Splinter Movie Review

Splinter Movie Review

Ok, so we live in a day and time in horror where so many people love indie movies like Laid to Rest which was in many ways almost fucking unwatchable due to some extremely poor acting even as much as the gore tried to save it. Or the acting is fair and watchable but, the story is terrible or screenplay is bad. Or the acting and screenplay is ok but, there isn't enough money for effects and their terrible make the movie tough to sit through as well. Then comes along once in a blue or full moon a movie like The Poughkeepsie Tapes or Splinter. And Splinter for me is exactly what I feel is a great indie horror movie. The actors were all strong. In particular Shea Whigham and Jill Wagner. Both veterans of TV. Jill was in Blade the series which aired on Spike. Shea is actually in a role of the now mega hit Fast and Furious. Shea was quite believable as a con that was on the run after murdering a trucker during a failed big rig heist. Polly (Jill Wagner) and her nerdy ass boyfriend Seth (Paulo Costanzo) went out for a camping trip which they decide after breaking the tent to abort. Now at this point I was scared this movie was going to suck because I immediately believed this was going to be about that little varmit that got after the gas station attendant at the beginning but, wasn't. Thank god. Because we then pickup with Dennis (Shea Whigham) and his girlfriend methhead Lacey (played well by Lacey Belisle) having truck trouble. Leaving their truck and being picked up by Polly and Seth. Which of course become hostages. They hit something in the road. Which looks a lot like the varmit at the beginning. Complete with little spikeys everywhere which is what knocked out the tire. Which Dennis gets a Splinter in his finger. Well, anyway, at this point we end up back at the gas station. Where we find out this is not about spikey killer varmits but, much much more about a almost "The Thing" like creature which has been taken over by the spikes which act as almost a virus like parasite that takes over its host. Now the effects in this indie movie were quite strong. There was at no time did I feel something looked cheap.. or CGI'd up. No sir. Its very hard to make a hand on the floor moving look decent. But, they pull it off. Seth gives a fairly good understanding of the parasite because as luck would have it he is a biology major. So this is a stand off in the gas station with very good interaction between the characters. Which adds to the movie because you find yourself hoping they all make it. Especially, Dennis who is the scum bag white trash con but, becomes our hero at the end. Anyway, this movie is a monster in the horror indie genre and should be the blueprint of a great indie horror movie! Acting. Story. Interaction of characters. Effects. Gore. Fantastic suspenseful ending. I give this 4.5 out of 5 axes. Director Toby Wilkins should get a pat on the back for this horror flick. So far my friend you have the one of the horror movies I've seen this year.