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Splinter
USA 2008
produced by Kai Barry, Ted Kroeber, Graham Bebb (executive), Dori Begley (executive), Chad Burris (executive), Jamie Carmichael (executive), Jason Janego (executive), Tom Quinn (executive) for Indion Entertainment
directed by Toby Wilkins
starring Shea Whigham, Paulo Constanzo, Jill Wagner, Rachel Kerbs, Charles Baker, Laurel Whitsett
written by Kai Barry, Ian Shorr, Toby Wilkins, music by Elia Cmiral, special effects by Quantum Creation FX
review by Mike Haberfelner
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Available on DVD! To buy, click on link(s) below and help keep this site afloat (commissions earned) |
Always make sure of DVD-compatibility!!!
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When Seth (Paulo Constanzo) and Polly (Jill Wagner) break their tent at
the beginning of a proposed camping trip, they don't even begin to realize
that things could get much worse, and soon, because on their way to the
next motel they are taken hostage by Dennis (Shea Whigham) and his heroin
addict-girlfriend Lacey (Rachel Kerbs). Now that's bad, but still better
than what happens at the next gas station, when they are suddenly attacked
by some sort of spiked bacteria which brutally kills Lacey before going
after the others - who only just make it into the gas station's main
building. Seth, Polly and Dennis lock themselves in, but soon have to
realize they are pretty much captives of the thing on the outside, which
is way quicker than they are, seemingly unkillable and totally ruthless.
All their attempts to make it out of the building anyways only end in
chaos, and eventually, our heroes find themselves locked in the cooler,
where they have to realize Dennis is already infected and have to cut off
his arm in order to save him. But the cooler also gives them the decisive
clue - the bacteria hunts by its sense of temperature, and thus, Seth
cools himself down almost to the point of freezing and then makes it to
the car in order to then pick up the others. Things get out of hand though
when he finds out he hasn't got the car key, and in the final battle with
the bacteria, Dennis the criminal is allowed to die a hero's death, the
gas station goes up with a big bang, and Seth and Polly survive of course. A
very economically made shocker that uses its limited number of sets and
characters to its full advantage and manages to keep things going at a
steady pace without ever pausing for pseudo-scientific explanations to
explain away the onscreen goings-on. That said though, the film is not
perfect, its action sequences are cut way too rapidly to really give the
audience a feel of what's going on, and the ending does not pack quite teh
punch it could have while Dennis's hero's death is unnecessarily clichéd,
especially in light of the pleasently cliché-free proceedings thus far. Still,
at least worth a look.
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