Splinter a Criminally Underseen Horror Movie Worth Re-Visiting

Posted on May 18, 2022 by Andrew Welsh

Synopsis

On their way to a camping trip, Polly and her bookworm boyfriend, Seth, cross paths with escaped convict, Dennis, and his junkie girlfriend, Lacey. But the carjacking doesn’t go well for either couple. They run over something on the road and before Polly can change the tire a strange splinter-like creature attacks the group. With no other options, they take shelter in a deserted gas station. Cut off from help, the parasitic ‘splinter’ stalks the group, infecting and taking over anyone with whom it comes into contact.

Splinter Shows Off the Best of DiY Indie Horror

A longtime visual effects supervisor, British director Toby Wilkins (The Grudge 3) was in familiar territory behind the camera for Splinter. On one hand, this DIY indie horror movie is a stripped down monster movie with a simple premise. Like another 2008 indie release, Pontypool, Splinter puts a clever twist on the zombie narrative. That is, Ian Shore and Kai Barry’s screenplay re-imagines the concept as a parasite. And Wilkins understands that there doesn’t really need to be much else to explain. The story allows Paulo Constanzo’s science-obsessed ‘Seth’ to give audiences some context. Yet aside from these bits of dialogue, Wilkins keeps things moving a brisk pace. Here, the focus is on the characters and the plight in which they find themselves. Once Wilkins strands his characters Splinter mixes bits of The Thing and Night of the Living Dead without aping its influences.

There’s plenty of bloody horror moments alongside a genuinely unique, disturbing monster.

Not surprisingly, Wilkins delivers a straightforward but clever creature that puts good use to its practical effects. There’s plenty of bloody horror moments alongside a genuinely unique, disturbing monster. It’s a testament to practical effects with the use of contortionists to mimic infection adding a nice trick. On one hand, Wilkins never overexposes his creature, which benefits the effects. However, Splinter too often leans on a shaky cam that quickly feels tedious. Some of the editing feels jarring as well. Nonetheless, the single setting, small cast, and lean pacing ensure that Splinter satisfies.

Splinter Benefits From Its Small Cast, Single Setting

In addition to its practical effects and lean pacing, Splinter feature a good, small cast of familiar faces from the 2000s. Both Costanzo (Road Trip) and Jill Wagner (Teen Wolf) are extremely likeable as the hijacked couple. And veteran character actor Shea Whigham anchors the movie playing the irascible escaped convict who eventually – and predictably – embraces the antihero role. One of the below-the-surface strengths of Splinter is the chemistry among the cast – it serves to increase audience identification. Conversely, the lack of conflict between the characters – outside of some early back and forth – reduces potential tension.

One of the below-the-surface strengths of Splinter is the chemistry among the cast – it serves to increase audience identification.

Fortunately, Splinter’s economical story-telling and the single-setting maintain a level of suspense. Wilkins stages a handful of edge-of-your seat moments. In particular, a third act attempt to get to a police car radio stands out. Given the small cast, it’s inevitable that someone isn’t going to make it to the end of the movie. This helps heighten some of the suspense as it’s not immediately obvious who the most likely survivors may be to audiences. Similar to the lack of tension, the finale does leave one feeling that Wilkins takes a bit of an easy way out. That’s not to say the conclusion isn’t satisfying – just maybe a little too convenient.

Splinter Delivers a Bloody, Lean Thriller

In spite of a bit too much shaky cam, Splinter impressively blends bits of The Thing and Night of the Living Dead into a lean, bloody thriller. While Shorr and Barry’s screenplay avoids needless exposition, Wilkins wisely adopts a ‘less is more’ approach to the parasitic monster. And what’s put on screen embodies the best of DIY indie horror. Simply put, Splinter understands that what you don’t see is often scarier that what’s in plain view. Though it’s not a classic, this is criminally underseen movie that deserves to be re-visited.

