list http://www.spout.com/ Recent community activity around Slither on Spout Copyright 2005-9 Spout, LLC Spout RSS http://www.spout.com/images/SpoutLogoRSS.jpg http://www.spout.com/ 136 30 http://www.spout.com/films/Slither/257647/default.aspx Title: Slither
Year: 2006
Director: James Gunn
Plot: A mysterious meteor infected with a deadly alien plague brings chaos to a small hunting town in the feature-length directorial debut of screenwriter James Gunn (Scooby-Doo, Dawn of the Dead). Booted out of bed by his young, trophy-wife Starla (Elizabeth Banks), and in desperate need of some female companionship, wealthy Grant Grant (Michael Rooker) picks up bar local floozy Brenda (Brenda James) and heads into the woods for a hedonistic night of extramarital excitement. When a flaming meteor lights up the sky before crashing to the ground nearby, Grant's curiosity gets the best of him and he sets out to find the space rock. Subsequently infected with a rampaging space virus, which he passes along to Brenda, Grant transforms into a horrific, cow-munching monster and begins terrorizing the town. As thousands of squirmy space slugs burrow into the brains of the unsuspecting Wheelsy denizens creating an ever-amassing horde of mindless space zombies, panic grips the small town and it's up to Starla, Sheriff Bill Pardy (Nathan Fillion), and gung-ho mayor Jack MacReady (Gregg Henry) to put an end to the infection and save the planet. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Times Tagged: 24
Number of Lists: 31
Number of blog posts: 6
Number of discussion threads: 3
SpoutRating: 3
]]>Sun, 10 May 2009 20:47:46 GMTSlither2006James GunnA mysterious meteor infected with a deadly alien plague brings chaos to a small hunting town in the feature-length directorial debut of screenwriter James Gunn (<a href=/films/205629/default.aspx style='text-decoration:underline'>Scooby-Doo</a>, <a href=/films/8197/default.aspx style='text-decoration:underline'>Dawn of the Dead</a>). Booted out of bed by his young, trophy-wife Starla (<a href="/players/P___292126/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Elizabeth Banks</a>), and in desperate need of some female companionship, wealthy Grant Grant (<a href="/players/P____61370/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Michael Rooker</a>) picks up bar local floozy Brenda (Brenda James) and heads into the woods for a hedonistic night of extramarital excitement. When a flaming meteor lights up the sky before crashing to the ground nearby, Grant's curiosity gets the best of him and he sets out to find the space rock. Subsequently infected with a rampaging space virus, which he passes along to Brenda, Grant transforms into a horrific, cow-munching monster and begins terrorizing the town. As thousands of squirmy space slugs burrow into the brains of the unsuspecting Wheelsy denizens creating an ever-amassing horde of mindless space zombies, panic grips the small town and it's up to Starla, Sheriff Bill Pardy (<a href="/players/P___340255/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Nathan Fillion</a>), and gung-ho mayor Jack MacReady (<a href="/players/P____31822/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Gregg Henry</a>) to put an end to the infection and save the planet. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide24Tag Target (>10)31633http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/t85811qezek.jpghttp://www.spout.com/films/Slither/257647/default.aspxFilm http://www.spout.com/blogs/risselada/archive/2009/2/4/40241.aspx Post By: Risselada
Post To: Risselada Blog
Post Date: 2/4/2009 2:13:34 PM
Body: Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer This was another one of the movies we watched during Halloween that I described in my previous blog entry. However, unlike all the other movies that they chose to watch that they were expecting to be really bad, including Santa's Slay which turned out to actually pretty decent, Jack Brook: Monster Slayer was supposed to be the one good horror movie for the night. But this one was actually pretty horrible. And largely due to the opposite reason that Santa's Slay was good. Where as Santa's Slay starts right out with Santa going on a bloody rampage and doesn't let up too much for the rest of the movie, Jack Brooks never slays any monsters until about the very end of the movie. This reminded me a lot of Slither, a movie that quite a few people seemed to love as well, but I really did not find any enjoyment. These movies are based on total grossout monsters that aren't really scary at all, but just nasty. There are really bad B-movie style jokes and dialogue. People sure seem to like Robert Englund too, and I guess if you like seeing him be really weird and gross then this would appeal to you. I would have never thought to see this on my own, so I don't have too much else to say. Rating: 3/10
]]>Wed, 04 Feb 2009 19:13:34 GMTRisseladaRisselada Blog2/4/2009 2:13:34 PMJack Brooks: Monster Slayer This was another one of the movies we watched during Halloween that I described in my previous blog entry. However, unlike all the other movies that they chose to watch that they were expecting to be really bad, including Santa's Slay which turned out to actually pretty decent, Jack Brook: Monster Slayer was supposed to be the one good horror movie for the night. But this one was actually pretty horrible. And largely due to the opposite reason that Santa's Slay was good. Where as Santa's Slay starts right out with Santa going on a bloody rampage and doesn't let up too much for the rest of the movie, Jack Brooks never slays any monsters until about the very end of the movie. This reminded me a lot of Slither, a movie that quite a few people seemed to love as well, but I really did not find any enjoyment. These movies are based on total grossout monsters that aren't really scary at all, but just nasty. There are really bad B-movie style jokes and dialogue. People sure seem to like Robert Englund too, and I guess if you like seeing him be really weird and gross then this would appeal to you. I would have never thought to see this on my own, so I don't have too much else to say. Rating: 3/10 http://www.spout.com/groups/HORROR_MOVIES_101/Re_Top_25_Horror_Films_of_the_Modern_Era/222/38907/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: mciocco
Post To: HORROR MOVIES 101
Post Date: 12/28/2008 9:58:27 PM
