encoded at 1080p and Dolby Digital-Plus 5.1 surround. Critic Michael Phillips made Slither his DVD pick of the week on Ebert and Roeper. In Slithers opening week of DVD sales it grabbed the #15 spot within the USA, grossing $2.08 million in five days.[9]
In addition to the film, the DVD contains two making-of documentaries, one being solely dedicated to the visual effects. The DVD also contains deleted and extended scenes, a blooper reel, VFX progressions, a set tour with Nathan Fillion, and audio commentary by James Gunn and Nathan Fillion. Also included are featurettes outlining how to make your own edible blood, and Lloyd Kaufman's documentary discussing his day on set, and the shooting of his one line (which was eventually cut from the film). Finally, there is an added bonus entitled "Who Is Bill Pardy?" which is a joke feature made by Gunn with the sole purpose of roasting Nathan Fillion; it was shown at the film's wrap party.[10]
[edit] References to other films
Director James Gunn was said to be influenced by the wave of graphically violent horror B-movies of the 1970s and 1980s, largely created by such directors as John Carpenter, Lloyd Kaufman, David Cronenberg and Stuart Gordon, some of his homages include;
- Slither is strikingly similar to Night of the Creeps.[2][3][4] Both films feature plagues of small, foot-long, slimy parasitic worms. In both movies, the creatures originate from outer space and travel to earth in the form of a meteorite, a homage to The Blob (1958). Another similarity between the films is that the alien worms enter people via their mouths, thus transforming their hosts into murderous zombies. In both films, the heroes use flammable gas as a weapon, creating an explosion which destroys the alien menace. Both Night of the Creeps and Slither name characters, and settings after classic horror icons. Nearing the end of both movies, a small surviving piece of the alien attaches itself to a domesticated pet.
- For the infamous bathtub scene, James Gunn said he was inspired by the movie Shivers (1975).
- The owner of the saddle lodge where the start of the deer season was celebrated is named after Frank Henenlotter.
- A department store at the beginning of film is named R.J. MacReady, referring to Kurt Russell's character in John Carpenter's The Thing.[11]
- The local school is named Earl Bassett High after a lead character in the movie Tremors played by Fred Ward.
- There is a mention of a family ranch owned by the 'Castevets'. The Castevets were Rosemary's neighbors in Rosemary's Baby.
- The music that is playing as the group of heroes arms themselves with confiscated weapons is from the movie Predator.
- The film Brenda is seen watching before Grant pays her a visit isThe Toxic Avenger, a brief throwback to James Gunn's start in the film industry.
- As the police officers remove weapons from the gun locker, one of the deputies mentions bringing along a confiscated grenade. Chief Pardy refuses, echoing his sentiment as Malcolm Reynolds in Serenity when he stops Jayne Cobb from bringing grenades on a heist.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c http://entertainment.tv.yahoo.com/entnews/va/20060405/114423644400.html
- ^ a b http://movies.go.com/slither/r769695/horror
- ^ a b http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=24375
- ^ a b http://www.metroactive.com/bohemian/04.05.06/slither-0614.html
- ^ http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/slither/
- ^ http://horror.about.com/od/tvseriesminiseries/a/chain_award06.htm
- ^ http://www.ew.com/ew/article/commentary/0,6115,1181146_7%7C%7C451056%7C0_0_,00.html
- ^ Slither oozes to HD DVD This October.
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/boxoffice/rentals?date=2006-10-29®ion=us
- ^ jamesgunn.com.
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0439815/trivia
