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A Troma Team release of a Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz presentation of a LolliLove production. (International sales: Troma, New York.) Produced by Stephen Blakehart. Executive producer, James Gunn. Co-producer, Troy DeVolld. Directed by Jenna Fischer. Screenplay, Fischer, Peter Alton.
With: James Gunn, Jenna Fischer, Linda Cardellini, Jason Segel, Judy Greer, Sarah Sido, Jennifer Eolin, Larry Fitzgibbon, Michelle Martin, Bill McCormack, Joan Blair, Lloyd Kaufman.
By LISA NESSELSON
The superficial do-gooder impulse is eviscerated with spot-on satire in "LolliLove," a chuckle-packed and satisfyingly tasteless mockumentary in which a prosperous young Hollywood couple (real-life spouses Jenna Fischer and James Gunn) endeavor to help the homeless. Cheerfully incorporating their own wedding footage and we're-dead-serious-but-just-kidding personas, Fischer and Gunn are the bantamweight Gena Rowlands and John Cassavetes of their generation. Compact and irreverent pic is a treat for anyone who's ever looked askance at celeb altruism, as well as fans of Fischer ("The Office") and Gunn ("Slither").
Helmer and co-scripter Fischer nails the condescending vapidity, manufactured drama and ludicrous self-importance of reality shows and you-are-there TV docs via quasi-candid tube portrait of protags and their charity project.
Eager to atone for their own good fortune by "giving something back to the community," the couple settles on homelessness because other causes have been "done to death" or prove impractical. The Gunns' objective is to make Los Angeles a better place by handing out lollipops to homeless individuals; each sucker will be adorned with an uplifting slogan and James' original artwork.
The "art" may look cartoonish, but it takes a lot out of James. He compares the intensity with which he gives of himself to the struggles of another beacon of personal sacrifice, emphasizing that "The only difference is that Jesus is a completely made-up guy and I'm real."
After many a business and showbiz acquaintance declines to underwrite the cause, James and Jenna find a corporate sponsor. But as their selfless dream takes shape, the division of labor strains their picture-book marriage. And given compulsive hand-scrubber James' hyper-sensitivity to germs, maybe working with the hygienically-challenged isn't ideal.
Thesps never falter in their deadpan delivery. Excerpts from each spouse's "LolliLove diary" play up the eternal gap between female and male concerns.
Churning bed of generic music is right on smarmy target. Overall look is fitting on a budget of a few thousand bucks.
Camera (color), Alton; editor, Alton; music, Alton, Willie Wisely; sound (Dolby), Noah Blough, Richard Burton; associate producer, Dan Golding; assistant director, Andrew J. Stratmann. Reviewed at Cannes Film Festival (market), May 24, 2006. Running time: 65 MIN.
Loads of SLiTHER interviews and more, at Horror.com, here.
by Matt Singer
Good zombie movies are metaphorical; Slither allegorizes living-dead horror as a critique of the American heartland's boundless gluttony. The film's aliens enter their victims through the mouth or stomach and compel people to consume endless quantities of meatthey grow so morbidly obese that they literally explode with extraterrestrial evil. Writer-director James Gunn, who wrote Tromeo & Juliet and the Dawn of the Dead remake, is obviously a fan of the genre, and he's filled his movie with an encyclopedic onslaught of cinematic references: the town bar, for instance, is named Henenlotter's after the director of 1982's Basket Case, whose creature bears more than a passing resemblance to some of Slither's. The larger plot is a blend of Night of the Living Dead and Cronenberg's version of The Fly: the decimation of a small town overrun by flesh-craving space slugs set against a love triangle among the aliens' first victim, his wife, and the town sheriff (Michael Rooker, Elizabeth Banks, and Nathan Fillion, respectively). Gunn doesn't reinvent the wheel but he does tighten its spokes a bit with some terrifying sequences and a witty, deadpan screenplay, and he leaves the audience hungry for Slither 2.
Video Interview with Nathan Fillion and Elizabeth Banks: here.