Deadly Highways: Seven Road Trip Horror Movies To Keep You Home

Posted on August 17, 2020 by Andrew Welsh

7 – Duel (1971)

Duel is the quintessential road trip thriller. Despite premiering on television as an ABC Movie of the Week, Duel is something of a minor classic of its sub-genre. It’s every bit as suspenseful as it is simple. Straight-laced salesman David Mann passes a beat-up Peterbilt tanker truck on a stretch of deserted highway. Unfortunately, the unseen driver takes it personally and terrorizes David for the remainder of his business trip. From that point onward, Duel is a non-stop cat-and-mouse chase that rarely lets up. Sometimes the most straightforward premise is the best. And it probably doesn’t hurt that Steven Spielberg directed – in his feature-length debut – from a Richard Matheson screenplay. Spielberg’s decision to offer no motivation – not even a glimpse of the truck driver – also amps up the suspense.

6 – Race with the Devil (1975)

Okay, Race With the Devil is a hokey movie. At the height of the 1970s “Satanic Panic”, this mash-up of horror and action was one of several cult-themed movies terrifying suburban Americans. Yes, it’s a pure midnight movie with production values only slightly better than the run-of-the-mill made-for-television movie from the same era. When two married couples witness a Satanic ritual, their RV vacation turns into a cross-country nightmare. Part horror, part car chase movie, Race With the Devil is pretty standard stuff. Don’t expect much in the way of explicit gore. And there aren’t really any good jumps of which to speak. What makes this one worth watching is its oddly unsettling downer of an ending. You’ll want to leave the lights on after this one is done.

5 – Road Games (1981)

When someone says ‘Scream Queen’, Jamie Lee Curtis is probably still the name that comes to mind first. Everyone knows her roles in Halloween, Prom Queen, The Fog, and Terror Train. But even die-hard horror fans may have missed Road Games. In between Terror Train and Halloween II, Curtis found time for this Aussie road trip horror flick. Once again Curtis plays a hitchhiker who, along with a truck driver, gets caught up in a cat-and-mouse game across the Australian outback with a serial killer. Though Road Games sounds like just another slasher movie, it’s more of a suspense thriller. Less Friday the 13th, more Hitchcock in spirit. No, Road Games won’t fool anyone into considering it a classic. But it’s a nicely shot, well-acted thriller that’s surprisingly effective. In fact, it’s something of a hidden gem in Curtis’ filmography.

4 – The Hitcher (1986)

Once upon a time, years before Uber, people hitchhiked. Yes, they hopped into a car with a complete stranger. And they couldn’t leave a negative review on any app. Forget about the 2000’s remake, The Hitcher is an 80’s guilty-pleasure thriller that operates on levels of increasing implausibility. Jim Halsey is delivering a car from Chicago to San Diego. On a lonely stretch of desert highway, a tired Jim decides to pick up a hitchhiker. Unfortunately, the ‘hitcher’, John Ryder, is a psychopathic serial killer, intent on making Jim’s life a living hell. On one hand, The Hitcher can be pretty unsettling when it’s focused on small moments between Jim and Ryder. These scenes make for a tense, if not unlikely, ‘Road Trip’ from hell. Along the way, the movie goes off the rails. But Rutger Hauer’s chilling performance more than compensates for its unintentional silliness.

3 – Joy Ride (2001)

At first glance, Joy Ride feels like a spiritual remake of Duel. When college student Lewis Thomas’ high school crush, Venna, asks him to pick her up from school for the holidays, he trades in his plane ticket for a beat-up 1971 Chrysler Newport. But the road trip gets sidetracked when Lewis stops to bail out his troubled older brother, Fuller. A cruel prank with a CB radio on a trucker who calls himself, ‘Rusty Nail’, ends tragically. Like Spielberg’s Duel, Joy Ride then shifts into a ‘cat-and-mouse’ chase across deserted highways. Yet in spite of its similarities, Joy Ride still delivers the goods. First, Joy Ride benefits from director John Dahl’s deft hand – he knows how to craft suspense. Audiences will find a handful of white-knuckle moments. Throw in a likable cast and Ted Levine’s creepy voice as ‘Rusty Nail’ and Joy Ride makes for a decent update.

