Slither 4K Review (Scream Factory)

Slither is a 2006 body horror film written and directed by James Gunn (Tromeo and Juliet, Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, Superman, Peacemaker, The Suicide Squad, and Super). It was produced by Paul Brooks (Last Breath, Prey for the Devil, The Possession of Michael King, The Fourth Kind, Shadow of the Vampire, White Noise, ATM, The Haunting in Connecticut, Blood Creek, and Poolhall Junkies). The budget was $15,000,000 and it grossed $12,834,936 worldwide at the box office. A meteorite crashes in South Carolina. It includes an unnamed evil wreaking havoc on a small town. Intent on devouring all life on Earth, this dark and slimy entity is infecting anyone in its path including Starla Grant (played by: Elizabeth Banks from Zack and Miri Make a Porno, The Hunger Games franchise, Spider-Man franchise, Scrubs, Catch Me If You Can, and The 40-Year-Old Virgin), Jack MacReady (played by: Gregg Henry from Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, Payback, The Hunt for the BTK Killer, Jason Bourne, Just Before Dawn, Body Double, and Raising Cain), Brenda Gutierrez (played by: Brenda James from Masters of Horror, Stargate: Atlantis, The Stranger Beside Me, Cutting Class, and Stone Cold), and Grant Grant (played by: Michael Rooker from Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, Peacemaker, The Suicide Squad, Mallrats, The Walking Dead, Tombstone, and Days of Thunder). Now it’s up to the local sheriff, Bill Pardy (played by: Nathan Fillion from Firefly, Serenity, Castle, The Rookie, Superman, The Suicide Squad, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3) and his team to stop the spread of rampant devastation and shocking mutilation before it’s too late!!!! Slither feels like a modern day update of 1986’s Night of the Creeps. It’s very similar to it in many ways but it has a completely different setting compared to it. It focuses on adults rather than teenagers. The mysterious object lands in a small town while two locals are out in the woods playing around and one gets attacked by it. He starts to change every day and he starts having a weird craving for meat. This causes all kinds of problems in this redneck community and it creates a path of total destruction. Director James Gunn who was only known for writing such projects as Tromeo and Juliet, Scooby-Doo franchise, Thir13en Ghosts, The Specials, and Dawn of the Dead gets behind the camera for his full length directorial debut. The script mixes several sub-genres which body horror, dark comedy, drama, science fiction, infection, and monsters. It has an excellent balance of horror and humor as it puts unlikely normal people against something extremely evil that’s spreading rapidly. Lead actor Nathan Fillion gives one of his strongest performances as local Chief Bill Pardy. He has just got promoted in the sheriff office and he’s the one running this small squad. He has a huge crush on teacher Starla Grant but she’s married. They barely get any crime in their local community so it’s a easy gig until now. Lots of animals are missing and people are acting strange which leads to a local woman vanishing from her home. The unprepared sheriff isn’t ready for he’s about to encounter. Lead actress Elizabeth Banks is fantastic as Starla Grant. She provides education and she teaches children. She had dreams of leaving it all for an acting career but it never happened. She had a rough upbringing so she ended up marrying Grant who always had money. She did it to feel safe and secure but it’s starting to feel like a mistake as time goes on. Character actor Michael Rooker shines as Grant Grant. He’s a powerful man that usually gets what he wants. He’s feeling insecure about himself as he gets older and his sex life with Starla has slowed down. He goes out to blow off some steam and he ends up in the woods with a mysterious object. It attacks him and he can’t control his actions after that. Rooker has always been a top notch villain and it’s no different in Slither. The look of his character later on is gross and creepy. Gregg Henry steals the show as the foul mouthed mayor Jack MacReady. He has some of the best lines in this. He has no filter and he’s hilarious in some of the worst possible scenarios. The rest of the supporting cast includes Brenda James, Lloyd Kaufman (Terror Firmer), Jenna Fischer (The Office), James Gunn (Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV), Don Thompson (Watchmen), Tania Saulnier (The Invisible), Haig Sutherland (Stargate Universe), Jennifer Copping (Fargo), Lorena Gale (Halloween: Resurrection), Ben Cotton (Resident Alien), Matreya Fedor (Chaos Theory), William MacDonald (Riverdale), Iris Quinn (Hideaway), and Rob Zombie (House of 1000 Corpses). I am really shocked that Sean Gunn wasn’t in this, he’s in almost everything from his brother over the years. One of the true highlights for Slither is it’s high quality grotesque special fx from artist Todd Masters (Demon Knight, Final Destination: Bloodlines, Night of the Creeps, Tales from the Crypt, A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Child, The Return of Swamp Thing, True Blood, Necronomicon: Book of Dead, and Hellraiser: Bloodline). It has monsters, slugs, gore, explosions, disgusting wounds, and some entertaining violence. When some of these characters transform, they look hideous and it makes an impact. A few of the slimy creatures gives off a Society vibe. Slither pays homage to several horror features both big and obscure. I love that Gunn included Troma’s Lloyd Kaufman in a cameo and The Toxic Avenger is being watched by one of main characters in this. It was marketed as a horror comedy but it’s much more than that. It has plenty of action, tension, and suspense especially for it’s build up to it’s wild ending. It leaves it open for a possible sequel but that hasn’t happened yet. It’s super fun, thrilling, hilarious, and a nice surprise. It still holds up after all this time so the replay value is strong. I think it’s underrated even after all of Gunn’s success these days. RECOMMENDED!