Splinter

Rating:  

Directed By: Toby Wilkins

Starring: Jill Wagner, Paulo Costanzo, Shea Whigham, Rachel Kerbs

Plot Synopsis:

A young couple has retreated to the wilderness for a romantic camping weekend-but the trip quickly spirals into a nightmare when they are car-jacked by an escaped convict and his girlfriend. Thrown together by chance, no one can imagine the terrifying horror that awaits the two couples at a remote and isolated gas station.

Review:

I love a good monster flick.  The plots are simple (man vs. creature) and are a great excuse for some clever visual effects work.  Since the CGI revolution, monster flicks have been a bit underwhelming.  It seems there has been a resurgence of practical effects making their way back to movies.  I noticed this with the great (yet poorly titled) Alien Raiders and now with Toby Wilkins low budget monster movie Splinter.  Both these movies owe a lot to The Thing, and I think things are looking up for the Monster Flick.

Splinter‘s plot is easy.  Infectious parasite creature terrorizes, people must get away.  It’s a simple plot, but what make the movie interesting is the dynamic of the characters.  We basically have a hostage situation before the shit hits the fan, so there’s a lot of different places the characters can go.  That makes for a movie that is tense and unexpected.

I was really surprised at the caliber of acting on display here.  There are basically 3 main characters.  Two of them steal the show, with the third adequate enough for the plot.  First, Jill Wagner plays the strong willed and independent Polly Watt.  The kind of girl who can kick the crap out of her boyfriend (a nerdy and wimpish Biology Major played by Paulo Costanzo) and who’s ideo of relaxing is camping in the middle of nowhere.  She is the total opposite of most horror movie women and that’s refreshing.  Jill Wagner easily joins the likes of Sigourney Weaver and Linda Hamilton as strong women leads, yet she maintains her femininity here.

Shea Whigham plays the badass convict of the film.  He’s great.  You can sympathize with him a bit, but there is still a sense he’s unstable and unpredictable.  He’s strong, but not overbearing.  Frightening, but still somehow likeable.  It’s a weird balance and I think he’s perfect here.

Finally, the creature effects on display here are great.  They’re unsettling and grotesque.  This is a simple premise for a creature.  It’s basically a parasite that begins as a small, black splinter but takes over it’s host in horrific ways.  The creature is a great combination of mostly practical effects enhanced only when needed by CGI.  There are points where you can tell puppet work is being done, but that’s part of the charm of Splinter.

I loved every minute of this film.  Other than some misused shaky-cam and couple instances of noticeable budgetary constraints, Splinter is a great little monster movie.  It’s genuinely tense and scary, but a lot of fun. Toby Wilkins is a director to keep your eye on.  If more directors take chances and bring their vision to the screen with minimal CGI, the future of horror and monster movies is bright.

Rated R for violence/gore and language.