So far, this year's Halloween viewing has been more crap than classics, so I was happily surprised by Splinter (2008). I'd heard good things about this movie, but just got around to watching it today.
A couple on a failed camping trip are taken hostage by a pair of fugitive criminals. The two couples then find themselves trapped in a gas station by a parasitic organism, much like a fungus, which infects its hosts with what appear to be black needle like growths. The parasite then feeds on its host while operating it like a puppet in order to spread and attach itself to new food sources.
This is basically an under siege horror movie, like Night of the Living Dead (1968) with a group of people holed up in one location while the deadly unknown tries to get inside to destroy them. This is a very smart movie with good actors playing well rounded characters that you can invest in, who make smart decisions in attempts to keep themselves alive. It's inventive and has a cool monster which is a believable threat.
So far, this is this year's new gem. I really recommend Splinter.
I caught this when it first came out expecting nothing much more than a SyFy Channel-ish way to pass a free evening and was very pleasantly surprised. This is a smart, fun movie.
ReplyDeleteExcellent, 'cause it's in my queue. I'll see if it's on instant play.
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