Body: I'm a little surprised to see the Descent that high, but then, I don't really object to it either. I don't object to Blair Witch that high either. It's clearly been an influential film, and I personally like it a lot. I do think it's kinda strange to see The Ring instead of Ringu, which I still think is the superior film. The Mist seems a little high as well. Fine film, but not better than some of the others on the list... Dog Soldiers is a fine film, but there are some other deserving films that should probably make the list. And I agree about Eyes Wide Shut - not a movie I ever considered horror, though I guess it gets a bit tense there... Some stuff not on the list that I might have contributed: Jacob's Ladder, High Tension (personally, liked this a lot more than Inside, though they're both flawed films), Slither, In the Mouth of Madness, and Grindhouse (full double-feature experience!). Some others I'd consider, but am not sure about: Candyman, A Tale of Two Sisters, Evil Aliens, The Sixth Sense, and I'm sure I'm forgetting a hundred others.
]]>Mon, 29 Dec 2008 02:58:27 GMTmcioccoHORROR MOVIES 10112/28/2008 9:58:27 PMI'm a little surprised to see the Descent that high, but then, I don't really object to it either. I don't object to Blair Witch that high either. It's clearly been an influential film, and I personally like it a lot. I do think it's kinda strange to see The Ring instead of Ringu, which I still think is the superior film. The Mist seems a little high as well. Fine film, but not better than some of the others on the list... Dog Soldiers is a fine film, but there are some other deserving films that should probably make the list. And I agree about Eyes Wide Shut - not a movie I ever considered horror, though I guess it gets a bit tense there... Some stuff not on the list that I might have contributed: Jacob's Ladder, High Tension (personally, liked this a lot more than Inside, though they're both flawed films), Slither, In the Mouth of Madness, and Grindhouse (full double-feature experience!). Some others I'd consider, but am not sure about: Candyman, A Tale of Two Sisters, Evil Aliens, The Sixth Sense, and I'm sure I'm forgetting a hundred others. http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/7/15/32589.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 7/15/2008 5:00:54 PM
Body: Choices, choices. Download the three-part web series Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog over the next few days, or wait for the DVD release? Maybe both. Dr. Horrible is Joss “man with the Midas touch” Whedon’s experimental comedy/sci-fi musical. If the trailer above doesn’t lie, the whole shoestring production will shine like B-grade gold. The story: Neil Patrick Harris (Doogie Howser, MD) is Dr. Horrible, too shy to talk to his crush (Felicia Day from The Guild) and struggling to prove himself to the Evil Group of Evil. The doctor’s arch-enemy Captain Hammer is played by Nathan Fillion (Firefly, Slither), the coolest poor man’s action star around. Dr. Horrible is like an awkward, flamboyant grandson of Vincent Price’s character in The Abominable Dr. Phibes. (By the way, that demented, carnival-esque revenge tragedy must have inspired Max Fisher to do a copycat crime in Rushmore. Remember the bees released into Mr. Bloom’s hotel room?) A guy like Joss Whedon doesn’t need to experiment to get people to watch his stuff, which only increases my respect for him and my excitement for this project. I hope Dr. Horrible is a success mostly because it looks really, really cool, but also because it’ll show other bigwigs there’s a fanbase for freewheeling, unashamed, genre fun. At the time of this writing the location of the first installment was switching servers, but hopefully it’ll start streaming for free again. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Tue, 15 Jul 2008 21:00:54 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com7/15/2008 5:00:54 PM Choices, choices. Download the three-part web series Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog over the next few days, or wait for the DVD release? Maybe both. Dr. Horrible is Joss “man with the Midas touch” Whedon’s experimental comedy/sci-fi musical. If the trailer above doesn’t lie, the whole shoestring production will shine like B-grade gold. The story: Neil Patrick Harris (Doogie Howser, MD) is Dr. Horrible, too shy to talk to his crush (Felicia Day from The Guild) and struggling to prove himself to the Evil Group of Evil. The doctor’s arch-enemy Captain Hammer is played by Nathan Fillion (Firefly, Slither), the coolest poor man’s action star around. Dr. Horrible is like an awkward, flamboyant grandson of Vincent Price’s character in The Abominable Dr. Phibes. (By the way, that demented, carnival-esque revenge tragedy must have inspired Max Fisher to do a copycat crime in Rushmore. Remember the bees released into Mr. Bloom’s hotel room?) A guy like Joss Whedon doesn’t need to experiment to get people to watch his stuff, which only increases my respect for him and my excitement for this project. I hope Dr. Horrible is a success mostly because it looks really, really cool, but also because it’ll show other bigwigs there’s a fanbase for freewheeling, unashamed, genre fun. At the time of this writing the location of the first installment was switching servers, but hopefully it’ll start streaming for free again. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/groups/Filmgaming/Re_Recasting_RAIDERS_OF_THE_LOST_ARK_1981/563/30172/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: SkyPilot
Post To: Filmgaming
Post Date: 5/30/2008 9:13:37 AM
Body: It's amazing how a cast can instantly make us fans of a movie. If I had nine bucks, I would fork it over to see these two remakes of Raiders: Second Place to dansinch for imagining a cult classic that never was. I'm a big fan of Raiders and Big Trouble in Little China, but I think I like this movie more than either of those: John Carpenter's Raiders of the Lost Ark [SkyPilot's notes in brackets] Kurt Russell … Indiana Jones Kim Cattrall … Marion Ravenwood Sam Neill … Dr. Rene Belloq [Dr. Grant in Jurassic Park] Stephen Tobolowsky … Major Arnold Toht, "The Melting Nazi" ["Ned! Ryerson!" He was also Sammy Jankis from Memento. Brilliant!] Wilford Brimley … Sallah [Probably best known for endorsing Quaker Oats, he brings a hokey swagger to compete with Russell's] Hal Holbrook … Dr. Marcus Brody [A lifelong Mark Twain impersonator, I'm starting to think Indy's artifact is buried in Iowa] Dennis Dun … Satipo [Probably the weakest link here -- he was Kurt Russell's sidekick in Big Trouble in Little China] Jeff Bridges … Colonel Dietrich [He has the smug thing down, but could he do a German accent?] Donald Pleasance … Major Eaton [He has that "Oh, I love that guy...what's his name?" quality] And First Place goes to PlantPage55: Clive Owen as Indiana Jones (Was going to give this to Daniel Craig, but he already has a legitimate action franchise. Clive needs one. Also, he has a good stubble face) Rachel Weisz as Marion Ravenwood (The only good thing about the Mummy franchise gets out of the rip-off and into its superior ancestor) Mathieu Amalric as Dr. Rene Belloq Mads Mikkelsen as The Melting Nazi (Are you kidding me?! You KNOW you want to see this. Two current bonds villains teaming up for die Furher!) Benicio Del Toro as Sallah Richard Dreyfuss as Dr. Marcus Brody John