Splinter

Plot synopsis:
The film opens on a sleepy gas station, where the slack-jawed pump attendant (Charles Baker) is attacked by a seemingly rabid animal. Through a series of glimpses the attendant's body begins to contort after the attack. Meanwhile, a young couple, Seth Belzer (Paulo Costanzo) and Polly Watt (Jill Wagner), retreat to the wilderness for a romantic camping trip in the ancient forests of Oklahoma, but their plans are shattered when they are car-jacked by an escaped convict, Dennis Farell (Shea Whigham), and his drug-addict girlfriend, Lacey Belisle (Rachel Kerbs). As the foursome travel the back roads together, they get a flat tire when they run over a small splinter infected animal on the road. Finding shelter at the now abandoned gas station, they fend off larger incarnations of a parasite as it infects more victims.
Soon after their arrival at the gas station, Lacey discovers the infected still-living body of the attendant from the opening scene. Lacey is attacked and dies instantly, but her corpse slowly reanimates and becomes a new creature, which attacks the remaining survivors. While fighting this creature, the three remaining discover that severed pieces of the infected victims are capable of attacking on their own. Sheriff Terry Frankel (Laurel Whitsett) arrives on the scene and attempts to arrest Dennis, but she is ripped in half by Lacey's corpse. The creature takes the top half of the officer's body to the roof and slowly bonds with it, creating a larger creature. Seth formulates a plan to call for help using the cop's radio left behind when her body was ripped in half. However, during the execution of this plan, the newly rebuilt creature attacks and takes the lower half of the cop. The trio hides in the gas station's walk-in refrigerator when a section of its arm manages to get in and attack them. It is then discovered that Dennis has been infected, as his left arm violently twists and twitches on its own. Seth and Polly amputate his arm to prevent the infection from spreading. Dennis later explains that he had been pricked by a splinter from a creature they encountered on the road. Seth also discovers that the creatures are actually just a mold or fungus taking control of the corpses they infect and consuming the blood, and, because it is a simple creature, they hunt based on temperature, attacking the warmest thing they can find.
By lowering his body temperature with bags of ice, Seth is able to sneak past the creature to the police car, while Polly and Farell distract it with fireworks. Seth makes it to the police car, but discovers that, without the keys, the car, and the police radio inside, are useless. Meanwhile, Seth's body temperature has risen, forcing Dennis to leave the gas station in order to lure the creature away from him. As a result, the creature manages to enter the gas station and Dennis and Polly are forced to hide in the freezer. Meanwhile, the discarded fireworks ignite the trail of flammable liquid left earlier and the gas station catches on fire. Seth is able to retrieve a shotgun from the police car and helps Polly and Dennis escape. Dennis offers to keep the creature at bay while Seth and Polly escape, and is infected in the process. He shoots one of the gas pumps with the shotgun and the creature is engulfed in flames. When the smoke clears, the creature is dead, but Dennis is still infected. Seth and Polly approach Dennis, who gives them a key to a bank account, telling them to give it to the wife of a man he shot and paralyzed who later died. Dennis shoots directly into a stack of propane tanks, incinerating himself, the gas station, and any remaining infected corpses.
Seth and Polly walk off into the sunrise, but the final scene reveals that there are other infected creature corpses lying dormant in the woods.

Tags: violence

Review:
Apparently "Splinter" is an independent film, but it doesn't deserve to be lumped in the same category as the hundreds of "low budget" horror movies out there that are hardly more than a few friends with a camcorder and some ketchup packets.
The three main actors are great, and the characters are likable.This movie isn't going to change the genre or make anyone's Top 10 list, but it's definitely one of the more entertaining horror films I've seen in the last couple of years.
A young couple and an ex-con are holed up in a gas station while strange monsters prowl outside.This is a good example of what can be done with some good acting, a decent script and an idea for a horror film that won't cost too much to make.
It's definitely watchable, even if the characters sometimes do some odd things.There is a lot left unexplained, which seems OK within the context of the movie; the answers you don't get sort of enhance the story you watched.
A young couple Seth Belzer and Polly Watt retreat to the wilderness for a romantic camping weekend,but their idyll is shattered when they are car-jacked by an escaped convict and his drug-addicted girlfriend, Dennis Farell and Lacey Belisleon,on the run from the police.As the foursome travel the back roads together they find themselves in deeper trouble than any of them could have imagined-a blood-crazed,parasitic creature that absorbs the corpses of its victims has laid claim to the woods and the two couples are now in its sights.Finding shelter at an abandoned gas station,they must use their wits and every weapon at their disposal to stave off the onslaught,not only from the insatiable creature,but also each other.The premise of "Splinter" is very simple and quite suspenseful.The film is obviously influenced by John Carpenter's classic "The Thing" and offers plenty of gore.The special effects are pretty good:during most of the creature shots,it looks as if there's a real corpse on screen.The use of hand-held camera is the main drawback of the film.It is obnoxious and should be slightly toned down.Still "Splinter" is a competent indie horror flick with enough grue to satisfy genre fans.7 out of 10..
It reminded me of The Thing, of course, only that it had no Kurt Russell and that it was placed in some old US forest where "logging sucks".If it weren't for the really weak cast (the only one supporting the movie was Jill Wagner) and the fact that a fungus of this infectiousness would have quickly overrun the entire forest and continued until the world ended, it would have been a gem.Bottom line: grab a beer, watch it when you feel like doing nothing, it won't disappoint..
Splinter is a truly creepy movie which has a perfect atmosphere and which is full of positive elements.The best element from this movie is the excellent screenplay,which makes a detailed character development and which proposes a fascinating menace in its monster,showing an ambiguous origin and devastating effects.I also liked the way in which it is shown the relationship between the characters very much,because it evolutes on an unpredictable but realistic way.In other words,the suspense is provoked on a natural way,and that makes the spectator to feel a delicious suspense,because it is impossible to predict what can happen next.Something many independent filmmakers do,is developing the story on an only location,because that lets them to exploit their low-budget,avoiding costs on technical team.However,not all of them count with the necessary creativity to conciliate their economical attitude with an interesting story.Fortunately,Splinter is one of that cases because its economical manufacture is perfect for creating the desolated atmosphere the movie requires.The performances are above the average of what we are accustomed to see on the straight-to-DVD movies.Director Toby Wilkins made a brilliant work,because he brought a relentless rhythm and precision,at the same time he could create a perfect atmosphere,he could bring the correct style to the movie and he could extract very competent performances from his small cast.It would be very interesting to see his next projects.The only fail I found on this movie is that some special effects could have been a little bit more polished.In spite of that,I liked Splinter very much.This is one of that gems from the fantastic cinema which occasionally appear,so I recommend it with confidence.This is an excellent horror movie which brought me an intense and enormously entertaining time..
It's characters are pretty well rounded and believable and they do sensible things in an attempt to survive the menace.But, as with many recent productions - every time the action gets going and every time the creature attacks - the camera goes into such chaotic movement that you can't even tell what's going on.
It could have been good, but it isn't..It doesn't matter in the slightest that the film never explains the precise nature of its threat—we don't necessarily need to know that in order to enjoy what is occurring—but for a film such as this to be truly effective, the viewer at least needs to be able to SEE what is going on; sadly, for much of the movie, it's nigh on impossible to follow what is happening to whom thanks to the dreadful wobbly-cam/rapid editing techniques employed by director Toby Wilkins.The picture is all over the shop whenever anything potentially exciting happens, robbing the action of any tension and rendering shocks ineffective.
I suspect that the use of such erratic camera-work was used to disguise sub-par effects, but all it does is make the whole affair extremely frustrating to watch.Wilkins does at least get one thing right—he puts his lovely lead actress Jill Wagner in a tight vest for the duration—but even the ever-present eye-candy doesn't prevent this from feeling like a wasted opportunity..
The story is loose, well paced and benefits from a good and well-thought-out idea, the monster is appropriately effective and the direction, script, performances and characters(the antagonist especially is very interesting and original, which was really refreshing in itself) are all good.
I have alway passed on this movie because of the name of the movie, as i did not read anything about it and i thinking it be something like hostel, which i do not like that much, so i decided to read the reviews and it seem to have had some good reviews on this movie, so i had to check it out.Boyfriend and Girlfriend are going camping and then are kidnapped by another couple who are on the run and end up killing animal and they have to stop at a Gas station and they see a man covered in blood and big splinters all over his body, they hide in the Gas station, while this thing is outside.This is a great movie, i didn't think i would like it, it had nice amount of gore in this movie and they some funny one lines in this movie too and it did remind me bit of feast.This movie did have small cast and the acting from them is fantastic.9 out of 10.
