Dir. James Gunn
Writ. James Gunn
Act. Nathon Fillion, Elizabeth Banks, Michael Rooker

This wasn't a bad movie. Even though I think it is a complete rip off of a bad 1980's movie, it was surprisingly intelligent and humorous. Although at times it got slow when it took it self too seriously, I was once again surprised by the acting in this horror movie, particularly Nathan Fillion and Elizabeth Banks.

Starla Grant, played by Elizabeth Banks (40 Year Old Virgin) is a school teacher who is married to a much older man, Grant, played by Michael Rooker (Mississippi Burning.) One night while taking a walk in the forest with another woman, Grant discovers a meteor that has crashed to Earth with a life form moving from it. As Grant approaches the meteor, the alien jumps into Grant and possesses him. As Grant begins acting odd, Sheriff Bill Pardy, played by Nathan Fillion (Serenity,) begins looking into the disappearance of the girl that was with Grant the night he became possessed. As Bill and Starla continue to search, Grant turns into a full fledged monster that is killing animals to feed to the missing girl, who is now incredibly large. As the sheriff, Starla and the deputies hunt for Grant, the come across the women who soon after the discovery explodes and releases thousands of slug like creatures. These creatures then look for human hosts to infect to possess by entering through the mouth and once doing so, become part of the creature that Grant has become. It is up to Starla and Bill to find away to keep from being possessed and find a way to destroy Grant.

While the premise is silly, writer/director James Gunn did a decent job of keeping the tension in the movie. Having the slugs possess a family that has two little girls in it was great because nobody likes to see harm coming to children, especially little girls. This isn't the first time that Gunn has done this because he also wrote the script for the successful remake of the Dawn of the Dead. But his success in Dawn of the Dead ended up being the biggest drawback in Slither. In Dawn Gunn surrounded the brief moments of humor in the mall with the terror that surrounded it. But that works because it deals with human beings at all levels. In Slither, the basic premise is slugs infesting humans. Since that premise is silly, Gunn should have kept the movie campy from beginning to end. The first twenty minutes was very funny, but for whatever reason, he turned the movie towards the serious end once Grant turned into the monster. He should have kept it campy, by way of music and in the lines. Gunn didn't and the story suffered.

Nathan Fillion may be that action hero I have been looking for. He has the screen presence needed, the physical look of an action hero, and the most important thing needed to be an action hero, a sense of humor. While he hasn't been really tested in terms of drama, I am willing to bet that he could do it and I hope he gets a shot. Elizabeth Banks also did a nice job as the damsel in distress but with the ability to be the Sigourney Weaver with the ability to kick alien butt. This is the second movie I have seen her in and the second time I have enjoyed her performance.

While this movie is not perfect, it is better than most of the other horror movies that have come out this year. Like I said at the beginning, I still think this movie is a rip off of the 80's movie Night of the Creeps, but that is just because of the alien slug thing. Since hardly anybody saw it at the box office, I highly recommend that you rent it when it comes on DVD. You will be pleasantly surprised at how good it is, especially compared to the crap that was out this spring.

Brian - the Naked Gun