31 Scary Movies: ‘Slither’

“Slither” (2006) –  Alien wormlike parasites terrorize the folks from Wheelsy, a sleepy little town in the U.S. South, but a local named Grant Grant (Michael Rooker) is the most adversely impacted in this monster invasion-zombie-comedy mash-up. The film includes buckets of ghastly and twisted body horror that rivals “From Beyond” (1986), but also includes plenty of hilarious discourse and two appearances of Air Supply’s “Every Woman in the World” (1980). Not too many writer/directors could make this cinematic concoction work, but James Gunn (“Guardians of the Galaxy” (2014), “Guardians…

31 Scary Movies: ‘High Tension’

“High Tension” (2003) – This savagely violent picture from France innocently begins when Alex (Maiween Le Besco) invites her college friend Marie (Cecile De France) to her family’s farmhouse for rest and relaxation. This big and beautiful home – surrounded by corn fields, a clothesline in the backyard and a welcoming family inside – seems like a Norman Rockwell painting that has come to life. Mayhem, however, is soon to follow, and director/co-writer Alexandre Aja splatters buckets of blood all over the pristine aforementioned figurative artwork.  Aja doesn’t shy away…

31 Scary Movies: ‘Open Water’

“Open Water” (2003)  – How many people never really got the hang of treading water? Please note that this critic is raising his hand.  After 15 seconds or so in the deep end, where is the edge of pool, STAT? Well, imagine needing to tread water in the middle of the ocean for a lot longer than 15 seconds.  A lot longer.  For Susan (Blanchard Ryan) and Daniel (Daniel Travis), keeping their heads above water in the deep blue sea is the least of their problems. These two career-minded 30-somethings…