C. Reilly as Satipo (although Molina could still do it...) Jude Law as Colonel Dietrich (doesn't he seem like he needs his head shrunk? ha-cha-cha!) Geoffrey Rush as Major Eaton Don Cheadle cameo as the main guy on the ship the Nazis board looking for Indy Chim-Chim (from Speed Racer) as the "bad date" monkey Thomas Haden Church cameo as the guy who pilots the plane for Indy in the opening sequence (also a tribute to his days on "Wings") PlantPage55 demonstrates a lot of finesse here. Changing the characters pretty dramatically, it's palpable how menacing the world would be and all friendly feelings between Belloq and Indy are gone. Rachel Weisz is the only woman who could wield Marion's sexual energy, her weapon to get the upper hand in a world of sex-deprived grave robbers. Mads Mikkelson-- the blood-crying villain in Casino Royale--would bring an emotionless pathology to the Melting Nazi. Plus, having Alfred Molina reprise his role as Satipo is a great joke, and fun to watch. Satipo = Sex symbol? Too weird to ignore I noticed a trend while reviewing the entries. A total of five (five?) people thought Gael Garcia Bernal (Motorcycle Diaries, The Science of Sleep) would be perfect for Satipo. I wonder what that thought process was like? "He's so doe-eyed and sensual, I'd love to see a spike shoot through that sculpted face!" Honorable mentions: Like dansinch, The_Limey26 kept the movie in 1981 but cast Michael Keaton as Indy. Stellan Skarsgaard as Colonel Dietrich is a nice touch. My two favorite contemporary choices for Indy are: 1. Nathan Fillion (Serenity, Slither), with a nod to JediShaft. 2. Tom Jane (who plays The Punisher and the "I just want my kids back" guy from Arrested Development), with a nod to captainmagic. And for fan's of Rocky and Bullwinkle, Cammmalot photoshopped this stroke of brilliance:
]]>Fri, 30 May 2008 13:13:37 GMTSkyPilotFilmgaming5/30/2008 9:13:37 AMIt's amazing how a cast can instantly make us fans of a movie. If I had nine bucks, I would fork it over to see these two remakes of Raiders: Second Place to dansinch for imagining a cult classic that never was. I'm a big fan of Raiders and Big Trouble in Little China, but I think I like this movie more than either of those: John Carpenter's Raiders of the Lost Ark [SkyPilot's notes in brackets] Kurt Russell &hellip; Indiana Jones Kim Cattrall &hellip; Marion Ravenwood Sam Neill &hellip; Dr. Rene Belloq [Dr. Grant in Jurassic Park] Stephen Tobolowsky &hellip; Major Arnold Toht, "The Melting Nazi" ["Ned! Ryerson!" He was also Sammy Jankis from Memento. Brilliant!] Wilford Brimley &hellip; Sallah [Probably best known for endorsing Quaker Oats, he brings a hokey swagger to compete with Russell's] Hal Holbrook &hellip; Dr. Marcus Brody [A lifelong Mark Twain impersonator, I'm starting to think Indy's artifact is buried in Iowa] Dennis Dun &hellip; Satipo [Probably the weakest link here -- he was Kurt Russell's sidekick in Big Trouble in Little China] Jeff Bridges &hellip; Colonel Dietrich [He has the smug thing down, but could he do a German accent?] Donald Pleasance &hellip; Major Eaton [He has that "Oh, I love that guy...what's his name?" quality] And First Place goes to PlantPage55: Clive Owen as Indiana Jones (Was going to give this to Daniel Craig, but he already has a legitimate action franchise. Clive needs one. Also, he has a good stubble face) Rachel Weisz as Marion Ravenwood (The only good thing about the Mummy franchise gets out of the rip-off and into its superior ancestor) Mathieu Amalric as Dr. Rene Belloq Mads Mikkelsen as The Melting Nazi (Are you kidding me?! You KNOW you want to see this. Two current bonds villains teaming up for die Furher!) Benicio Del Toro as Sallah Richard Dreyfuss as Dr. Marcus Brody John C. Reilly as Satipo (although Molina could still do it...) Jude Law as Colonel Dietrich (doesn't he seem like he needs his head shrunk? ha-cha-cha!) Geoffrey Rush as Major Eaton Don Cheadle cameo as the main guy on the ship the Nazis board looking for Indy Chim-Chim (from Speed Racer) as the "bad date" monkey Thomas Haden Church cameo as the guy who pilots the plane for Indy in the opening sequence (also a tribute to his days on "Wings") PlantPage55 demonstrates a lot of finesse here. Changing the characters pretty dramatically, it's palpable how menacing the world would be and all friendly feelings between Belloq and Indy are gone. Rachel Weisz is the only woman who could wield Marion's sexual energy, her weapon to get the upper hand in a world of sex-deprived grave robbers. Mads Mikkelson-- the blood-crying villain in Casino Royale--would bring an emotionless pathology to the Melting Nazi. Plus, having Alfred Molina reprise his role as Satipo is a great joke, and fun to watch. Satipo = Sex symbol? Too weird to ignore I noticed a trend while reviewing the entries. A total of five (five?) people thought Gael Garcia Bernal (Motorcycle Diaries, The Science of Sleep) would be perfect for Satipo. I wonder what that thought process was like? "He's so doe-eyed and sensual, I'd love to see a spike shoot through that sculpted face!" Honorable mentions: Like dansinch, The_Limey26 kept the movie in 1981 but cast Michael Keaton as Indy. Stellan Skarsgaard as Colonel Dietrich is a nice touch. My two favorite contemporary choices for Indy are: 1. Nathan Fillion (Serenity, Slither), with a nod to JediShaft. 2. Tom Jane (who plays The Punisher and the "I just want my kids back" guy from Arrested Development), with a nod to captainmagic. And for fan's of Rocky and Bullwinkle, Cammmalot photoshopped this stroke of brilliance: http://www.spout.com/blogs/risselada/archive/2007/11/13/21664.aspx Post By: Risselada
Post To: Risselada Blog
Post Date: 11/13/2007 4:55:47 PM
Body: SlitherMaybe it wasn't the right mood or context for this movie, I'm not sure. I watched this on a Chicago apartment building rooftop on a decent night. It was on a little TV and there were some snacks and beer. I watched it with my friend Sam and some of our friends. It was Sam's birthday and he picked the movie. Sorry Sam if you are reading this, but I just thought it was horrible.It seems I might be in the minority though because I've heard a number of people who love this movie. I guess it's supposed to be written as sort of a tribute/emulation of bad movies. One of the filmmakers comes from Troma apparently. I've never seen any Troma, but I wonder now if it would have just as little appeal for me.I think I could appreciate silly dialogue and grossout stuff if the monsters or critters didn't seem so stupid and annoying.I don't want to say much more else about it. To me it's just stupid.Rating: 2/10
