The Plot
A yuppie couple, nebbish Seth (Paulo Costanzo) and tomboy Polly (Jill Wagner), head to the wilderness for an anniversary getaway, but a tent malfunction sends them scurrying for a hotel instead. On their way, though, they're carjacked by another young couple, Dennis (Shea Whigham) and drugged-out Lacey (Rachel Kerbs), who are on the run from the cops and headed for the border. They decide to take the yuppies hostage as insurance.
The foursome, however, drives over something in the road that flattens a tire and sends coolant leaking everywhere. They're able to fix the tire but have to pull into an isolated rural gas station to get more radiator fluid. There, they discover the gas station attendant bloody, battered and infected with something -- the same thing that they ran over in the road.
A spiky parasite has taken over the attendant, turning him into a twitchy, semi-alive host intent on spreading the entity to other humans. The creature traps them in the station, and the adversaries must put their differences aside to figure out what they're dealing with and how to escape its spiny grasp.
The End Product
With its isolated, single-location setting, Splinter has the feel of a play -- granted, the most violent play you've ever seen. It's a bit like a smaller-scale Night of the Living Dead or The Thing, and while it doesn't achieve the quality of either of those two classics, Splinter is an absorbing, tense chiller that taps into the primal fear of infection and the desire for survival.
The characters have just enough going for them to prevent them from becoming flat creature fodder. Fugitive Dennis turns out to have a heart of gold, while lead couple Seth and Polly embody a funny reversal of gender expectations, with her the rough-and-tumble type and him the tender-handed, break-a-nail type.
The character that stands out most, though, is the creature itself. Its design is unique, providing ample opportunity for not only infection scares, but also grisly transformation scenes and zombie-like moments from the rickety infected. Although the parasite is never conclusively explained, it's implied that it's a type of fungus that has grown unchecked in a forest that's been untouched by loggers for over 400 years.
It's a shame, then, that the film's budgetary constraints prevent the beast from being featured as prominently as it should. It simply isn't shown enough, either in its natural state or as it's inhabiting a host body. As such, it's frustratingly never clear exactly what it looks like. Although the special effects are solidly done -- and in a refreshing twist, sans modern digital wizardry -- they're not kept on screen long enough to appreciate. The direction from Tobe Wilkins, as a result, feels choppy and hyperactive, with a disorienting shaky camera technique that seems aimed to obscure the budget shortcomings.
Still, Splinter is an enjoyable creature feature with a great, gritty feel that delivers the genre goods: scares, laughs and gore -- including a wince-worthy amputation scene that rivals the one from the similarly-themed yet inferior The Ruins.
The Skinny
- Acting: B (Able performances all around by the small cast.)
- Direction: C+ (He may be trying to cover up for the budgetary constraints, but Wilkins' shaky camerawork and quick cuts obscure much of the action, neutralizing its impact.)
- Script: B- (Not much to it. A few twists could've enhanced the experience.)
- Gore/Effects: B (There's considerable gore, but the effects are often hidden by the direction and editing.)
- Overall: B- (With a bigger budget and a more ambitious script, it has the makings of a classic.)
Splinter is directed by Toby Wilkins and is rated R for violence/gore and language. Opening date: October 31, 2008.
