Face-Off: Dawn of the Dead 2004 vs. Slither

SLITHER draws inspiration from many sci-fi horror movies that came before it, although somehow Gunn hadn’t seen the movie it has the biggest similarities to, NIGHT OF THE CREEPS. When a meteorite lands in a small South Carolina town, slug-like parasites emerge and start crawling their way into locals, taking over their minds. The parasite species has been traveling through space for a long time, wiping out entire planets, and Earth is the next in line. The first person to become infected is a man named Grant Grant, who starts to mutate into a monstrous creature and has control over the slugs. The parasite hive mind has merged with what remains of Grant, so all of those slug-zombies become fixated on his wife Starla. Watching it is more simple and fun than trying to explain it.

When the cast is led by Nathan Fillion, Elizabeth Banks, Gregg Henry, and Michael Rooker, it’s a good bet that the characters are going to be a likable, fun bunch. Fillion is police chief Bill Pardy, a really down-to-earth, funny guy who makes it his mission to save Starla (Banks) from her monster husband (Rooker) not only because it’s the right thing to do, but also because he has had a crush on Starla since they were kids. Pardy leads a group of quirky characters on a Grant Grant hunt in the middle of the film, and among the group is the high-strung, foul-mouthed mayor (Henry), who I find to be hilarious. It isn’t all just laughs, scares, and action, the connection between Grant and Starla also adds heart and emotion into the mix. Gunn did a great job writing these characters and cast the roles perfectly.

The slug parasite zombies aren’t really scary, although there is a little girl zombie who is quite creepy. Some shamble, some run, they all share the same mind, Grant Grant’s mind, and they all want to get as many people as possible to join their little slug party. If someone puts up too much of a fight, they might get hit in the face with the acidic slime the zombies can spit out. It’s not just humans who get infected with the slugs, either. Pardy has a nasty run-in with a slug parasite zombie deer.

The action in SLITHER is more low-key, but there’s a good amount of it. In fact, the entire second half of the film involves monster fighting, whether it’s confronting the Grant-monster, being swarmed by the slug parasites, or fighting the parasite zombies. Including that aforementioned deer. There isn’t a huge amount of destruction and there aren’t bullets flying all over the place, but this movie has some cool creature feature excitement to offer. Plus, you do get a couple explosions. One of them being ironically lackluster.

James Gunn didn’t get too flashy or cutting edge on this one, he was just out to deliver a good time in the form of a throwback horror/comedy. The visual style leans more toward the comedy side of things, perhaps a bit too much. The horror elements are presented well, but there are times when the film could have been a bit darker than it is. Still, the focus on the comedy does allow me to get a lot of laughs out of watching the movie, so I can’t complain too much. The visual style may not stand out as being impressive, but at least it doesn’t hinder the film in any way.