]]>Tue, 13 Nov 2007 21:55:47 GMTRisseladaRisselada Blog11/13/2007 4:55:47 PMSlitherMaybe it wasn&#39;t the right mood or context for this movie, I&#39;m not sure. I watched this on a Chicago apartment building rooftop on a decent night. It was on a little TV and there were some snacks and beer. I watched it with my friend Sam and some of our friends. It was Sam&#39;s birthday and he picked the movie. Sorry Sam if you are reading this, but I just thought it was horrible.It seems I might be in the minority though because I&#39;ve heard a number of people who love this movie. I guess it&#39;s supposed to be written as sort of a tribute/emulation of bad movies. One of the filmmakers comes from Troma apparently. I&#39;ve never seen any Troma, but I wonder now if it would have just as little appeal for me.I think I could appreciate silly dialogue and grossout stuff if the monsters or critters didn&#39;t seem so stupid and annoying.I don&#39;t want to say much more else about it. To me it&#39;s just stupid.Rating: 2/10 http://www.spout.com/groups/HORROR_MOVIES_101/Re_Tis_the_season/222/21184/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: Risselada
Post To: HORROR MOVIES 101
Post Date: 10/25/2007 2:20:16 PM
Body: Well Doctor, I'm fairly sure I haven't seen even 10% of the horror movies you have, but I will make a list anyhow.I know we have had many discussion in the past about what constitutes a horror movie. But for purposes of this list, I will try to limit myself to more strictly defined horror. In other words, I will only include movies that I think there would be a decent chance that you could find them in the "horror" section of your video rental store. It's still hard to differentiate though because some movies might be more thriller than horror, or more sci-fi than horror, or more action than horror, or more comedy than horror.1. The Shining2. Ravenous3. Cube4. The Thing (1982)5. Night of the Living Dead 6. Psycho7. Alien8. American Psycho9. The Blair Witch Project10. Sleepy Hollow11. Jaws12. From Dusk Till Dawn13. Funny Games14. Ringu15. Jurassic Park Here are some more that I think are pretty close to horror that I love but might be more thrillers.The Vanishing (Spoorloos)Cabinet of Dr. CaligariThe Night of the HunterCape Fear (the original)Duel
]]>Thu, 25 Oct 2007 18:20:16 GMTRisseladaHORROR MOVIES 10110/25/2007 2:20:16 PMWell Doctor, I&#39;m fairly sure I haven&#39;t seen even 10% of the horror movies you have, but I will make a list anyhow.I know we have had many discussion in the past about what constitutes a horror movie. But for purposes of this list, I will try to limit myself to more strictly defined horror. In other words, I will only include movies that I think there would be a decent chance that you could find them in the "horror" section of your video rental store. It&#39;s still hard to differentiate though because some movies might be more thriller than horror, or more sci-fi than horror, or more action than horror, or more comedy than horror.1. The Shining2. Ravenous3. Cube4. The Thing (1982)5. Night of the Living Dead 6. Psycho7. Alien8. American Psycho9. The Blair Witch Project10. Sleepy Hollow11. Jaws12. From Dusk Till Dawn13. Funny Games14. Ringu15. Jurassic Park Here are some more that I think are pretty close to horror that I love but might be more thrillers.The Vanishing (Spoorloos)Cabinet of Dr. CaligariThe Night of the HunterCape Fear (the original)Duel http://www.spout.com/blogs/theworkingdead/archive/2007/8/7/17503.aspx Post By: TheWorkingDead
Post To: TheWorkingDead Blog
Post Date: 8/7/2007 9:32:00 AM
Body: 2 Weeks? Has it really been more than 2 weeks since my last blog post? Of course, I'm being facetious; no one is more aware of how long it's been since my last post than me. It bothers me daily that I haven't updated this thing, and I wish I had a good excuse for my absence. I haven't been too busy at work, I haven't been ill, depressed, or otherwise preoccupied in a way that would interrupt my writing habits, I just haven't been able to write anything. It may be due to the movie I've been attempting to write about; Slither. It's not that I don't have things to say about this film, I do. And it's not that I haven't tried, I have. I've tried almost daily to write about this film, and then my interest just shuts off and I can't continue. It's probably due to the fact that I'm a bit disappointed with this film, and I wish I could give a good reason as to why. My friend Karena(shout out to my homie in lock up, can I get a what what) suggested that I might actually be growing out of my love for silly, cheesy horror films. I can assure you this is categorically false, because silly, cheesy horror movies are something that I enjoy on a regular basis. Just, not really this one. Bear with me as I try to discover why that is. As a concept, the 2006 horror movie Slither has a slightly convoluted genesis. It draws it's inspiration from the nastiness, craziness, and yes, fun of splatter flicks from the 80s, which themselves drew much of their inspiration of sci-fi/horror flicks from he 50's and early 60's. Go back and take a look, and you'll see that films like Night of the Creeps, Re-Animator and The Evil Dead seem to have much more in common with 50's horror films(with their exaggerated dialog and over the top dramatic punctuations) than they do with the much more recent and obvious progenitors like Texas Chainsaw Massacre and the burgeoning slasher genre. And to give it credit, Slither realizes this debt, and pays homage to it by setting the proceedings in an anachronistically quaint Midwestern town that could have been stuck in a time warp the past 5 decades. That's one of the things that Slither got right, and to give credit where credit is due, a lot of this film is a pretty spot-on homage, hitting most of the marks it aims for. The dialog is more in-line with the current Hollywood vogue for realism, but reaches some nice melodramatic highs("it's a conscious disease!") that recall some great B-Movies, and the score in particular is a great throwback. However, it doesn't quite hit the bulls eye on everything, when all is said and done. I think it has something to do with writer/director James Gunn's background as a writer/star/producer/slave for Troma studios. If you haven't seen a Troma film, well, I can't truly say whether you're lucky or culturally deprived. I myself have a fondness for The Toxic Avenger, but I can't really call any of their films good in a traditional sense. The films are pretty much typified by a 'throw it at a wall, see if it sticks' attitude, veering wildly from joke to joke, gore scene to gore scene in an attempt to offend as many people as possible, with little attention paid to things like plot, acting, or style. And I really do enjoy that sometimes, but for the most part I like things a little more... cohesive in my movies. To be honest, I wasn't too thrilled with this film in theatres, and re-watching it last week only slightly raised my opinion. I still don't consider it to be a great film, but I was able to appreciate the ride a bit more the second time around. I'm still somewhat at a loss as to exactly why I don't