Slither delights B-movie fans and horror buffs

An apt title for Slither would have been “Invasion of the Body Snatchers on Crack.” And with that premise, Slither, with a title more concise and shudder-inducing, becomes a grand epic of goo, guts and gore that manages to sneak a smile onto one’s lips in between numerous jaw-droppings.

Set in a monotonous little town in the Midwest, a meteor, of which no one is initially aware, hits Earth in the woods skirting the town. When everyone in a town knows everyone else, the events happening to a single character often proliferate, in one form or another, throughout said town, and Slither takes full advantage of this phenomenon.

In this film, that unfortunate event just happens to be the meteor deposition yards behind the star-crossed monster, Grant Grant (notice the obvious B-movie homage in the name duplicity), a seemingly ordinary local (played by the relatively unknown character actor Michael Rooker).

Grant finds the meteor broken open, revealing an egg-like pod simmering in the dirt. Suddenly, a three-inch needle from the pod shoots up into Grant’s chest, squirming its way through his breast plate and commandeering his body for its evil endeavors.

Grant quickly develops skin boils and strange deformities on top of craving boatloads of raw meat and resorting to killing cows and dogs for his ravenous consumption. But the kicker comes when two fleshy spears emerge from his chest and inject a townswoman with a different, undesirable “bug.”

She soon blows up to the size of a hot air balloon (fed by raw meat) and explodes to reveal thousands of foot-long, sausage-like worms that crawl into the mouths of the townspeople, creating meat-starved zombies.

This film serves as a cornucopia of homages ranging from the classic B-movie to the gooey creature feature, to the horror gorefest fluttered with a sprinkle of false human drama that makes it an absolute joy to see. Mayor Jack MacReady (Gregg Henry) serves as the main source of comic revelry, spouting off-the-wall, curse-filled one-liners that one can’t help but chuckle at.

He often creates that B-movie feel in the film, lending humor to the most disgusting situations (often reminiscent of the wonderful Bubba Ho-tep).

The special effects (far from that of a B-movie) of the worms and Grant’s ever-enlarging form maintain a sense of gross, otherworldly realism that always amplifies the nearly absurd action on screen.

Grant becomes a sort of Jabba the Hut-like worm with lightning-fast speed and a short temper for his pursuers clutching Desert Eagles and 12-gauge shotguns. In one awe-inspiring display of quickness and gory retribution, Grant slices his worm-tail up through a townsman (blink and you’ll miss it), disemboweling him while nearly cutting him clean in half.

Admittedly, this film may be somewhat of a guilty pleasure for some, yet its appeal encompasses more than a narrow, gore-infatuated audience.

This is playful filmmaking. This is made to draw smiles and grimaces alike, which makes Slither a unique blend which should not be missed by any horror-loving freak.