Splinter 2008 (spoilers) - Reader Request

Every now and then a clever little low budget indie-movie comes along that makes hardcore moviegoers wonder why the big budget movies can't do better given their seemingly unlimited funds and resources. One word comes to mind (as always) - PASSION. It all boils down to whether passion exists and what that passion exists for. Is it passion for the love of the horror genre or is it passion for easy money? Hmmm ... you can see how it would make a difference - and not for the good if it's the latter. For reference of what passion for easy money looks like think of: JEEPERS CREEPERS REBORN. It happens when a filmmaker thinks they'll instantly rake in money on name recognition alone because of the predecessors success. It isn't working out so well for that movie in particular and it never does when passion for the love of the genre and material are absent.

Splinter was clearly a work of passion from the heart, not the pocket book, and I mean no disrespect; it's a compliment. This is a very low budget film, yet somehow they have managed to go well beyond the funds they had to work with. Another favorable factor for me with this films is that is almost entirely shot on one location. Simplicity matters! 

In the intro ... Blake (gas station attendant) walks into the parking-lot area to take his break [apparently]. He sits outside in a lawn chair to have a snack. The good old country life, right? Within seconds 'something' startles him from behind. He spins around and finds a strangely mutated wildlife animal covered in long, thin splintery-spikes protruding from its body. Brief glimpses of the creature are shown as the camera quickly cuts away. Seconds later we hear Blake screaming, then the story immediately cuts to the next act. 

[Pretty] Polly (Jill Wagner) and [Scientific] Seth (Paulo Costanzo) are headed to the woods to do a little camping, but upon arrival neither of them seem to be able to assemble a tent. Well ... Scratch that plan! The couple hops back into Polly's SUV and hits the road again. While playing a little game of identifying the various species of trees along the roadside, they come upon two strangers on this isolated country road. Even though the couple hasn't opened a window or a door, they instantly realize that stopping was a mistake.  Dennis pulls a gun on Polly then taps her window motioning her to open the door. Polly and Seth panic, but ultimately are overtaken by the estranged and deranged couple.

We now have Dennis and his girlfriend (Lacey) who have taken Polly and Seth hostage at gun point. Seth can't drive a manual transmission, so Dennis makes Polly drive. Lacey begins to demonstrate apparent mental instability. She's either crazy or has signs of the long term effects of drug abuse - or both. Either way, she's not the type of girl I want to be around, much less trapped in a vehicle with. 

A few miles down the road, Polly runs over something [spiky] lying in the road and it blows her tire. When she stops the vehicle Dennis tells Seth to change the flat, but once he again - he doesn't know how to do that either. [Problem-solver] Polly and Dennis get out of the truck and open the back hatch to gather the tire rod, spare, and jack to change the flat. Lacey wanders back to the place in the road where remains are splattered and starts going hysterical at the site. She is convinced that her pet has been run over. Seth walks over to Lacey and unsuccessfully attempts to comfort her, but she becomes even more unhinged. She goes so far to tell Seth to help it. The look on his face was priceless.

Dennis gets 'pricked' by one of the spikes while they are changing the tire, but as Lacey continues to nut up, they finish changing the flat and the group jumps in the truck in an effort to get away from the remains that have now started moving once again. Yikes! They don't get far though, because the radiator was also damaged when the tire blew out. Guess what!? The four are in luck! They mange to make it to the gas station where Blake works. 

Look ... I don't want to give the entirety of this movie away, because there is always a chance that even though I have included (SPOILERS) in the title - as a warning to those who haven't seen it  - someone might read this anyway and end up wanting to see the movie afterward. So, to be all inclusive, from this moment forward I am focusing on the acting, cinematography, effects/gore, and overall plot.

This is a low-budget gem with a creative creature. It falls very closely into the sub-genre of a zombie'esque type film. The "creature" infects you through its parasitic abilities and transforms you from human to undead once it completely infects you. Not only can we consider this zombie-like - but like a very creative zombie with a very scary twist [and poke]! Considering the budget of this film, I think the creature effects were outstanding. There are movies with much bigger budgets that don't come close to being realistic, but the effects in Splinter look very well-done and surpass much more financially-substantial productions.

The cinematography is also well-done, but I will admit that I am not familiar with Nelson Cragg's work outside of this movie. There were some shaky, handheld moments that were a little distracting, but I think that probably falls more into the fault of the budget and their timeline. In other words, these low-budget movies catch a lot of flack when they cut-away from the creatures/monsters and it is frowned down upon, but it's substitutive where money was absent. If you can't create dynamic visuals, then less is definitely more. I am in the camp that I believe less is always more; especially when it comes to these creatures. If you show too much, you lose mystery and with that it becomes less scary. So for shaky-cam and cut-aways, this film loses no credit on its aesthetic, or appeal, and it gets full credit for being creatively/beautifully shot. 

The gore is "just enough" ... Splinter has CGI and practical effects combined. Yes, you can tell when CGI is used - but it's forgivable - especially given the nature of the science fiction feel of the film. The cut-aways don't always work, because some of the scenes would benefit from showing more. I know, I know - I just said less is more, but the scene with Lacey outside the gas station doesn't align with Polly's dialogue. That's really the only scene I am referring to in this context, because most of the time it works.

There is a scene at the gas station where a certain "authority figure" thinks she knows better/more and refuses to listen to Seth, Polly, and Dennis (locked inside). It actually has a social message of a never-ending problem society faces with people in power; they tend to think they can never learn anything from someone they consider "beneath" them and this scene is a great example of the instant karma you face when you hold that disgusting mentality.

The plot is actually nothing new or groundbreaking ... we have obviously already seen movies of similar nature, but the thing that separates Splinter from so many others is that - even on a very low budget it manages to be well-edited, well-shot, well-acted, and decently paced. The dialogue isn't filled with fluff and is actually logical. The suspense is built through thoughtful character progression. This film is mostly devoid of the common horror tropes (there are a few) and I feel like the characters make rational decisions.

Splinter is a great low-budget indie flick that I highly recommend. If you haven't seen it, you can watch it on Hulu.

SPOILER ALERT!!!

It is also interesting to watch the would-be bad guy become a not-so-bad guy in the end (okay that is probably a spoiler - sorry).

I give SPLINTER 2 severed bloody thumbs up!