The greatest thing about `Slither' is that it never feels regurgitated or like mere mimicry; as so many other so called horror spoofs do these days. No, `Slither' feels one hundred percent original. Instead of being a blatant movie spoof (ala `Scary Movie') it is more a comedy horror film, infiltrating its inspired plot with enough of its own originality to warrant multiple viewings and ones praise and admiration.

The film is about these alien slug creatures that make their way to earth on an asteroid and infect this town, turning everyone they contact into flesh eating zombies. It starts when a young teachers older husband Grant gets attacked, turning him into this tentacle wielding host slug. After his initial infection the town starts to spiral downhill until there are only a few human survivors staging an all out war against the zombies.

Using the right breed of humor to mix with the right amount of gore, `Slither' manages to be both funny and scary. Sure, its not going to send you to bed with nightmares (unless you are deathly afraid of bugs) but it will send shivers down your spine and give you the creepy crawlies as you sit huddled on your couch. Don't get too comfortable though, since the unending humor and laugh out loud sequences will keep you writhing in laughter.

The actors here all carry their weight well, Elizabeth Banks and Nathan Fillion taking center stage as Grant's young wife and the local sheriff who is vying for her affection. Michael Rooker is effectively slimy as Grant and Gregg Henry (from `The Riches') is hilarious as the mayor Jack MacReady. There is not a moment where I really felt the film could have been improved upon, although I'm sure that it could have been. My best friend just got done telling me that he hated this movie (precisely the inspiration I needed to write this review) and I spent like twenty minutes fighting violently about his warped opinion.

Honestly, some will hate this, I know...but really; why?

In the end I confess that this is a guilty pleasure, but one that you do not need to feel guilty about. It's gory, uncomfortable and gross, not to mention hilariously capable of making that gore totally warranted and acceptable. I fully enjoyed this rompfest from start to finish and hope that you will too.

Who would have thought that in 2006 that someone could take the cheesy horror vibe involving alien subplots, slimy stuff, and zombies from the 80's and modernize it with enough great actors, story, gore, and wit to satisfy the masses (I'm referring to the horror loving mass and more)? Well, James Gunn successfully accomplished just that with Slither.

The story to Slither is simply that an alien pod crash lands on earth and strangely infects a man. The -whatever- infecting the man begins to gather its army by impregnating a woman (whose "birth" scene is definitely one for the books) and creating an army of "hosts" (this is where the zombie-likes come in) to accomplish its world domination (this plan is seen through flashes of a girl who was almost infected). We are then thrown into all of this through the story of a local cop (played to perfect wit by Nathan Fillion), the wife of the man infected (Elizabeth Banks, you are a beauty), and a teenage girl who watched her family get brutally infected.

Gunn treated us to so many throwbacks that it was almost too pleasurable to view. Slither is very reminiscent of Night of the Creeps, Night of the Comet, The Blob, and so many other alien invasion / hosts horror / comedies from the 80's that the film instantly gives a true feeling of nostalgia. Gunn is obviously a true fan of the genre, and he gives his viewers exactly what they want.

Slither is one of the few horror movies in my list of favorite horror movies that delivered on every single level that I wanted it to deliver on plus more.

"Slither" is great science fiction horror that manages to be both frightening and humorous. "Alien Slugs" would have been a more apt title in lieu of "Slither," which makes one think of snakes. This slick film reminded me of a plethora of science fiction classics ranging from "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" to "Alien" to "Xtro" to "The Puppet Masters."

A small meteor lands in the woods. A slug-like alien emerges. It attaches itself to the brain of a human host, Grant, which develops an insatiable appetite for meat. Each time it feeds, it mutates until it resembles a nebulous creature (a similar fate befell an astronaut in "The Quatermass Xperiment"). This creature creates more hosts (for producing more slug-like aliens) and it creates zombies that find meat, both animal and human, for the hosts to consume. Soon an entire town is threatened with annihilation. This film contains some scenes that are tense, frightening, and gross. It is also punctuated with redneck comic relief that makes you laugh out loud, thus relieving you of some of the tension.

Kudos to the casting director for picking extras who actually looked like real people who would live in a small, rural town. They could've been in a John Cougar Mellencamp video.

The action was well paced, I laughed aloud at some of the one liners, and I can't complain about the body count - it was very high. Good science fiction theories were provided. The aliens had Collective Thinking; if one saw, they all saw. Many of the zombies acted, spoke, and thought like Grant, which had humorous consequences.

"Slither" is a must see for fans of modern science fiction horror or for fans, like myself, who enjoy all types of horror. If you can withstand the slimy goo and gore, you will enjoy this movie. "Slither" has something for all horror fans.