Splinter (2008)
Starring: Jill Wagner, Paulo Constanzo, Shea Whigham
Written by: Ian Shorr, Kai Barry
Directed by: Toby Wilkins
****Spoilers****
A cutesy couple (Seth and Polly) on a camping trip get carjacked by a redneck convict couple (Dennis and Lacey) on the back-roads that weave through the old forests of Oklahoma. After bad-boy Dennis forces pretty Polly to be chauffeur, the couples continue their travels, until the rear left tire meets a splinter infected animal, and POP! - Time for a tire change! Once back on the road, the vehicle starts spitting out smoke from under the hood, making them stop at a near gas station. Shit luck gets shittier, when the only employee on the clock comes struttin' from the side of the store, all splintered up just like the animal that Polly ran over on the road. Time to lock up inside the gas station and keep splinter-thing the hell out!
There's a lot of lightning fast editing and jerky-cam shots when showing the monster, and it surprisingly works to the films advantage, other than hindering it. The creature's movement is frenzied, quick, and sporadic, so showing it in such a manner really helped build some intense scenes. Kudos to Toby Wilkins' razor-sharp directing and David Michael Maurer's editing.
In 2008, Splinter kicked ass at the Screamfest awards, picking up wins for best directing, best editing, best make-up, best musical score, best picture and best special FX. On all accounts well deserved, but especially in terms of make-up and special FX. The monster is a discombobulated mess of a thing that uses host to be what it is. On top of that, if a hand or any part is severed, that part becomes a threat too. While I enjoyed the hell out of every aspect of this film, the splinter-thing itself is by far my favorite ingredient.
There's not a whole lot of character development; you pretty much sum up who these people are off of first glance, and that works just fine. What's great is how well they all work with each other.
Paulo Constanzo as Seth is Jeff Goldblum/Seth Brundle incarnate. I actually never thought of this before, but the fact that he shares Brundle's first name is possibly a homage. Seth is a science nerd, always providing nifty little tips and trivia, and his knowledge becomes quite helpful once the monster is thrown into the mix. Constanzo does his part well, I've liked the guy ever since his pothead role in Road Trip.
Jill Wagner provides the persona of movie hottie, and I am quite thankful for that – Ooh la la! Polly is more of the toughie in her and Seth's relationship. She's more savvy with things like camping, driving stick and changing a tire. Wagner executes the lady bad ass persona with ease. I enjoy damsels in distress as much as the next person, but I prefer the Ellen Ripley's of film.
Shea Whigham plays Dennis the redneck convict, and Rachel Kerbs plays his recovering druggie girlfriend, Lacey. Lemme tell ya, I've lived next to spitting images of this very same couple on more than one occasion, and they aren't the types you'd like to invite over for a game of cards. Whigham seems to have a lot of fun portraying the character you love and hate simultaneously, and Kerbs, while in a limited role, does what she needs to in order to get the point across.
Splinter is a short and sweet little monster flick; with a run-time of roughly 80 minutes, it's over before you know it and I was left wanting more. I was really expecting something equally fantastic from Toby Wilkins afterward, but he followed this gem up with the direct-to-video Grudge 3 and episodes of the Teen Wolf series, and I really just have no interest in either of those. Hopefully down the road he will concoct something more within my spectrum of interest.
