Slither Review Country : USA Year: 2006 Genre: Horror / Sci-Fi Format: Cinema Running Time: 95 minutes Distributor: Universal A small town is faced with terror from beyond this world as an alien plague takes hold and begins to transform its citizens into mutant creatures.... Credits Written and Directed by James Gunn. Starring Michael Rooker, Elizabeth Banks, Nathan Fillion, Gregg Henry, Brenda James and Don Thompson. Question....how in the hell did James Gunn get over $15,000,000 to make nothing short of the best Troma film ever made? Even though it's a Universal production, I still think it's a big conspiracy and Marc (executive producer) Abraham is actually Lloyd Kaufman in disguise. Slither is a monster movie that is old-fashioned in tone, with a crowd-pleasing dose of 'tongue-firmly-planted-in-cheek' fun to counter the scares. In Slither, a small town is taken over by an alien plague, turning residents into zombies and all forms of mutant monsters. The charm of the movie lies in the performances. Michael (Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer) Rooker as the infected Grant Grant (no, that is not a typo) and Nathan (Dracula 2000) Fillion as Sheriff Bill Pardy make for a terrific pair of mismatched leads. Fillion's dry wit is playful and engaging, and each actor brings a fun-loving country bumpkin sensibility to their role. Slither also pulls out some of the best performances this side on the US/Canadian border. Elizabeth (Spiderman) Banks as Starla Grant is a convincing heroine and Gregg ("24") Henry as Mayor Jack MacReady (yes, dig the The Thing reference) is one of the film’s highlights. Not only is he funny throughout the film, but he plays out one scene that involves a certain act he is kinda forced into... without giving anything away, I will say it's just plain hilarious! The aliens themselves are little mothers, but Grant Grant is another story....his snake-like tentacles that lash from various orifices and serve to reel the struggling victims into his gullets, only to become part of the greater Grant. The creature F/X are quite nifty, and help to generate the perfect B-movie feel. Writer/director James Gunn (Dawn of the Dead remake) paces the movie well, and even though 'Slither' runs low on creative concepts in its final act (which follows the 'kill the source' formula), the film is still a wonderful cocktail of comedy and horror, and will be a small favorite for me to revisit whenever I’m in need of a quick fix of total fun. Slither is currently in theaters nationwide. OFFICIAL SITE DISCUSS ON OUR FORUMS Review by John Gray, for Pitofhorror.com