really like this movie, especially since it seems perfect for me. I love this type of movie, and I'm always game for a good monster flick. Too much of today's horror is preoccupied with bland slasher films or knock offs of Asian flicks, so it's refreshing when someone does an honest-to-goodness monster movie. Still, this movie doesn't quite cut it with me, which is a bit of a mystery, since the film seems to do pretty much what it set out to do, and it is fairly enjoyable. I even tried watching the commentary in an attempt to determine what was lacking in the film. The film throws a liberal amount of comedy into the proceedings, which, by and large, are fairly grim. In this aspect it attempts to be more American Werewolf in London than Scary Movie. The problem is, the non-comedic bits are highly disturbing, making the mix a little uneasy. Take the scene where the recently infected-by-alien-slugs Grant Grant impregnates Brenda, a realistically pitiful, white trash, stay-at-home mom. Brenda's depiction, the fact that it happens in front of her baby, and the overall atmosphere of this scene, draw the disturbing elements out of the field of horror and into the realm of drama. That's not always a bad thing, but it is upsetting to see such a graphic rape scene treated so lightly. But is that enough to make me dislike the entire movie? It's certainly not as upsetting as any of David Cronenberg's films, and I'm a huge fan of most of those. The main similarity here would be the uncomfortable sexually deviant undertones(and, often, overtones) prevalent in Cronenberg's horror films, most importantly(for our purposes), Shivers. The sexuality and overall unease in that film are light years beyond anything in Slither, so that alone can't be the reason I don't like it. But then again, James Gunn is no David Cronenberg. Cronenberg is pretty much a genius when it comes to how sex is dealt with in his films, making the sexuality such an integral part of the story that it doesn't seem exploitative even in it's most explicit forms. Take A History of Violence, the sex scenes of which leave quite an impression in a very explicit, non-Hollywood way. However, these scenes aren't just fitting, but crucial; they provide a telling glimpse into the inner lives of these two people, and how they've changed throughout the movie. But I digress, we're talking about Slither here, and contrasted with the example I just gave, Slither comes off as crass and a bit unsure of itself. Comedy, horror or drama? James Gunn had the same problem with his remake of Dawn of the Dead(he wrote, but didn't direct). In the middle of an otherwise solid zombie film, there's a scene with a woman giving birth to a baby that may or may not be alive. It's a pretty distressing scene, and fairly effective, until it's ruined by a cheap joke that MAY have been more easily digestible had it not looked so cheesy. This serves as another example of not knowing how to meld tones. Coming after what I've just explained, the following complaint is going to seem very hypocritical; I don't think Slither goes far enough. The level Slither is trying to reach is a very sick, disgusting, and outrageous one. And I will admit that there's some pretty enjoyably nauseating stuff in there, but when you compare it to Society, Re-Animator, or any of the other splatter films this one tries to evoke, Slither comes off as the most hardcore PG-13 horror movie ever. It feels too slick in it's presentation(however uneven the tone), it doesn't capture the insanity inherent in most of the films it emulates. Slither feels a bit reigned in, as if Mr. Gunn, outside of the protective umbrella afforded by Troma, didn't trust the audience to go along with whatever sick thought entered his mind. I guess my complaints are a bit vague, and seem a bit unformed to my own eyes, and I suppose I could spend another two weeks trying to pin this down, but really, who cares? In the end my main problem with this movie is probably one I try to avoid; that of expectations. I always try to enter the theatre fresh; I may hype a movie up before I see it, but once those lights go down I'm ready for whatever the filmmaker chooses to throw at me. In this case I guess I couldn't avoid it. It's a genre I love, from a filmmaker who's work showed promise, and the film was promising to go all out in it's attempts to disgust and amuse you, but in the end it was unfortunately middle of the road. I can't say this is a bad movie, and by all means you should go and check it out, it's worth it, but it's not something I think will find a lasting place in my collection.
]]>Tue, 07 Aug 2007 13:32:00 GMTTheWorkingDeadTheWorkingDead Blog8/7/2007 9:32:00 AM2 Weeks? Has it really been more than 2 weeks since my last blog post? Of course, I&#39;m being facetious; no one is more aware of how long it&#39;s been since my last post than me. It bothers me daily that I haven&#39;t updated this thing, and I wish I had a good excuse for my absence. I haven&#39;t been too busy at work, I haven&#39;t been ill, depressed, or otherwise preoccupied in a way that would interrupt my writing habits, I just haven&#39;t been able to write anything. It may be due to the movie I&#39;ve been attempting to write about; Slither. It&#39;s not that I don&#39;t have things to say about this film, I do. And it&#39;s not that I haven&#39;t tried, I have. I&#39;ve tried almost daily to write about this film, and then my interest just shuts off and I can&#39;t continue. It&#39;s probably due to the fact that I&#39;m a bit disappointed with this film, and I wish I could give a good reason as to why. My friend Karena(shout out to my homie in lock up, can I get a what what) suggested that I might actually be growing out of my love for silly, cheesy horror films. I can assure you this is categorically false, because silly, cheesy horror movies are something that I enjoy on a regular basis. Just, not really this one. Bear with me as I try to discover why that is. As a concept, the 2006 horror movie Slither has a slightly convoluted genesis. It draws it&#39;s inspiration from the nastiness, craziness, and yes, fun of splatter flicks from the 80s, which themselves drew much of their inspiration of sci-fi/horror flicks from he 50&#39;s and early 60&#39;s. Go back and take a look, and you&#39;ll see that films like Night of the Creeps, Re-Animator and The Evil Dead seem to have much more in common with 50&#39;s horror films(with their exaggerated dialog and over the top dramatic punctuations) than they do with the much more recent and obvious progenitors like Texas Chainsaw Massacre and the burgeoning slasher genre. And to give it credit, Slither realizes this debt, and pays homage to it by setting the proceedings in an anachronistically quaint Midwestern town that could have been stuck in a time warp the past 5 decades. That&#39;s one of the things that Slither got right, and to