The After Movie Diner

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Slugs

Marek Zacharkiw

SLUGS
Release Date:
US - 10/04/16
UK - 26th September 2016
Format: Blu-ray
Starring: Michael Garfield, Kim Terry, Philip MacHale and Emilio Linder
Directed by: Juan Piquer Simón

SYNOPSIS: From Spanish director Juan Piquer Simón (Pieces) comes Slugs, based on the novel from English writer Shaun Hutson, in which the residents of a small town start to die in strange and gruesome ways. Following the trail of these mysterious deaths is our hero, health inspector Mike Brady, but old Brady is no pencil pushing, 40-hour a week jobsworth – he is out there on the front line of health inspecting and doesn't take long to realise that his town has one major carnivorous slug problem!

REVIEW: Kicking off with a pre-credit bizarre lakeside scene that would fit in more with a Piranha movie, things move quickly as Simón injects the film with one part plot to two parts action driving things along at a fast but steady pace.

This works particularly well for the film where there are just as many gaffes and bizarre conversational exchanges as there are deaths and viewers are likely to get a kick out these as all of the classic b-movie tropes are here from the asshole Sherriff, our protagonist fighting a governmental system that won’t listen to his evidence (some of the replies from his colleagues are pure gold) all the way to horny teens and every day Joes stepping up to be heroes.

As the film proceeds the problems start mounting up for our beleaguered Health Inspector but thankfully he finds a sidekick in the town sanitation officer Don Palmer and together they set about attempting to solve this slimy mystery of death as the film stops just short of becoming a buddy movie.

Soon they discover that the Slugs are the reason for the carnage and once armed with this knowledge they do the only sensible thing they can – they visit an English scientist who works in a School but spends all night seemingly undertaking experiments on animals. Very bizarre but with this the brawn of our Health Inspector and Sanitation Officer are complemented with the brains of the nerdy English guy and the group dynamic is complete.

The film throws in very few possible reasons for these slugs but, to be honest, it doesn’t really care much for the why or how but only the what. If all this sounds like Slugs was ever in danger of developing a substantial plot, don’t worry because in this film you are never far away from some ridiculous action such as a couple being blown up in a conservatory after perhaps the most over the top reaction to being bitten on the finger I have ever seen to a man’s head exploding and being reminiscent of something from Street Trash.

All of these gruesome events lead up to an explosive climax where Brady and Palmer decide to take the fight to the slimy little bastards no matter what the cost. Slugs does not do subtlety nor much in the terms of foreplay but it gives the audience exactly what it wants and to paraphrase the directors arguably most known film, it delivers exactly what you expect it to.

Fast paced and highly entertaining thanks to bizarre dialogue and some terrific gore this film is certain to please fans of creature feature b-movies.

BLU-RAY REVIEW: The extras are the usual treasure trove we have come to expect from Arrow Video. Featuring four top notch interviews with members of the cast and crew these featurettes not only help illuminate what it was like to be on the set and how the FX were put together but give that personal touch as production manager Larry Ann Evans gives us a tour of the American town in which the exteriors (and some interiors) were filmed which, for her, was as much about a homecoming as it was making a terrific Slug based movie. I would also recommend, after an initial watch, giving the audio commentary with novel writer Shaun Hutson a go as it is both illuminating and humorous as he details both his novel and its adaptation. Having never looked so good if you buy only one slug movie this year – make it this one.

EXTRAS:

  • Brand new restoration from original film elements
  • High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
  • Original Uncompressed PCM Stereo audio
  • Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
  • Audio commentary with Slugs author Shaun Hutson
  • Audio commentary by writer and filmmaker Chris Alexander
  • Here’s Slugs In Your Eye – an interview with actor Emilio Linder
  • They Slime, They Ooze, They Kill: The Effects of Slugs – an interview with special effects artist Carlo De Marchis
  • Invasion USA – an interview with art director Gonzalo Gonzalo
  • The Lyons Den – an interview and locations tour with production manager Larry Ann Evans
  • 1988 Goya Awards promo reel
  • Original Theatrical Trailer
  • Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Wes Benscoter
  • Fully-illustrated collecto’s booklet featuring new writing by writer Michael Gingold

DETAILS:

  • Duration: 92 mins
  • 1988
  • Language: English
  • Subtitles: English SDH
  • Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
  • Audio: Stereo
  • Colour
  • Discs: 1