2 – Vacancy (2007)

If you’ve ever taken a road trip, there’s a good chance you had to spend the night in a cheap motel. Generally, a cheap motel means dirty sheets, bed bugs, no cable, or all of the above. But for 2000’s horror movie Vacancy, a motel stopover turns into a fight for survival. On the brink of divorce, David and Amy’s late-night shortcut leads them to a remote motel. When David finds handful of VHS tapes showing grisly murders, he recognizes the setting – their motel room. With Vacancy clocking in at just under 90 minutes, it’s a tightly packed thriller that never overstays its welcome. David’s discovery of the ‘snuff tapes’, for instance, is genuinely unnerving. And director Nimrod Antal wisely trades on a ‘less is more’ approach. Still despite its promising premise and good set-up, Vacancy settles into watchable B-movie, owing in small part to its lack of compelling villains.

1 – Splinter (2008)

A lot of horror fans probably missed Splinter. This little indie road trip thriller barely saw the inside of movie theaters. And it’s too bad because there’s lots to like about this creature feature. A couple’s romantic getaway goes off-course when an escaped convicted and his addict girlfriend carjack them. Things only get worse from that point onward. A flat tire strands the foursome at an abandoned, remote gas station. As it turns out, the gas station is abandoned because of a strange, splinter-like creature that infects, kills, and re-animates its victims. Consider it survival horror at its simplest and best. Whether it’s the gross practical effects, the tight pacing, subverted expectations, or doses of humour, Splinter is inspired DIY horror.

Viral Horror: 10 ‘Infection’ Horror Movies

Posted on March 21, 2020 by Andrew Welsh

The Omega Man (1971)

To date, Hollywood has adapted Richard Matheson’s post-apocalyptic horror novel, I Am Legend, three times with varying success. Arguably, Vincent Price’s The Last Man on Earth is the best version. Will Smith’s I Am Legend is at least half of a good movie. The less said about the ending, the better. But 70’s cinema aficionados may appreciate Charlton Heston’s The Omega Man. Yes, it plays hard and fast with much of Matheson’s novel. Like the other movie adaptations, The Omega Man also fundamentally misunderstands the meaning of I Am Legend. And Charlton Heston plays … well, Charlton Heston. Regardless The Omega Man channels the lonely spirit of the novel with some added 70’s vibes. At the very least, viewers currently practicing social distancing will relate to ‘Robert Neville’s’ loneliness as the ‘last man on earth’.

Rabid (1977)

One of David Cronenberg’s early directorial efforts, Rabid is a low-budget Canadian ‘zombie’ horror movie that set the groundwork for ‘Body Horror’. After a horrific motorcycle accident and experimental plastic surgery procedure, Rose wakes up with a bloodlust and a phallic-looking stinger hidden in her armpit. Each person she ‘feeds on’ turns into a zombie-like creature who spreads the infection. Horror fans will get their fair share of cheap gore but, like other ‘infection’ movies, the real scares emerge from the movie’s portrayal of the virus’ spread and government incompetence in curbing the outbreak.

Cabin Fever (2002)

Director Eli Roth’s directorial debut is about as divisive as the rest of his work. Cabin Fever is a quirky indie horror and hallmark of Roth’s affection for Grindhouse cinema. A group of partying teens’ cabin getaway goes horribly wrong when one of them catches a flesh-eating virus. Not surprisingly, Roth ensures that every stage of the disease is captured in grotesque detail. You’ll never be able to watch someone shaving their legs again after watching Cabin Fever. Along with the usual Grindhouse gore, Roth injects quite a bit of eccentric, off-beat humour into the movie. A party-loving deputy and a mullet-haired boy who’s partial to Kung Fu and pancakes are, for lack of a better word, memorable. Warning – avoid the remake at all costs.

Resident Evil (2002)

Very few movie adaptations of video games work out. But director Paul WS Anderson (Event Horizon) turned Mortal Kombat into something of a guilty pleasure. And several years later, Anderson brought Resident Evil and the T-virus onto the big screen. Though critics were underwhelmed, Resident Evil spawned a successful movie franchise and made Milla Jovovich an action star. As far as video game movies go, Resident Evil mixes horror and action surprisingly well with a decent amount of atmosphere early on. Even if some of the CGI hasn’t aged well, Resident Evil has a few impressive showcases, particularly the laser defence system scene. The endless stream of sequels were unnecessary, but Anderson’s original entry still works much better than expected.

