Slither

I bought this DVD kinda at random — I was looking for the 2006 film with the same name, and this one came up, too. And I thought “what the hey”. So now I’m watching this movie — which I assumed was going to be a horror movie based on the name, but I guess it’s some kind of … thriller/crime/comedy thing?

This is very much of its age — it’s a very 1973 movie, looking all indie (but isn’t actually, I think?), and is all outlaw chic and stuff.

But it’s also a quite odd movie — the storytelling beats are totally unpredictable. People die or start robbing diners at random — but this isn’t one of those zany “satires”, either. It’s kinda… slinky and knowing?

A subtle dislocation of the norm.

And what’s up with that van!

I’m still not sure why this movie is called “Slither”.

I had no idea that Caan was this good at playing slightly goofy guys.

It’s an amiable, original, amusing movie. But the pacing in the middle part is a bit off.

Slither. Howard Zieff. 1973. ⚃