James Gunn will be talked about for the next month since he’s the producer on the upcoming Supergirl movie. He’s in charge of the D.C. Superhero movies after scoring huge hits with his three Guardians of the Galaxy movies for Marvel. But he wasn’t always about comic book stars for Gunn. He got his start at Troma as the writer of Tromeo and Juliet that featured Lemmy from Motorhead. He was able to get work in Hollywood with the scripts for two Scooby-Doo movies and the remake of George Romero’s Dawn of the Dead. This led to him be given his first chance to write and direct with Slither. He created a major film that had those choice gross moments like a Troma flick without it turning into toxic green gook.
A meteorite crashes just outside a small town in South Carolina. While this might have just been a fun thing to see, the space rock has brought an alien parasite into the community. The parasite find the perfect host when it encounters Grant Grant (Henry Portrait of a Serial Killer‘s Micheal Rooker). It takes over Grant’s body and makes him want to spawn. He goes after his wife Starla (Cocaine Bear & Hunger Games‘ Elizabeth Banks) with his new way to hooking up. But when she isn’t into it, he finds his mistress. She learns the outrageous price of having an affair with him. Not to give away the fun, but this leads to hundreds of the little alien slug creatures running around the town at night looking to take over humans. The only hope for place is in the frustrated mayor (Body Double‘s Gregg Henry) and police chief Bill Pardy (Firefly‘s Nathan Fillion). Can they really save humanity?
Slither didn’t do well at the box office when released. But over the last 20 years (seriously has it really been 20 years since 2006?), the film has grown a huge cult audience. This makes sense since it is a fun horror film with the David Cronenberg vibe of the nasty creatures and the body horror that overwhelms Michael Rooker. Plus the cast has become bigger since the release. The secretary at the police station is Jenna Fischer from The Office. Plus Gunn is so huge now as a writer-director-producer-overlord of superhero flicks. This is how he first hooked up with Michael Rooker, Fillion and Henry that appear in his much bigger films. This is a horror film with comic moments that are so worth revisiting. The 4K UHD is great since you see the creepy details of the parasitic invasion. Slither still has the power to make you squirm in your seat.
The Video is 1.85:1 anamorphic. The Audio is Dolby Atmos, DTS-MA 5.1 Surround and DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo. The movie is subtitled in English.
Audio Commentary with James Gunn, Nathan Fillon and Micheal Rooker has the trio having fun recounting the weirdness. Rooker remembers picking ticks off his back.
Audio Commentary with James Gunn and Nathan Fillon is a little more calm with Rooker out of the room.
Blu-ray with the movie and all the bonus features.
We’ve Got Worms (17:23) has cinematographer Gregory Middleton talking about working with James Gunn and capturing those alien worms. They wanted it to feel like an ’80s horror film. They made the film in British Columbia. He has gone on to shoot episodes of Game of Thrones.
Feed The Fear (12:44) lets editor John Axelrad explain how he was hired because James Gunn saw the TV ads for Boogeyman. He talks about editing a film that has both horror and comedy in it.
Just A Bee Sting (11:47) has Todd Masters, Make-Up Effects Supervisor explain the wild alien creations. Gunn wanted more practical effects than CGI to give it a Cronenberg film.
What’s Gotten Into You (15:03) allow composer Tyler Bates to explain how they met up after he scored the remake of Dawn of the Dead which James Gunn wrote the screenplay. Bates reflects on how the film inspired his score.
The Genesis of Slither (29:38) has James Gunn explain how he originally wrote Slither to sell as a script, but the studios were willing to let him direct. He gets into his time of Troma and how it affected his filmmaking.
The Other MacReady (8:09) has actor Gregg Henry talk about how he didn’t improv the film. Those lines were in the script.
Deleted and Extended Scenes with Commentary (17:13) has Gunn explain the scene and why he had to cut these moments. He gets into how an animal and the wind made things difficult.
Visual Effects Progressions (5:04) shows how they made the stuff come out of Michael Rooker’s chest.
Slithery Set Tour (4:41) has Nathan Fillion give us a goofy tour of the production and introduces us to cast and crew.
The Sick Minds and Slimy Days of Slither (10:04) has James Gunn talk about wanting to bring back the fun of being creeped out in ’80s horror.
Brewing the Blood (3:17) has a lesson in how to make fake blood.
Bringing Slither’s Creatures To Life (18:38) gets into how the film tried to do more than slap on the CGI to create the monsters in the film.
Lloyd Kaufman’s Video Diary (8:58) lets James Gunn bring his old Troma boss to the set of his major studio motion picture. Lloyd had a small part in the film. Lloyd things Gunn will be a good influence on the Hollywood mainstream which is sort of true.
Gag Reel (8:11) is full of flubs and effects gone wrong.
Who is Bill Pardy? (5:14) has a bit of name checking. There’s a bit of roasting from cast and crew on Nathan.
Theatrical Trailer (1:31) goes right at classic horror films. It’s a strange marketing strategy which didn’t work.
Scream Factory presents Slither: Steelbook Edtion. Directed by James Gunn. Screenplay by James Gunn. Starring Nathan Fillion, Elizabeth Banks, Tania Saulnier, Gregg Henry, Michael Rooker, Brenda James, Don Thompson, Jennifer Copping & Jenna Fischer. Rating: Rated R. Running Time: 96 minutes. Release Date: June 23, 2026.
