Splinter (2008)

Directed by Toby Wilkins [Other horror films: The Grudge 3 (2009)]

I don’t think Splinter’s necessarily a great movie, but I do think it’s tightly paced and possesses some solid special effects.

I love how simple the film keeps things – there’s four characters, very quickly brought down to three, stuck in a gas station with some spiky fungus making their lives unpleasant, and they have to find a way to survive. And that’s pretty much it. Sure, we get a little time to meet the characters, but once they get to that gas station shortly into the film, it’s that gas station which they’ll stay at. The use of a smaller setting never feels limited, though, and the story works great.

Personally, I love one of the characters, as I did the first time I saw this. Seth (Paulo Costanzo) doesn’t seem like much at the start of the film – he’s somewhat weak, and has a sort of geeky persona. He’s smart, though – he’s going for a PhD in biology, and it’s him who figures out what the mysterious organism is, and also a theoretical way to defeat it. It’s fun seeing him turning into a force to be reckoned with, and I quite like his character.

Of course, all three of the central performances were great. Paulo Costanzo was fun, but Shea Whigham had that attitude to him, and especially in the final thirty minutes, his character is fleshed out nicely. And as is commented a couple of times throughout the film, Jill Wagner was a firecracker, and despite their different personalities, she went well with Costanzo.

The creature here isn’t really seen too clearly too often, primarily because it’s an organism that uses living creatures as it’s host (be it a dog, person, what-have-you), and it has rather jerky movements. It definitely looks creepy, though, with splinterly spikes growing from it, and if it happens to jab you, even if you survive, woe betide you brahs.

One character found that out, to his displeasure. He got a small splinter in a finger, and four hours later, his arm had to be amputated with a boxcutter and a cinder block. Yes, that is as painful as it sounds (though amazingly, not that gory a sequence).

Splinter’s a simple movie of man vs. perceived monster (as the organism wasn’t malicious, and just trying to survive in it’s own, special way), and there’s not much past that. It’s a good way to spend your time, though; just be sure you don’t go in hoping to be blown away.

7.5/10