Slither (HD DVD, 2006, HD/DVD Combination Format)

Here's a gooey, hilarious, creepy horror film for the whole mutant cannibal family. Michael Rooker (HENRY: PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER) stars as Grant, a big bald guy from a small southern town who gets possessed by a meat-hungry parasite worm creature from space. Even under the alien influence he still loves his wife, Starla (Elizabeth Banks), but she's alarmed at his weird new habits, such as consuming all the local wildlife. The sheriff in town (Nathan Fillion) investigates. He still carries a torch for Starla from when they were kids, but once the squirming, slithering, and cannibalism begin in earnest, it becomes clear that this is no time for romance. SLITHER's combination of interesting characters, deadpan humor, gore aplenty, and genuine scares earns it a place alongside cult classics like RE-ANIMATOR and the various LIVING DEAD and EVIL DEAD films. Director/writer James Gunn wrote 2004's DAWN OF THE DEAD before this, and it's abundantly clear where his loyalties lie: SLITHER aims its acid-dripping, brain-sucking tongue right into the hearts of horror fans. Heads explode, monsters squiggle into gaping mouths, tentacles wrap around Banks's negligee-clad body, and the sheriff takes it all in his stride. There's even a twisted intergalactic love story somewhere in the chaos, as well as hordes of in-jokes for the fans.