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation and special features from Scream Factory! This 2160p (1.85:1) transfer with Dolby Vision and HDR10 is from a brand new 4K restoration from the 35mm interpositive that was approved by director James Gunn and DP Gregory Middleton. I’ve owned Slither in various different formats over the years which includes DVD and Blu Ray. This newer UHD is a major improvement over all of those past versions. The stylish cinematography, nasty special fx, and gruesome production design for it’s sharper visuals. It has multiple audio options which includes English: Dolby Atmos, English: DTS-MA 5.0, and English: DTS-HD 2.0 tracks on the UHD. Slither has violence, action, and suspense that amps up the audio when all hell breaks loose. The powerful score from Tyler Bates also shines here. All of the dialogue is crisp, the invasion is elevated, and the music has a killer boost to it. It has English SDH subtitles. It has an “Audio Commentary” with James Gunn, Nathan Fillion, and Michael Rooker. It has an additional “Audio Commentary” with James Gunn and Nathan Fillion. These are the only extras on the 4K, the rest of them are located on the Blu Ray disc. It has the brand new exclusive little over 17 minute “We’ve Got Worms”. It’s an interview with DP Gregory Middleton. He chats about getting the gig for being local and doing the film Kissed. He chats about it having an 80’s feel to it. He brings up the special fx and locations. He goes over the characters and the concept of it. It has the brand new exclusive almost 13 minute “Feed the Fear”. It’s an interview with editor John Axelrad. He says that he got his start in horror with editing. He goes over his process and methods while working on material. He chats about his collaboration with James Gunn and the studio for it. He shares his experiences and thoughts on Slither. It has the brand new exclusive almost 12 minute “Just A Bee Sting”. It’s an interview with special fx artist Todd Masters. He talks about working with God Circle and James Gunn while behind the scenes. They wanted a mix of 80’s and 90’s styles here. They didn’t want CGI, they wanted practical. He breaks down a few things he did for the production. It was lots of work in a short amount of time. It has the brand new exclusive little over 15 minute “What’s Gotten Into You”. It’s an interview with composer Tyler Bates. They met on the Dawn of the Dead remake since they were both involved in it. He chats about liking the concept and direction that Slither was going so he accepted the job on it. He talks about character motivations for some of the musical themes in this. He goes over the Isolated process done with this feature. He gives his thoughts on what ended up inspiring some of his style for the overall score and certain scenes here. It has the almost 30 minute “The Genesis of Slither”. It’s an interview with director James Gunn. He originally wrote Slither just to sell as a writer. He wanted to make a different movie at the time but producers suggested that he got behind the camera for it. He mentions being Influenced by Carpenter and Cronenberg. He mentions his time at Troma and how it helped him later on for his own work. He chats about his different approaches for his vision when putting something together. It has the little over 8 minute “The Other MacReady”. It’s an interview with actor Gregg Henry. He shows appreciation for director James Gunn. He said everything that he did was basically written for him and he didn’t adlib that much with the role. He brings up some of the favorite lines from Slither. He talks about his experience with the cast for this. It has the little over 17 minute “Deleted and Extended Scenes” with optional “Audio Commentary” with director James Gunn. It has the little over 5 minute “Visual Effects Progressions”. It takes you through the steps and process of the visual fx here. It has the almost 5 minute “Slithery Set Tour”. Lead actor Nathan Fillion takes the viewer to see some of the behind the scenes fun while shooting this horror film. It has various hilarious comments from the cast and crew. It has the little over 10 minute “The Sick Minds and Slimy Days of Slither”. It has interviews with the cast and crew. They mention some of their favorite horror movies. They point out some of the nods from the feature. It has some additional behind the scenes footage in it. It has the little over 3 minute “Brewing the Blood”. Special fx artist Kurt Jackson gives a quick tutorial on how to make your own fake blood. It has the almost 19 minute “Bringing Slither’s Creatures to Life”. It has interviews with various members of the crew and cast. This highlights the practical special fx from Slither. They said they worked closely with visual fx to make everything stand out a little more. They go over some of the scenes and gruesome gags in this. It has behind the scenes footage to go with the scenes they are focusing on. It has the almost 9 minute “Lloyd Kaufman’s Diary”. I am a huge and lifelong fan of Troma so I’ve always loved this extra because it gives Lloyd Kaufman some shine because his character got decreased in the final cut. He documents his experience on this set. He goes over his history with Gunn. He jokes this character was written and perfect for him. He shows off his trailer while filming his cameo. He tells some stories about their collaboration on Tromeo and Juliet. It even has an appearance from Jenna Fischer. It has a little over 8 minute “Gag Reel”. It has the little over 5 minute “Who is Bill Pardy?”. This is quick spoof featurette having fun with the main character from Slither. It’s full of jokes and random stuff. It has the “Theatrical Trailer” for Slither. This 20 year edition combines special features from the original Universal Pictures, Scream Factory Collector’s Edition, and the brand new exclusive ones just made for this. The packaging and artwork design for this limited edition steelbook looks amazing. It’s great to see this underrated body horror feature Slither getting this kind of home video treatment after 20 years. It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!!