Slither (2006) ***

Slither (2006) is a fun film. I enjoy it well enough. I hadn't seen it since the DVD was released. I also saw it in the theater when it was originally released. I appreciate that it's a throwback to (though at times maybe borrows a little too liberally from) films like Night Of The Creeps (1986) (my review here), The Blob (1988) (my review here), The Thing (1982) (my review here), Freaked (1993), and Society (1989) and that films like this don't get made too often.

I love practical f/x and they are big part of a gory slimy horror film like Slither (and they are very well done here). But there is also a bit too much CGI for my taste and much of the humor is a bit too broad (and not that funny to me). Director James Gunn cut his teeth with Troma and it's one thing for a film to be unabashedly goofy and embrace its low budget nature throughout (I can dig on that). It's another to have frequent juvenile humor in a film that seems on one hand to want to make a serious statement about the deterioration of a marriage.

As such, it makes for a conflicted viewing experience where I admire aspects of the film more than simply outright enjoy it as a piece of entertainment. Additionally, Gunn has done nothing but superhero films since Slither and I'm very much in the minority of those that didn't fawn over Guardians Of The Galaxy (2014) (my review here) and I'm also sick of superhero films. But if Gunn decides to write a Tromeo & Juliet (1996) sequel I am fully on board.

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