Splinter

Splinter is a low budget horror film which got a limited release last year and it is worth seeking out if you fancy an uncomplicated night of monster madness. Some kind of splinter entity is infecting people and animating their corpses. An unlikely bunch of survivors hole up at a remote gas station and try to fight it off. This is quite a tense wee movie and it was better than expected.

The film opens with a redneck gas attendant being attacked by a feral creature and we get an initial glimpse of some kind of infection. This shock opening is well directed and sets the scene for the rest of the film. Our heroes are a young couple, Seth (Paulo Costanzo) and Polly (Jill Wagner) who are out for a romantic camping trip. Their adventure is cut short when escaped convict Dennis (Shea Whigham) and his junkie girlfriend Lacey (Rachel Kerbs) flag them down and hijack their car at gun point.

Dennis is making a break for the border and he commands the terrified couple to drive there but a few miles down the road they hit an animal and get a flat tyre. The animal is covered with some kind of strange black splinters. The gang flee off down the road but when they arrive at the gas station the attendant is also infected with the splinters and attacks them. Things spiral very quickly out of control.

The story is very basic and they don’t waste much time on explaining what is going on. We are left to imagine the origin of the splinter infection and instead the action focuses on the main characters and their battle for survival. The acting is very good for a budget production and while the film takes a while to get going once they reach the gas station it really takes off.

Toby Wilkins directs this and he does a nice job with it. There are lots of tense scenes, some jarring violence and some impressive special effects. The splinter creature and the way it rapidly infects the host and then animates their body with no regard for the correct way of bending limbs and walking makes for chilling viewing. The relations within the group and the added tension of the car hijack help make the film more engrossing and their truce is an uneasy one forced upon them by this mysterious entity.

There are some weak moments as the action unfolds and their attempts to stay alive do stray into typical dim-witted horror film victim territory. However for the most part the constant threat keeps things immediate and exciting and the pace prevents you from pausing to over think it.

Splinter is grisly and gory stuff which is sharply edited and refreshingly it does attempt to scare the audience instead of going for the typical horror/comedy cop out. It is a creepy wee film which is well put together by a talented cast and crew and it is not often you see such a polished effort in the low budget horror category.