However the director somehow failed to notice that every time they called action their cameraman was in the middle of a fit.The movie basically goes like this: Shake shake shake.Oh someone died back there.Shake shake shake plot shake shake shake.It's a real shame as the creature looked quite cool but you never really see it for long enough to appreciate this.
Nothing wrong with having influences (especially when you're stealing from the best) but the other ideas in this are so weak and lacking that I frequently wondered why someone would bother to write a script if all they can achieve is to copy the key ideas of a better one and then try to b.s their way through the rest of it.I feel as if I should be saying 'the budget is so low, it's practically set at a gas station'.
Which gives you some idea of how narrow the story's scope is.Infective monster splinters sounds like an excuse for some neat fx make-up but the actual results are pretty pathetic, looking pretty much like whatever generic zombie effect you care to imagine but with a few spines thrown in.I wasn't expecting much but even so, the quality of the acting isn't far about porn and the stillborn attempts at tension and drama were stillborn.As if all this wasn't bad enough the quality of the film is really low, it has this nasty yellow-ish hue to it that makes everything look even cheaper.In summary I hated it.
It's entirely possible that Splinter was made for horror b-movie horror enthusiasts who are going to revel in all of the elements that I've listed, but honestly can't think of a single positive thing to say about it.Not long after seeing this I watched a Korean horror called G.P. 506 which also revolved around an infective virus that overcomes its hosts.
Basically, this movie has the same effect as watching static for 82 minutes, it's a complete waste of time, it does not encourage the slightest brain activity...As for the acting, script, production etc, all I can say is that the 'quality' of this film is consistent, it's bad!
Complex plot but very well developed, good path and amazingly performed by the actors.The acting is great, on all characters, the story develops up to the climax and leaves the audience glued to the chair..Since the beginning with the kidnapping until they get into the gas station, all is finely developed and exposed while giving more insight on the "evil" which is the main actor of the movie, just will say that if you love horror movies, you must watch this one.
Smart little horror this, what it lacks in story originality it more than makes up for elsewhere.Young lovers Seth (Paulo Costanzo) and Polly (Jill Wagner) find their attempts at a romantic camping trip usurped by their inadequacies in the great outdoors.
Mercifully free of characters doing the dumb things that are so inherent in this splinter (hrr hrr hrr) of horror, Wilkins' film is consistently effective in what it wants to achieve.The effects are kept to a minimum and the only real complaint is that for every attack by the creature we are subjected to shakycam.
I was actually shocked when i saw this movie...from the time i picked it up to the time i turned it on i expected to see a low budget gore fest with buckets of blood, terrible acting, and absolutely no story.
This movie deserves a 10 by simply by the fact that you will most likely go into it expecting a cheesy gore fest with gallon after gallon of blood but will come out of it glad that you didn't waste your time watching the same thing many people have done over and over..
I'm sure it was because of budget reasons and they didn't want you to get a look at a mediocre make-up job or whatever, but I would have suggested focusing in on certain parts, like a drooling mouth/head with darting blind eyes, or any type of quick focus on any grotesque body part instead of full body shots in motion.With decent acting, a pretty sweet creature and a nice setting, Splinter more than makes up for any lack of clear focus on the creature or the sub-par writing.
Overall, it plays out like a Stephen King story that pays homage to a number of well known horror films like The Mist, Evil Dead 2, and The Thing.We start out with Dennis (Shea Wigham, who is probably best known for playing Eli in Boardwalk Empire) and Lacey- a couple of meth heads on the lamb.On their way to Mexico, they stop to carjack a young couple- Polly and Seth- whom they take hostage.Shortly after this occurs, though, they run over a mysterious biological organism that pops their tire and mangles their radiator.They are forced to pull into a gas station, only to find that it is unattended.
It actually ends up looking quite similar to the creature from The Thing.While by no means original, this film can be valued for being an entertaining pastiche, if anything.
A Must-See. Trapped in an isolated gas station by a voracious Splinter parasite that transforms its still living victims into deadly hosts, a young couple and an escaped convict (Shea Whigham) must find a way to work together to survive this primal terror.This film features really cool effects, allegedly without the need for CGI.
