
Trapped in an isolated gas station by a voracious Splinter parasite that transforms its still living victims into deadly hosts, a young couple and an escaped convict must find a way to work together to survive this primal terror. |It’s the oldest play in the horror book: a small group of badly mismatched people trapped in a confined space where they are forced to fight for their lives against a hideous opponent. It’s been done so many times in the past, continues to be done in the present and will continue to be done for the foreseeable future for the very simple reason that when done well it’s hellaciously effective. And director Toby Wilkins does it rather well indeed with Splinter.
Don’t let the presence of Paulo Costanzo and Shea Whigham – a pair of established and reliable character actors – in the cast fool you, Splinter is one hundred percent about the creature and that creature is a compelling disturbing beast. A b-film through and through that has no goals beyond simply cranking up the tension Splinter is effective in its simplicity, a film that shows Wilkins has the ability to make the most of limited resources to bring something original to the table.
Here’s the setup. There are two very different couples making their way through a remote region of the country for very different reasons. One, a bookish biology student (Costanzo) and his girlfriend are going camping to celebrate their anniversary. The others? An on the run convict (Whigham) and his drugged out girlfriend are trying to avoid the police while collecting their stash of illicit cash before making a break for Mexico. An unfortunate encounter between the couples leads to a hostage situation that ends with the quartet stranded at an isolated gas station that has been the scene of a bizarre and hugely bloody creature attack …