Slither

Set in the small American town of Wheelsy, Slither begins when a meteorite crashes nearby and releases an alien organism. The creature takes over Grant Grant, one of the town's wealthiest residents, whose body and behaviour begin to change in disturbing ways. His young wife Starla notices the transformation, while livestock turns up horribly mutated and a local woman goes missing. Sheriff Bill Pardy and his deputies investigate, and with Starla's help they uncover a spreading force that is steadily taking over the town, turning its inhabitants into ravenous, mutated creatures.

The film is James Gunn's first turn in the director's chair and his first produced screenplay, made after years of writing for other filmmakers. Nathan Fillion plays Bill Pardy, with Michael Rooker as Grant Grant, Elizabeth Banks as Starla, Gregg Henry as Jack MacReady and Tania Saulnier as Kylie Strutemyer, heading a credited cast of forty; the crew numbered 163.

Released in March 2006, Slither cost about 15 million dollars and took roughly 13 million worldwide, so it did not recover its budget in cinemas. On IMDb it holds 6.5 out of 10 from more than 87,000 votes, and on TMDB 6.6 out of 10 from a much smaller number of votes. A critics' rating of 6.9 out of 10 from 142 reviews places reviewers slightly above the general audience. Gunn went on to direct Super, Movie 43, the Guardians of the Galaxy films and The Suicide Squad.