give credit where credit is due, a lot of this film is a pretty spot-on homage, hitting most of the marks it aims for. The dialog is more in-line with the current Hollywood vogue for realism, but reaches some nice melodramatic highs("it&#39;s a conscious disease!") that recall some great B-Movies, and the score in particular is a great throwback. However, it doesn&#39;t quite hit the bulls eye on everything, when all is said and done. I think it has something to do with writer/director James Gunn&#39;s background as a writer/star/producer/slave for Troma studios. If you haven&#39;t seen a Troma film, well, I can&#39;t truly say whether you&#39;re lucky or culturally deprived. I myself have a fondness for The Toxic Avenger, but I can&#39;t really call any of their films good in a traditional sense. The films are pretty much typified by a &#39;throw it at a wall, see if it sticks&#39; attitude, veering wildly from joke to joke, gore scene to gore scene in an attempt to offend as many people as possible, with little attention paid to things like plot, acting, or style. And I really do enjoy that sometimes, but for the most part I like things a little more... cohesive in my movies. To be honest, I wasn&#39;t too thrilled with this film in theatres, and re-watching it last week only slightly raised my opinion. I still don&#39;t consider it to be a great film, but I was able to appreciate the ride a bit more the second time around. I&#39;m still somewhat at a loss as to exactly why I don&#39;t really like this movie, especially since it seems perfect for me. I love this type of movie, and I&#39;m always game for a good monster flick. Too much of today&#39;s horror is preoccupied with bland slasher films or knock offs of Asian flicks, so it&#39;s refreshing when someone does an honest-to-goodness monster movie. Still, this movie doesn&#39;t quite cut it with me, which is a bit of a mystery, since the film seems to do pretty much what it set out to do, and it is fairly enjoyable. I even tried watching the commentary in an attempt to determine what was lacking in the film. The film throws a liberal amount of comedy into the proceedings, which, by and large, are fairly grim. In this aspect it attempts to be more American Werewolf in London than Scary Movie. The problem is, the non-comedic bits are highly disturbing, making the mix a little uneasy. Take the scene where the recently infected-by-alien-slugs Grant Grant impregnates Brenda, a realistically pitiful, white trash, stay-at-home mom. Brenda&#39;s depiction, the fact that it happens in front of her baby, and the overall atmosphere of this scene, draw the disturbing elements out of the field of horror and into the realm of drama. That&#39;s not always a bad thing, but it is upsetting to see such a graphic rape scene treated so lightly. But is that enough to make me dislike the entire movie? It&#39;s certainly not as upsetting as any of David Cronenberg&#39;s films, and I&#39;m a huge fan of most of those. The main similarity here would be the uncomfortable sexually deviant undertones(and, often, overtones) prevalent in Cronenberg&#39;s horror films, most importantly(for our purposes), Shivers. The sexuality and overall unease in that film are light years beyond anything in Slither, so that alone can&#39;t be the reason I don&#39;t like it. But then again, James Gunn is no David Cronenberg. Cronenberg is pretty much a genius when it comes to how sex is dealt with in his films, making the sexuality such an integral part of the story that it doesn&#39;t seem exploitative even in it&#39;s most explicit forms. Take A History of Violence, the sex scenes of which leave quite an impression in a very explicit, non-Hollywood way. However, these scenes aren&#39;t just fitting, but crucial; they provide a telling glimpse into the inner lives of these two people, and how they&#39;ve changed throughout the movie. But I digress, we&#39;re talking about Slither here, and contrasted with the example I just gave, Slither comes off as crass and a bit unsure of itself. Comedy, horror or drama? James Gunn had the same problem with his remake of Dawn of the Dead(he wrote, but didn&#39;t direct). In the middle of an otherwise solid zombie film, there&#39;s a scene with a woman giving birth to a baby that may or may not be alive. It&#39;s a pretty distressing scene, and fairly effective, until it&#39;s ruined by a cheap joke that MAY have been more easily digestible had it not looked so cheesy. This serves as another example of not knowing how to meld tones. Coming after what I&#39;ve just explained, the following complaint is going to seem very hypocritical; I don&#39;t think Slither goes far enough. The level Slither is trying to reach is a very sick, disgusting, and outrageous one. And I will admit that there&#39;s some pretty enjoyably nauseating stuff in there, but when you compare it to Society, Re-Animator, or any of the other splatter films this one tries to evoke, Slither comes off as the most hardcore PG-13 horror movie ever. It feels too slick in it&#39;s presentation(however uneven the tone), it doesn&#39;t capture the insanity inherent in most of the films it emulates. Slither feels a bit reigned in, as if Mr. Gunn, outside of the protective umbrella afforded by Troma, didn&#39;t trust the audience to go along with whatever sick thought entered his mind. I guess my complaints are a bit vague, and seem a bit unformed to my own eyes, and I suppose I could spend another two weeks trying to pin this down, but really, who cares? In the end my main problem with this movie is probably one I try to avoid; that of expectations. I always try to enter the theatre fresh; I may hype a movie up before I see it, but once those lights go down I&#39;m ready for whatever the filmmaker chooses to throw at me. In this case I guess I couldn&#39;t avoid it. It&#39;s a genre I love, from a filmmaker who&#39;s work showed promise, and the film was promising to go all out in it&#39;s attempts to disgust and amuse you, but in the end it was unfortunately middle of the road. I can&#39;t say this is a bad movie, and by all means you should go and check it out, it&#39;s worth it, but it&#39;s not something I think will find a lasting place in my collection. http://www.spout.com/blogs/dibot/archive/2007/5/30/9780.aspx Post By: dibot
Post To: dibot Blog
Post Date: 5/30/2007 9:32:00 PM