By Joe Leydon
"Slither" is a gleefully nasty and ingeniously twisted horror-comedy that pits a populace of heavily armed but mostly clueless rednecks against flesh-eating zombies, slimy extraterrestrial slugs and an acid-spewing, multitentacled mutant. Call it "Night of the Living Dead" meets "Tremors." Scripter James Gunn infuses the pic, his debut feature as a director, with the exuberance of a movie geek given carte blanche to play fast and loose with the cliches and conventions of his favorite films. Result is a rock-the-house crowd-pleaser for genre aficionados, though its breakout potential appears iffy.
Gunn -- a Troma Entertainment alumnus whose writing credits range from "Scooby Doo"" to 2004's "Dawn of the Dead" remake -- deftly balances broad humor, rude shocks and gross-out special effects for a fang-in-cheek extravaganza that often feels like a slightly more upscale version of cheapie-creepy Troma product. Wheelsy, the kind of small town where the start of hunting season is celebrated as a local holiday, is where Grant Grant (Michael Rooker), a wealthy but none-too-refined businessman, somehow managed to claim Starla (Elizabeth Banks), a local beauty, as his trophy wife. Trouble is, Starla has grown tired of fulfilling her conjugal duties.
Stung by Starla's latest rejection, Grant seeks solace in a seedy bar, where tarty Brenda (Brenda James) proves far more receptive to his sex appeal. Unfortunately, when the couple decides to take a walk in the nearby woods, they come across a recently landed meteorite. Something emerges from within -- and plunges into Grant.
For the first half-hour or so, "Slither" seems to be a seriocomic riff on sci-fi thrillers in which hapless humans are infected by extraterrestrial contamination or manmade maladies. As such, the pic often echoes David Cronenberg's "Rabid" and John Carpenter's remake of "The Thing."
But by the time Grant evolves into a toothy, slime-encrusted behemoth with a pronounced resemblance to a squid, and Brenda expands to become a humongous breeder of malignant slugs, it's clear Gunn won't be content to reference only one kind of monster. Much to the great distress of dry-witted police chief Bill Pardy (Nathan Fillion) and blowhard mayor Jack MacReady (Gregg Henry), the victims of the malignant slugs won't stay dead. Rather, the dearly departed reawaken as staggering, shambling zombies, mentally connected to Grant, an increasingly more powerful (and more disgusting) entity.
"Slither" begins briskly, gradually accelerates and eventually achieves a breakneck momentum that makes the wild ride even more exhilarating. Here and there, though, pic slows down for a clever bit of throwaway lunacy, like the revelation that Wheelsy has a karaoke bar.
The special effects are a nifty mix of old-school prosthetics and high-tech CGI, making for a few genuinely shocking moments amid the farcical facade. Overall tech values are smartly dedicated to making "Slither" appear polished, but not too polished, so it can impress without straying too far from its B-movie roots. The well-cast actors -- including Tania Saulnier as a feisty teen whose family gets slugged -- go just far enough over the top to maintain the jokey/scary tone without becoming cartoonish. Fillion is particularly amusing while delivering wisecracks and ironic asides with the same sly spin he brought to cheeky dialogue in the cult fave "Firefly" TV series (and, more recently, its "Serenity" feature spinoff). For all his funny moments, however, Fillion also rises to the challenge of being, relatively speaking, the straight man, or at least the pic's voice of sanity. Henry gets big laughs with a much-bigger-than-life approach. And Rooker is surprisingly sympathetic even as his character turns into a special effect.
Incidentally, the film has absolutely nothing to do with Howard Zieff's 1973 pic of the same name, starring James Caan and Sally Kellerman. Latter also was a comedy but had no slugs to speak of and nary a single zombie.
Better yet, here's a photo from the article:
Horror Channel Review: here.
