Splinter

Posted May 24, 2012 by Speed - 0 comments

Seth Belzer and his girlfriend Polly Watt are planning to go camping in the woods. Seth isn’t all that handy, though, and when he breaks the poles of the tent, the two decide to head off and search for a hotel of some sort. A bit further down the road they see a woman standing next to the road but when Polly stops the car, they get overtaken by Dennis Farell, an escaped convict who’s on the run together with his girlfriend Lacey.

The four hit the road again and try to make their way to Mexico but little further they get a flat tire after running over some animal. While Seth and Lacey check out the dead animal, Polly and Dennis change tires when suddenly Dennis gets some sort of splinter in his hand. He doesn’t think much of it, but when the car’s engine starts overheating due to the radiator getting bust in the accident, they head over to a nearby gas station where they get trapped by zombie-like creatures. It seems the splinter is some sort of parasite that infects living flesh…

Sound and Vision:
The image lacks some detail in the dark scenes but overall there’s little to complain. We didn’t spot any major compression errors but things could be a bit sharper here and there. Overall the image fits the type of movie though.

The sound comes in with a Dolby Digital 5.1 track that does its job as well. Dialogues are clear and understandable at all times while the surround speakers and subwoofer are used for effects and some music. Nothing special but it does give some additional atmosphere to the movie.

Extras:
None

Conclusion:
Splinter is a pretty standard horror movie with a setup like we’ve seen a dozen times already, but the idea of a parasite fungus does bring some innovation. The scenes where one of the character starts feeling he’s losing control over his body are a nice treat and overall make the movie quite enjoyable. It’s by far not the best horror movie we’ve seen in the last years, but does its job as it should. If the main characters wouldn’t have lost their brains halfway through the movie (close the door when you enter a car!) it would have been even better.

Definitely one to check out if you like the genre.

Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, The Golden Compass, The