Body: Oh, happy day, finally some good films.The filmspotting guys are having a film noir marathon now, so I queued up The Killers and had a blast. Based on an Ernest Hemingway short story (so you know automatically that women are going to be evil), the film is set up so that the main character dies at the beginning. Excellent opening sequence with the killers coming into a local diner to look for "The Swede." The rest of the movie follows an insurance investigator as he tries to piece together the puzzle of why the Swede left everything to a hotel worker whom he barely knew. I enjoyed the flashbacks, the moody cinematography and the great score. Noir rules.Slither is one of those comedy/horror films that are just loads of fun. A meteor lands in a sleepy little town, infects one of the locals and all hell breaks loose. I laughed alot, especially at the mayor, Greg Henry ("The Black Dahlia"), and reveled in the gore. Nathan Fillion ("Waitress"), fast becoming my new favorite actor, brings some comedy as well as emotion as he tries to save the woman he's always loved from her alien-infested husband. I really enjoyed that the film didn't take itself too seriously. And there were a few tense scenes that played really well. But on the whole, this is a comedy. A good one.I just saw Waitress this afternoon, and maybe, with time, I'll come to find some flaws in it. But right now, I absolutely love it. Kerri Russell ("Mission Impossible: III") stars as a small town waitress with a gift for pie-making who is trapped in an unhappy marriage. She's planning an escape when she discovers that she's pregnant. The film follows her through the months of her pregnancy as she tries to find what will make her happy. The dialogue is great. Witty and thoughtful. All of the side characters are fleshed out. And Russell has some great chemistry with Nathan Fillion. The movie takes a few sad turns, but it never drags down too long, with the comedy pulling it back out of the hole. It's a very sweet film. Writer/director Adrienne Shelly also has a small role. And this is the sad part. She was murdered just before the film debuted. So there won't be any more magic. But I'm going to check out her previous films. If this is playing in your town, go see it.
]]>Thu, 31 May 2007 01:32:00 GMTdibotdibot Blog5/30/2007 9:32:00 PMOh, happy day, finally some good films.The filmspotting guys are having a film noir marathon now, so I queued up The Killers and had a blast. Based on an Ernest Hemingway short story (so you know automatically that women are going to be evil), the film is set up so that the main character dies at the beginning. Excellent opening sequence with the killers coming into a local diner to look for "The Swede." The rest of the movie follows an insurance investigator as he tries to piece together the puzzle of why the Swede left everything to a hotel worker whom he barely knew. I enjoyed the flashbacks, the moody cinematography and the great score. Noir rules.Slither is one of those comedy/horror films that are just loads of fun. A meteor lands in a sleepy little town, infects one of the locals and all hell breaks loose. I laughed alot, especially at the mayor, Greg Henry ("The Black Dahlia"), and reveled in the gore. Nathan Fillion ("Waitress"), fast becoming my new favorite actor, brings some comedy as well as emotion as he tries to save the woman he&#39;s always loved from her alien-infested husband. I really enjoyed that the film didn&#39;t take itself too seriously. And there were a few tense scenes that played really well. But on the whole, this is a comedy. A good one.I just saw Waitress this afternoon, and maybe, with time, I&#39;ll come to find some flaws in it. But right now, I absolutely love it. Kerri Russell ("Mission Impossible: III") stars as a small town waitress with a gift for pie-making who is trapped in an unhappy marriage. She&#39;s planning an escape when she discovers that she&#39;s pregnant. The film follows her through the months of her pregnancy as she tries to find what will make her happy. The dialogue is great. Witty and thoughtful. All of the side characters are fleshed out. And Russell has some great chemistry with Nathan Fillion. The movie takes a few sad turns, but it never drags down too long, with the comedy pulling it back out of the hole. It&#39;s a very sweet film. Writer/director Adrienne Shelly also has a small role. And this is the sad part. She was murdered just before the film debuted. So there won&#39;t be any more magic. But I&#39;m going to check out her previous films. If this is playing in your town, go see it. http://www.spout.com/blogs/livingdeadjoe/archive/2007/3/7/6145.aspx Post By: livingdeadJoe
Post To: livingdeadJoe Blog
Post Date: 3/7/2007 12:01:52 PM
Body: Slither, a not so original comedy-horror is based on a lot of Sci-Fi movies, books, and etc. This movie kind of reminded me of Invasion of the Body Snatchers if I'm not mistaken. I can't say this movie really interested me, or made me laugh at all, which doesn't say much about its comedy half now does it? This movie didn't suck, so I'm going to try and touch on that. Although not quite an original, this movie was well above some movies of similar genre that are coming out today. It had such events like the girl sucking on a worm as if it were a penis and ripping it out before she was dead meat. Most of its jokes weren't at all that funny, but they weren't at all that dumb. Just the kind of humorous characters that maybe a 14 year old would've found funny. This movie isn't a horrible rent, but if you went to go see this movie in theaters when it came out, well I'm damn sure sorry you wasted your money on this piece of work. I can honestly say without a doubt that I am pretty neutral about this movie. 3 out of 5. Sorry Slither! I do applaud your well-paced story however, but I expected more. If you want to see a movie similar to this, and want to laugh more, try picking up Evolution by directed by Ivan Reitman
]]>Wed, 07 Mar 2007 17:01:52 GMTlivingdeadJoelivingdeadJoe Blog3/7/2007 12:01:52 PMSlither, a not so original comedy-horror is based on a lot of Sci-Fi movies, books, and etc. This movie kind of reminded me of Invasion of the Body Snatchers if I&#39;m not mistaken. I can&#39;t say this movie really interested me, or made me laugh at all, which doesn&#39;t say much about its comedy half now does it? This movie didn&#39;t suck, so I&#39;m going to try and touch on that. Although not quite an original, this movie was well above some movies of similar genre that are coming out today. It had such events like the girl sucking on a worm as if it were a penis and ripping it out before she was dead meat. Most of its jokes weren&#39;t at all that funny, but they weren&#39;t at all that dumb. Just the kind of humorous characters that maybe a 14 year old would&#39;ve found funny. This movie isn&#39;t a horrible rent, but if you went to go see this movie in theaters when it came out, well I&#39;m damn sure sorry you wasted your money on this piece of work. I can honestly say without a doubt that I am pretty neutral about this movie. 3 out of 5. Sorry Slither! I do applaud your well-paced story however, but I expected more. If you want to see a movie similar to this, and want to laugh more, try picking up Evolution by directed by Ivan Reitman http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/funny/MemberTagFilms.aspxfunny
Number of films tagged: 609

