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Created Sep 15, 2014 08:04AM PST • Edited Sep 15, 2014 08:04AM PST

1. Quality

2. Summary

   Very Good 3.5

   With James Gunn becoming a household name in the industry (technically upon writing both scooby doo movies, the remake of dawn of the dead, and having previously worked in troma films, his name was already pretty well known in cult circles), it seems like the perfect time to retro-review his first “big budget” foray into direction, “Slither.” Utilizing sly wit, a demented streak a mile wide, and some of the more squishy and squirm inducing practical effects of its time (any time. Seriously watch it now and you’ll be amazed that it was made in 2006), its a shame that the film only made 7 million domestically on a 15 million dollar budget. This film is dark and evil, but with a devil-may-care attitude and an even more devilish grin that says “be scared, scream at the television, laugh both from the unease present as well as the fun being splattered into every scene. Shut the brain off and enjoy the ride.”

4. Acting

   Very Good 3.5

   It’s not my first review of a horror film, and it’s certainly not the first one ever written that acknowledges that the acting for horror movies aren’t exactly always top notch, but surprisingly this one pulls good performances from a mostly game cast. There are hindrances in a couple performances (meaning: not all of the supporting roles are to the level that the principal cast are to be) but the cast is certainly strong. Nathan Fillion slips into the role of gentleman/moral compass/easygoing lawman Sheriff Pardy with such ease that it becomes fairly blatant early on that the role was written with him in mind to play such an unlikely hero (although the square jaw seems to scream “HERO!!!!” from the first scene) and the effortless way his face contorts to the shenanigans and goings on as well as says many fo the film’s best lines (“boy: whats a ’gina?” pardy: It’s a country. Where ‘ginese people come from. Stop eavesdroppin’ so good." hahaha hilarious) make the film a perfect horror comedy. Couple that with Elizabeth Banks, Michael Rooker (Yondu from guardians of the Galaxy, natch!), and a whole host of characters that would feel cartoonish if they weren’t fully realized to be people/cartoons, and youve got one hell of an ecclectic crew, and they give it their all. shamefully like mentioned above not every performance is of equal caliber to the leads but thats nitpicking.

5. Male Stars Very Good 3.5

6. Female Stars Very Good 3.5

7. Female Costars Very Good 3.5

8. Male Costars Very Good 3.5

10. Film

    Really Great 4.5

    If someone hasn’t already referred to “guardians of the Galaxy” as “The Gunn show” then a grand opportunity was missed; that being said, the application could very well be applied to “Slither”, his first film. Slither, with James Gunn writing, directing, producing, and playing a tiny role toward the beginning, is “the gunn show”. Every frame is his, with that “creative stamp” that people saw in guardians of the Galaxy 8 years later effectively utilized to similar effect in this film. It’s easy to see NOW why Marvel went with such a distinct and different voice for their most obscure film to date, because there are a lot of similaritis upon deeper inspection. the tongue is planted firmly in cheek with this one, folks; so much so that you’re almost afraid the tongue might burst through the cheek and jut through the other side because WOW this fuilm takes itself only seriously enough to be FUN. Mr gunn knew, much like with his big hit Guardians of the Galaxy, that he could make the story “doom and gloom” and play it straight faced for audiences, but that not taking itself so seriously and allowing the audience to gasp at the story as well as the entertainment value was the better way to go. It may not be a laff-riot, but if in the mindset this film is a broad grin from start to finish (and the musical cues are magnificent!)

11. Direction Really Great 4.5

12. Play Really Great 4.5

13. Music Really Great 4.5

14. Visuals Really Great 4.5
15. Content

16. Edge

    Sordid 2.9

    There is gooey stuff, bloody stuff, bursting stuff, dying stuff, slugs going inside mouths, stuff going into chests, people being absorbed into some sort of…thing, sexual innuendo everywhere (but not so overt as to distract or ain many cases be noticed upon first glance), and enough awkward body horror to make most people shiver and go “wow thats gross.” What I’m saying is—its a gruesome horror movie made for a modest budget and played for shock and awe but also making that inner gorehound (the one that slows down at car accidents to see if they catch a glimpse of some grue) sheer. Plus, when you realize the budget for this thing was about as much as a typical Avenger’s salary for the next film, it becomes a curiosity as to HOW they were abl to accomplish so many amazing effects on such a budget, because that is pretty incredible and a testament to how ceratuive a creative process can be.

17. Sex Titillating 2.5

18. Violence Brutal 3.0

19. Rudeness Profane 3.2

21. Reality

    Supernatural 3.8

    An alien crashes to earth, quickly enters a man’s chest and occupying his brain. That possessed man then fertilizes a local woman who eats until she is the size of a house (because realism! ahem, realism? eh screw it) and bursts, revealing thousands of slugs that crawl into the mouths of unsuspecting victims. the slugs enter the body and occupy that persons brain, turning them into something of a zombie all occupied by one brain (the master alien which is the size of an inkpen i might add) and begin also eating like crazy to satiate an appetite that seemingly knows no end, and then either absorbs back into the master alien (and thereby growing and expanding with each poor soul) or expanding to release more slugs. the point is to slowly end every resource on Earth before transporting as the aforementioned inkpen to the next planet to start back at point A. Its nowhere near a relistic scenario and the film knows it and plays in it like a child digging in a sandbox. Just don’t give it too much thought.

22. Circumstantial Supernatural 4.0

23. Biological Supernatural 3.5

24. Physical Supernatural 4.0