The Best Films Not in Theaters or DVD in 2005 - Geoffrey Kleinman
'Commercial director Zack Snyder, making a killer feature debut, trades homemade cheesiness for knowing style, revels in the sophistication of modern special effects, and, stomps off with the best remake --er, "re-envisioning" -- of a horror classic in memory. In the swift exposition of Tromeo & Juliet screenwriter James Gunn's sharp script, the whole battle plan is drawn. Grade: A,'
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly
Two thumbs up!
Ebert & Roeper
'In the end, Dawn of the Dead is a surprisingly touching parable of community and the human spirit - a terribly scary parable with a ridiculously high body count,'
David Hiltbrand,' Philadelphia Inquirer
'Zack and Gunn have created one of those near perfect horror films that will be scaring people for generations. This is the movie edges of seats were invented for,'
Alex Sandell, Juicy Cerebellum
'Gruesome, funny, everything a horror film should be,'
John Anderson, Newsday
'A rotting good time,'
Bob Townsend, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
'Where the remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was all about style and Jessica Biel in a wet t-shirt, this one is energetic, funny, gory, and suspenseful from beginning to end. I recommend this highly to any fans of the genre and to anyone who's even a bit curious. I just might go see it again,'
John Venable, Supercala.com
'There's no denying this "Dawn" will keep you awake,'
John Larsen, Sun Publications
'You'll leave your memories of the Romero version behind, just to indulge in the delights of Snyder's wild, new, imaginary interpretation,'
Annette Cardwell, Filmcritic.com
'What might be the best time you have getting scared at the movies this year. Better than House of the Dead and Resident Evil, slightly better than 28 Days Later and in the general neighborhood of From Dusk Till Dawn, this new Dawn of the Dead is likely to bring zombie films more attention than they have had in decades. So let the zombies run, and you should do the same towards the theater nearest you,'
Larry Carroll, Filmstew.com
'Zack Snyder's remake of George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead surpasses the original in any number of ways,'
Walter Chaw, Film Freak Central
'It maintains an atmosphere that is as genuinely funny as it is scary,'
Phoebe Flowers, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
'Bloody Good Fun,' Scott Nash, Three Movie Buffs'The remake has earned its place in the dead series. Good show,'
Bryce Wilson, Cinema Blend
'Fans of the original Dawn of the Dead need not worry. The main accomplishment of the remake is that it makes you forget Romero's film (as great as it is) in the first five minutes. In updating the zombies-in-a-mall classic, director Snyder ups the action and humor for modern audiences, who will hopefully want to check out Romero's version after seeing this super-sized remake,'
Bill Payne, Movees.com
''Dawn of the Dead' is a smartly re-engineered thrill 'ì a mind-blowing orgy of horror, guts, gore and the walking dead! Is this movie better than the original? Yes,'
Movie Gurus
A fun, scary and slick popcorn movie that should please even hardcore horror fans and scare the crap out of everyone else,
Jim Agnew, Film Threat
Any detailed depiction of cannibalism risks a bitter aftertaste, but Mr. Snyder's direction and James Gunn's screenplay balance the tone with spicy, pungent dialogue. Dawn of the Dead is a rarity: a horror movie in which every laugh is intentional,
Philip Wuntch, Dallas Morning News
"Dawn of the Dead" is the best proof in ages that cannibalizing old material sometimes works fiendishly well,
Manohla Darqis, Los Angeles Times
How do I love it? Let me count the ways: It is funnier than the original, cheerfully piling up corpses and inventive gore. It is better-paced than its overlong predecessor. A masterpiece of its genre,
Chris Hewitt, St. Paul Pioneer Press
"Dawn of the Dead" is chilling in its explorations of the horrors that can spring from a genericized world. It's an instant classic. A-,
Linda Clifford, Reeling Reviews
