BY TIM GREAVES
Adapted fairly faithfully from Shaun Hutson's celebrated
novel of the same name, upon its release in 1988 director J.P. Simon’s Slugs slunk
comfortably into the subgenre of "nature gone crazy" frighteners
which over the years had found mankind besieged by worms, spiders, rats, ants,
frogs, bees and, er, rabbits (no, really!). And, just as the best of them had
it, Slugs’ beasties weren't of the common or garden kind, they were of the
supersized, extra squishy variety...with teeth…oh, and a taste for human flesh.
The inhabitants of a small American town – the site of a
former dumping ground for toxic waste – fall victim to a nightmarish contagion
of slugs and it's up to Council Health Inspector Mike Brady (Michael Garfield)
to sort it out. He quickly learns that not only are they deadly but that
they've contaminated the fresh water system. With the mutilated dead bodies of
townsfolk piling up and the authorities dismissing Brady's outlandish theories,
he turns to scientist John Foley (Santiago Alvarez) for help. Foley concocts an
efficacious amalgam of chemicals he believes will destroy them and the two men
set off to locate the slugs' breeding ground in the sewers.
J.P. Simon is better known to connoisseurs of terror cinema
as Spaniard Juan Piquer Simón, whose most notorious celluloid
offering was crazed 1982 slasher Pieces. Slugs sacrifices the
inherent sleaze factor of that film and doesn’t even attempt to match its
infamous ultra-gory effects. But what the two do share in common is
that the performances of the participants are uniformly risible and both films
are hampered by truly wretched dialogue, the mostly stilted delivery of which
only accentuates just how awful it is.
And yet, again as with Pieces, these frailties – if,
when attributed to a film with such a dubious pedigree as Slugs, they can
even be called frailties – add a welcome vein of unintentional humour.
Take, for example, this early dialogue exchange between
Brady and his wife when she draws his attention to some slugs in the flowerbeds
–
Him: Jesus Christ, those things are big!
Her: I told you they were big.
Him: Big? They're gigantic!!
He reaches down to touch one and recoils.
Him: Damned thing bit me!
Her: What kind of a slug bites someone?
Him: I don't know, but he's living in your garden!!
Slugs’ functionality as a "horror film" is
understandably subjective, being directly proportionate to one's feelings about
the titular gastropods. Let's face it, they aren't scary, or even intimidating
for that matter; never mind run, you could stroll away from them.
However, what most people do probably deem them to be is pretty repulsive. And
on that score Simón employs his cast of thousands to admirably
flesh-crawling effect.
As with most films of this ilk, however, the real disquiet
for me is usually derived more from the sustained anticipation of what I’m going to
see as opposed to what actually winds up on the screen. For example, waiting to
find out what's going to become of the guy who's unwittingly consumed a
diced-up slug in his salad and succumbs to an increasingly debilitating
headache; you just know it’s going to end badly. (On which subject,
if you've a strong constitution take a moment to look up schistosomes – the
parasites that live in the bloodstream of slugs – and you'll be sure to
double-check those lettuce leaves on your dinner plate have been thoroughly
rinsed).
The presence of the slimy critters themselves aside, Slugs’
gamut of the effects work is successfully nauseating, the menu of exploding
heads, self-inflicted amputation and slug-riddled cadavers combining to make
the film a triumphant z-grade schlock-fest.
The bottom line is that no-one ventures into a movie
called Slugs without some degree of expectation of being grossed out,
and those who get their jollies that way will depart the experience feeling
they've been treated royally.
A word too for Tim Souster's score, a curiously mixed
offering, at its most effective during the opening credits – where the composer
effectively blends the sounds of screaming with the music – and at its most
misplaced during the closing scene where it becomes so romantically melodic
that it feels as if it has snuck in from another film altogether.
Fans of Slugs (onscreen title: Slugs The
Movie) should be very happy with the sparkling restoration carried out for
Arrow's new Blu-Ray release. The film looks fantastic with vivid colours –
especially on those gloopy reds – and crisp audio. There are two accompanying
commentaries (one with author Shaun Hutson, who's pleased to be seeing the film
for the first time since 1988, the other from garrulous fan/writer/director
Chris Alexander), interviews with actor Emilio Linder, art director Gonzalo
Gonzalo, special effects wiz Carlo De Marchis and production manager Larry Ann
Evans, plus the original trailer. To sweeten an already generous deal, the disc
is accompanied by a reversible slip-sleeve and an illustrated booklet. The film
is also available from Arrow on a standard definition DVD.
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