Blu-Ray Review: Highly Buzzed ‘Splinter’ Lives Up to Expectations

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Blu-Ray Rating: 4.0/5.0

CHICAGO – “Splinter” has been steadily building buzz since audiences first had a chance to see this twisted creature feature and now it’s destined to become a cult phenomenon on Blu-Ray and DVD. The film won six awards at Screamfest 2008 and earned praise from Variety, CBS-TV, Entertainment Weekly, and New York Magazine on its theatrical run. Horror fans are going to love this film for years to come.

Why? What does director Toby Wilkins do with “Splinter” that so many horror directors miss? He understands how to build tension and the power of the unseen. “Splinter” works because it places the focus on the well-rounded, believable characters instead of just their trap or their enemy. It’s a modern film take on what filmmakers have been doing for years and feels like a movie John Carpenter and Sam Raimi would love.

There are major echoes of both Carpenter and Raimi in the simple-yet-effective set-up for “Splinter”. A couple named Seth (Paulo Costanzo) and Polly (Jill Wagner) are out for a romantic camping weekend when they’re car-jacked by Lacey (Rachel Kerbs) and her convict boyfriend Dennis (Shea Wigham).

Splinter was released on Blu-Ray on April 14th, 2009.
Photo credit: Magnolia

The quartet arrives at a seemingly innocent gas station and finds themselves caught in a nightmare. