Nathan Fillion

What can I say, I really enjoyed watching Slither. I’m a big comedy/horror movie fan and this one fit that bill nicely. There were some great one-liners and tons of perfect comedic timing from nearly everyone in the film. The plot, present only to allow the fun stuff to happen, is simple. Alien crashes on earth, infects some poor bastard, mutates into some big slimy thing and begins to take over the town. This movie has heaps of influence from some other great films including The Thing, Tremors, Evil Dead and Toxic Avenger (there are plenty I’m sure I’ve left out). There are several references to some of these films, like naming the High School Earl Basset High (Fred Ward’s character in Tremors), a department store named R.J. MacReady (after Kurt Russell’s character from John Carpenter’s The Thing), and even the music from Predator being referenced when the “posse” arms themselves to go hunt the creature.

One of the best things about this movie was seeing our friend Nathan Fillion again. For those of you who don’t know, Nathan played captain Malcolm Reynolds in the short lived television show Firefly and it’s feature film debut Serenity. Both are excellent and worth watching if you haven’t already. Nathan has a wicked sense for comedic timing and facial expressions and has got an every man persona that is very comforting and inviting. The most obvious difference between the character he played on Firefly and Bill Pardy, the police chief in Slither, is that Mal Reynolds was a bit more of a scoundrel and Bill is a big softy who’s only slightly macho.

The other great performance in Slither is that of Gregg Henry who plays the town mayor Jack MacReady (yet another reference to The Thing). He is a foul mouthed, boisterous, s.o.b. and a hilarious character. His dialogue might be a bit blue for some people, but he delivers it so deliciously that you can’t help but laugh. Eagle-eyed fans may recognize him as having a part in an episode of Firefly titled “The Train Job”.

Slither is a bit gory and bloody, as one would expect from an alien invasion type film, but for me none of it is even remotely convincing or disturbing and merely adds to the absurdity of the film. In a good way, of course. One of the few scenes that I will mention is when they find a woman named Brenda in a barn after she’s been missing for several days. When the alien first infects Grant Grant (no that’s not a typo but is the name of the character brilliantly played by Michael Rooker of Mallrats and Days of Thunder), he finds he has an insatiable appetite for raw meat; an affliction that ends up affecting all the victims. Once he infects Brenda, with the intent of having her give birth to more creatures, she eats so much that she literally takes up the entire barn where she is being held. When Bill and the posse open the door and find her, she is simply a giant ball of fat and flesh with only her head, hands and feet barely protruding from the girth. after they approach her and the group take a moment to try and comprehend what they are seeing, Bill cautiously says "So Brenda, uh what’s going on here?”. That scene is a good litmus test as to whether you’ll enjoy Slither or not.

A few more notes of interest, Slither was written by James Gunn who is responsible for both the Scooby Doo movies (I’ve never seen them and have no intention of seeing them) and he’s also married to Jenna Fischer who plays Pam Beesley on the television show “The Office”. Jenna also appears in Slither as the ditzy police radio dispatcher Shelby who, while communicating with Bill, is asked a question to which she replies by nodding her head. After a few seconds of silence on his end, Bill finally asks her if she’s nodding again. Shelby says “Oops, sorry, I forgot...”. This is the type of humor that populates the film and it’s just simply fun.

During the final scenes of the film, Bill has a chance to be a hero. I won’t divulge the details, but I’ll just say that things don’t turn out the way he expected. It’s funny that after such a buildup to that moment you expect him to pull it off, and when it doesn’t the reaction from Bill is absolutely priceless; worth the price of admission alone. Slither may not sound like something you want to see, but if you’re interested in the least it’s definitely worth checking out. It’s certainly not a movie for everybody, especially little ones (duh...) but it’s a helluva good time. 90 minutes well spent. P.S., stay through the credits...