REC (2007)

Don’t like found-footage movies? Forget it, because Spanish-made REC is one of the best horror movies released this century. A news crew on a fluff-piece assignment with firefighters become trapped in a quarantined building where a virus turns infected into blood-frenzied animals. This is one of the cases where the found-footage format works, adding a sense of realism and urgency to the story. Moreover, REC mixes in an interesting religious mythology without giving away too much detail. There’s still plenty of mystery to mull over and leave you wanting more. And watch out for the ending – it’s one of the best final scares you’ll find in any horror movie. If subtitles aren’t your thing, American-remake Quarantine, is nearly just as good.

Splinter (2008)

There’s a good chance you haven’t seen Splinter. And that’s unfortunate. This is another interesting twist on the ‘zombie’ or ‘infected’ subgenre that deserved a bigger audience. Like Night of the Living Dead, Splinter centres around a small group of people trapped in a single setting. Specifically, a young couple and an escaped convicted with his girlfriend are trapped in a remote, roadside gas station. Outside the gas station, a fungal virus that infects and ‘animates’ its victims – whole or in pieces – is trying to get it. Splinter is a simple survival horror movie that works due to compelling characters, taut scares and tensions, and a refreshing spin on an old horror monster. If you haven’t seen Splinter, do yourself a favour and check it out.

Pontypool (2008)

Just when you thought there was nothing left to do with the zombie subgenre, along comes Canadian indie horror, Pontypool. Shock jock Grant Mazzy and his radio crew are trapped in their studio in the now quarantined small Ontario town of Pontypool. Outside the building, a growing horde of frenzied, infected townspeople are gathering. Soon Mazzy and his colleagues discover the source of the infection – a virus that has infected certain words in the English language. Director Bruce McDonald, who adapted Tony Burgess’ source novel, captures a near perfect feeling of isolation and helplessness. Pontypool’s small budget and single setting doesn’t hurt the movie but rather intensifies the apocalyptic feeling. This is one of the more creative uses of the ‘zombie’ in the horror genre.

Doomsday (2008)

A highly contagious virus. An entire country quarantined. Those are about the only things Neil Marshall’s Doomsday has in common with our current situation. Following the successes of Dog Soldiers and The Descent, Marshall wrote and directed this mix of Escape From New York and Mad Max. Years after the ‘Reaper Virus’ sweeps over Scotland, England sends a para-military team into the quarantined zone to recover a possible cure for a new outbreak in London. While there’s some fun callbacks, particularly to John Carpenter’s work, Doomsday is a tale of two movies. The first movie is fun, pulpy mix of action and horror. Too bad the second half devolves into a strange medieval setpiece. Still, Doomsday has enough stylistic flair to make it worth a watch. No one fights over toilet paper, but there is a queasy barbecue scene that makes a Costco trip suddenly much more tolerable.

28 Days Later (2003)

‘Rage. They’re infected with rage’. With 28 Days Later, Danny Boyle resuscitated the decaying zombie genre. Horror fans may remember it best as the movie that gave us ‘fast-moving’ zombies. But it’s also one of the first movies to re-imagine the zombie as a viral outbreak. In the time since its release, 28 Days Later stands as one of the best horror movies of this century. It’s also a riveting story of what it means to survive. Though the movie’s narrative abruptly shifts at the midway point, Boyle effortlessly threads a consistent thematic narrative. And 28 Days Later’s scene of Jim wandering the empty streets of London was haunting in 2003 – it’s taken on an entirely new meaning today.

The Bay (2012)

For some unknown reason, acclaimed director Barry Levinson tried his hand at found-footage in the early 2010’s. Audiences ignored it, but Levinson’s The Bay is pretty compelling stuff. Briefly, The Bay is ‘assembled’ and ‘leaked’ from confiscated government footage of a parasitic infection spreading through a small coastal town. Several narratives of the infection’s spread and increasing government clamp-down are intertwined. While it’s not necessarily a horror movie, The Bay certainly has its share of gruesome moments. But what’s more likely to linger for viewers is the movie’s unnerving portrayal of the efforts to which the government will go to cover-up and deny.

The Abominable Dr. Welsh

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