Splinter (2008) Movie Review, Trailer, Film Still and Poster

USA 2008
Director: Toby Wilkins
Cast: Jill Wagner, Paulo Costanzo, Shea Whigham, Rachel Kerbs, Laurel Whitsett, Charles Baker
Rating: R
Release Date: 31 October 2008
Running Time: 1 hour 19 minutes

The Movie Review

Splinter film still 1


SPLINTER
Storyline:
Cast:
Ending:
Overall:

For most reviewers, I think, watching and writing reviews of bad movies are our bad-batch dose of daily life. You could get 'immune' somehow, and at some points the same rule might also applies to the good movies too. By that time excitement starts to become a rarity I suppose... So when I suddenly bumped into a really good one, I just couldn't help to stand up and shout "Oh yeah! Finally Ace!!" And so aside from my job as a movie reviewer, I would really like all moviegoers especially horror fans to at least rent this flick, for it's one heckuva horror film!

Poly (Jill Wagner) and Seth (Paulo Costanzo of Road Trip (2000)) are a couple madly in love head over heels for each other that they plan to "do it" under the stars while camping in a remote woods! (okay, you might be thinking there will be a serial killer lurking? Well not exactly). However, since Seth is not such an outdoorsy person, their plan fail and they opt to just hit the sack in the nearest motel. Unfortunately, on their way, a seemingly innocent girl, Lacey (Rachel Kerbs), stops them in the middle of nowhere and then her killer boyfriend, Dennis (Shea Whigham of Town Creek (2009)), suddenly jumps into Poly, car-jacks them and make them hostages.

Unbeknownst and definitely-unpredictable for Poly and Seth --even for Lacey and Dennis-- this unlikely encounter is not the worst thing... Because, just as they arrive in the nearest gas station, there... their nightmare will begin where they have to face such sickening and creepy enemies. What will happen to them?

Splinter is a gift for this reviewer's sleepy eyes. Watching an array of bad movies one after another and got disappointed by unchanged stock of movies in Cinemas back in the fasting month (Again and Again Harry Potter 7.2 (2011), Transformers (2011), Fast Five (2011) arrrghhh), finding Splinter is a boost of excitement. Yes, I skipped seeing Splinter in Cinemas while it was being screened in Jakarta around September 2010. Overall, this is a great film... So I just lay out the bad sides first. First of all for seasoned moviegoers, you could probably tell who'll live and who'll die. Second, the body count is very low and there isn't any nudity in it, despite the presence of two cute girls. Third --which I think is actually a good one-- is the shooting location which doesn't move far from the same place. Those are basically can be overlooked by casual viewers, but there is this one annoying aspect that actually lowers the movie overall entertainment-quality.

It seems as if the filmmakers shot this movie directly one minute after riding on a roller coaster, I don't know what he's trying to achieve in terms of viewing experience through the camerawork, giving the audience some nice treat in horror realm or over-eager intention to induce headache to us. But whatever the intention is, it would be nice for us had we seen how cool those creatures (the big ones not the small ones) moves with such agony and proceed to terrorize the survivor...

-- Start of Spoiler Possibility Alert --
The enemies thee people are facing is some kind of ancient parasitic organism which feeds on living organism and will make the host act as if possessed by the demon from The Exorcist (1973). Too bad the camerawork and editing at this time are suck! Because those host creatures look splendid moving with some of their body parts are contorted to impossible angles.
-- End of Spoiler Possibility Alert --

Nevertheless, I would still highly recommend this for horror fans who are fed up with steady stock of corny slashers or hokey ghost movies for Splinter is anything but ordinary. The premise is absolutely wonderful as it'll be likely copied by brain-stuck filmmakers for their future movies and Splinter could even result in sequels. And to make it even more gripping, the characters are not just generic killer fodder with no personality, Splinter is also excellent for making us as the audience feel emotionally attached to them. Those young people are not just there to be killed and chased but we could even feel their growing relationship. Which of course, this good stuff is made possible by the dialogue and the solid acting of the cast. There is some nice character development of which credits go to Jill Wagner and Shea Whigham. Splinter is very recommended, I wish in the future there will be also a comedy pertaining the same premise, it would've been very interesting :)