But perhaps even more internal is the parasite, sort of creating a three-tiered layer of terror."Splinter" won six awards at the Screamfest Horror Film Festival: Best Editing, Best Score, Best Special Effects, Best Make-Up, Best Directing and Best Picture.
Overall, with decent performances by the cast, along with some violent and disgusting scenes, and scenes that, literally, get under your skin, this is all you ever wanted in a low budget monster movie.
This is a really great movie that combine elements of monster mayhem (one of the most original I've ever seen), zombie action and good old fashioned morality play (including transgression, redemption and sacrifice).
With excellent performances by all four of the main cast members, Jill Wagner ("Teen Wolf"), Paulo Costanzo ("Royal Pains"), Shea Whigham ("Boardwalk Empire") and Rachel Kerbs, "Splinter" easily rises above the usual monster-flick fare by injecting actual performance into the execution of a great story.Huge kudos to great direction from Toby Wilkins, who went on to direct "The Grudge 3" and episodes of "Teen Wolf." This man needs to get some new horror projects going, because this film shows he potentially has that elusive talent that helped rise men like John Carpenter, Sean S.
If you like Monster movies/Body horror this is one to check out.The acting is solid.
I am a huge fan of innovative horror films, often low budget B-Movies, that utilize the best from their budget and story while turning out an entertaining flick (i.e. Evil Dead).This movie had everything going for it.
From what I saw from this movie, the effects looked good enough to linger each scene and let it effect the viewer.So, I love the setup, thought the characters were well acted and love the monster.
Splinter is one of the best horror/hostage/science fiction/creature feature movies in a very long time.
So-so horror flick with echoes of B-movies past  a pastiche of "Tremors" meets "Feast" by way of"Night of the Living Dead"  concerns a group of stangers holed up in a gasoline convenience store by a nasty, voracious parasitic porcupine-like monster that has moments of originality but ultimately is betrayed by its editing (too many quick cuts so you never get a good look at the creature is damn well frustrating).
That allows the nerd to show his brains and come up with a solution.Splinter surprised me in a how good of a low budget horror movie it was.
All things considered, the acting was actually reasonably good, the special effects made the most of the limited budget in my opinion and it was enjoyably silly.I would not usually give this type of film more than 5 stars as for me they don't bring enough to the table to warrant the extra star.
Horror films are not nice movies, but some including Splinter have nice endings, and many have last shots of a dead body, with a tiny twitch.
Given that its virtually impossible to make a horror movie of any kind without borrowing heavily from a zillion other films, just watch SPLINTER understanding its an ordinary "Betty Crocker" recipe so lets just see if the cook gets it right.
The monster(s), while not truly original, are somewhat unique and can keep you on edge as you wait to see what it/they do next.Not bad, not great, much better than a lot of "horror" movies I have seen.
"Splinter", however, took me right back to the late 1990's where horror movies were great.The story is somewhat of a mix between Carpenter's "The Thing" and "Cabin Fever".
Because it is building heavily on fear, paranoia and thrills.The creature effects were actually quite good, and when you saw body parts twisting in unnatural directions, accompanied by bones breaking, you can't help but curl your toes, or enjoy the whole scene (if you are a gorehound like I am)."Splinter" is pretty good entertainment and will take you back to the good old horror movies of the 1990's.
Anyways it didn't ruin the movie for me because sometime those types f things add to the experience of watching low budget horror.
Splinter is an interesting little horror film that is entertaining throughout it's short 80 minutes but it suffers from some very bad camera work.
Basically, Splinter is nothing new, but if you like your horror/monster movies short, sweet and violent, then this one is definitely better than most of the rest..
Only 81 minutes short, but better for it,the movie does not drag & its not padded out it gets right on with the story which is pretty simple, with the usual horror fayre,car trouble, isolated, trying to keep the evil out, desperation, but its carried out very well, with no over the top screaming, phony scares, untimely kissing/sex scenes, etc, plot wise, you've seen bits of it all before in various movies, Wrong turn, The Thing, Night of the living dead, spring to mind, but it moves along apace & keeps you interested and drags you in, good gore effects, (excellent use of breeze blocks)decent acting, if you like a bit of gory horror with no complications, just sit back, put brain in neutral & enjoy..
Splinter definitely surprised me, simply because it turned out to be a very effective, entertaining and powerful horror film.The acting in the film is pretty good, definitely above average for a film of this genre.
This is a very good horror film to watch.
Splinter is a great example of horror movies done right.