Number of people who tagged: 316

Number of times used: 942

]]>Wed, 16 Dec 2009 21:10:58 GMT609316942Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/it/MemberTagFilms.aspxit
Number of films tagged: 101

Number of people who tagged: 106

Number of times used: 117

]]>Mon, 06 Jul 2009 12:42:42 GMT101106117Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/of/MemberTagFilms.aspxof
Number of films tagged: 96

Number of people who tagged: 87

Number of times used: 105

]]>Sat, 11 Jul 2009 06:13:39 GMT9687105Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/alien/MemberTagFilms.aspxalien
Number of films tagged: 81

Number of people who tagged: 38

Number of times used: 130

]]>Sun, 20 Dec 2009 01:16:33 GMT8138130Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/community/MemberTagFilms.aspxcommunity
Number of films tagged: 743

Number of people who tagged: 21

Number of times used: 37

]]>Wed, 12 Aug 2009 13:02:59 GMT7432137Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/truelove/MemberTagFilms.aspxtruelove
Number of films tagged: 19

Number of people who tagged: 17

Number of times used: 25

]]>Sat, 02 Aug 2008 12:40:16 GMT191725Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/invasion/MemberTagFilms.aspxinvasion
Number of films tagged: 791

Number of people who tagged: 16

Number of times used: 27

]]>Wed, 24 Jun 2009 13:02:45 GMT7911627Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/town/MemberTagFilms.aspxtown
Number of films tagged: 827

Number of people who tagged: 16

Number of times used: 21

]]>Thu, 09 Jul 2009 13:13:22 GMT8271621Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/better/MemberTagFilms.aspxbetter
Number of films tagged: 14

Number of people who tagged: 15

Number of times used: 15

]]>Sun, 31 Aug 2008 03:10:00 GMT141515Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/infection/MemberTagFilms.aspxinfection
Number of films tagged: 44

Number of people who tagged: 14

Number of times used: 19

]]>Tue, 15 Sep 2009 19:47:26 GMT441419Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/alien-not-human/MemberTagFilms.aspxalien-not-human
Number of films tagged: 1385

Number of people who tagged: 13

Number of times used: 24

]]>Mon, 03 Aug 2009 13:23:54 GMT13851324Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/gross/MemberTagFilms.aspxgross
Number of films tagged: 16

Number of people who tagged: 11

Number of times used: 17

]]>Fri, 20 Feb 2009 19:55:18 GMT161117Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/parasite/MemberTagFilms.aspxparasite
Number of films tagged: 42

Number of people who tagged: 8

Number of times used: 8

]]>Fri, 04 Dec 2009 19:35:19 GMT4288Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/meat/MemberTagFilms.aspxmeat
Number of films tagged: 46

Number of people who tagged: 7

Number of times used: 16

]]>Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:25:04 GMT46716Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/meteor/MemberTagFilms.aspxmeteor
Number of films tagged: 68

Number of people who tagged: 6

Number of times used: 7

]]>Wed, 20 May 2009 00:26:40 GMT6867Tag