It is, in other words, a paradigm of its genre: bloody (and bloody scary), stylish, smart, audacious and edgy, darkly pessimistic yet inflected with touches of deliciously sick humor. Yes, it's essentially a remake of a sequel, albeit a sequel that happens to be one of the greatest horror movies ever made, but it more than surpasses the original. Its sole aim, and one at which it succeeds admirably, is to simultaneously revolt, scare and delight you; to make you as afraid to look at the screen as to look away from it; to fill you with such a mix of terror and guilty pleasure that you can't tell the two emotions apart,
Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post
I know it's just a zombie movie, but this "Dawn of the Dead" is so chilling, thrilling and imaginatively slick that it's bursting with neo-classic potential,
Rob Blackwelder, Spliced Wire
Dead excels when it comes to a great, dark sense of humor. I never would have expected it from the screenwriter who penned SCOOBY-DOO, but stranger things have happened,
Jon Popick, Planet Sickboy
Gunn adapted Romero's original story, and this script is perversely pleasurable and slyly smart, obviously crafted by a writer who loves, respects and understands the pop-culture predecessors he's following. It's a bloody, block-rockin' action-horror flick with brains, gut-punch dread and rise-up-and-cheer B-movie heroics,'
James Rocchi, Netflix
'This intelligent and gripping version wields the same sledge-hammer horror and wit as the original,'
Pamela Troy, Culturevulture.net
Definitely one of the wittiest, scariest and goriest horror films in the last decade, offering adrenaline-pounding, edge-of-the-seat fun,
Dawn Taylor, Portland Tribune
A nonstop collision of thrills, chills and societal ills, John Niccum, Lawrence Journal-WorldJames Gunn knows his audience. He knows the 3 key elements of a horror flick: hopelessness, humor, and blood, blood, BLOOD. All of these elements are incorporated magnificently into this story. The pendulum never swings too far in any direction. Just when it's beginning to get to hopeless, he hits you with the comedy. Gunn has really crafted a formula all future horror writers should follow' Dawn of the Dead is a great horror film,
Dustin Gast, MSX Movies
A good script without any of that banal horror-movie dialog that makes you cringe, a cast that can act, and zombies that are scary and quick without being robotic,
Cheryl Dawson, Moviechicks
Smarter, tighter and far scarier, start to finish (than the original),
Michael Booth, Denver Post
A big chomping horror delight,
Tom Long, Detroit News
Zack Snyder, making his feature film directing debut, and screenwriter James Gunn ("Scooby-Doo") deliver,
John Monaghan, Detroit Free Press
The gory, adults-only 'Dawn of the Dead' can serve as a day brightener in certain situations. At least, that's how it was for my husband and me, Linda Cook, Quad City Times With a chainsaw number that easily enters my top-five-kill-scenes-of-all-time-list, a great and truly endless amusement, I say bring on the sequels,
Mike Sage, Petersborough This Week
This Dawn breaks scary even before opening credits. We're in and around Milwaikee now, not Romero's Pittsburgh, and in the swift exposition of Tromeo & Juliet screenwriter James Gunn's sharp script, the whole battle plan is drawn: how the infected dead rise up to feed; how one nurse (Sarah Polley), having watched her husband turn rabidly undead, esacapes; and how she joins a gaggle of fellow survivors -- among them a cop (Ving Rhames), a salesman (Jake Webber), and a street tough (Mekhi Phifer) -- amid the useless luxuries of a mall biosphere. You know you've entered a 21st-century hell when zombies scratch at the doors while a piped-in Muzak version of "Don't Worry, Be Happy" continues to perk up nonexistent customers. (The musical choices are a demonic playlist pleasure.)
Dawn of the Dead is filled with tingles of humor -- at one point, a couple of guys, using the mall roof as a recreation deck, pick off zombies (who must, as you know, be shot in the head) based on their resemblance to celebrities, with Jay Leno and Burt Reynolds among the favored targets. But fronted by Polley and her lovely art-house gravity -- she's a perfect against-type heroine -- and modulated by Snyder's serious excitement, the movie never sloshes over into irony or snarky self-reference. As the visual style shifts from orangy 1970s saturation and simple edits to an anxious, parched blue blur of moves, the dread of Dawn deepens. Don't leave before the final frame -- if you're still breathing.
Grade A
Lisa Schwarzbaum