As I sat in the theatre earlier this evening watching Slither, I was upset by the fact that there were only about ten other people in the theatre. This is only five days after its initial release. With horror films dominating the box office nearly every week they're released, I expected more. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm a horror fan first and foremost, but I wish more horror films failed at the box office. Although I am a devout fan of the horror genre, I do have a reason for this, and if you're a horror fan – a true horror fan – you'll agree with me. (You probably see where I'm going with this, don't you?)

Most horror films of the past ten years aren't worth the paper the screenplay is printed on, not to mention the cost of celluloid. However, we (generally speaking) flock to these movies nearly every weekend, which in turn brings more weak attempts at horror filmmaking. The creativity of the Hollywood system seems to be completely tapped, resulting in an unheard of amount of remakes being delivered to a relatively unaware populace involving mostly teenage boys and girls, hence the sheer output of PG-13 horror. I think , for the sheer amount of remakes and just plain bad horror films, we should be compensated with more films like Slither– a film which serves a single purpose - to entertain; and it's among the most entertaining horror films produced since the early nineties.

Director James Gunn got off to an unsure start with me, beginning with his strong background with Troma Entertainment. For those not familiar with Troma, a good portion of their catalogue is pure shit. I appreciate what they attempt to do for independent cinema; however they are more than partly responsible for my wariness when it comes to independent films. Gunn wrote the screenplays for both Scooby-Doo, and its sequel, and somewhere in between he adapted George Romero's Dawn of the Dead for modern audiences. While you probably won't see a review of that particular film on this site for a while, I will tell you I was less than impressed.

Putting that aside, this is a different film, one inspired by the films I admire; horror films from the past, some well-known, others not. Slither is a film that, while borrowing some ideas from some of the better films from bygone decades, manages to make these ideas its own, and writer-director Gunn creates one hell of an entertaining film. It's certainly not scary, but I can't recall a time I've had so much fun in a movie theatre.

The effects are great, completely over the top in B-movie style. This certainly doesn't hurt the film any, as the B-movies I grew up watching generally had excessive amounts of blood, delivered in a far more crude manner. The CGI is also very good, and the film relies on it quite heavily while depicting the transformation of man to monster.

I think my favourite part of the film, however, is Nathan Fillion. There are few actors who have Fillion's natural charm and charisma, which makes him instantly likable. I'm glad he's finally making a solid name for himself and proving that he is wholly capable of carrying a film. He's naturally funny and is perfectly suited to the tone of Slither. He's half the reason the movie is as enjoyable as it is. The rest of the cast also perform very well, in particular Michael Rooker, who gets creepier with each passing scene.

There is very little I can say about Slither that would be considered detrimental – it's well-scripted and acted, and James Gunn shows that he has some definite skill behind the camera. Even more so, he shows his love for classic B-movies and horror films, which is something we as horror fans can't help but appreciate. While the references alluded to in Slither are anything but subtle, from the blatant inspiration of Night of the Creeps, to the attempted subtlety (or lack-thereof) of a bar called Henenlotter's, they're still there to glorify the movies I loved growing up .

Slither is a film with a specific target audience, and those of us who are fans of the genre, and in particular the efforts of the early to mid 80s, will certainly enjoy it. It's obvious a lot of passion went into it and that makes it just that much more enjoyable. It's a film for horror fans, pure and simple. Perhaps we should stop investing in the endless horror retreads and support those films which truly deserve it. Slither is one of those films, and it's the best film of its type we'll probably see in a long time.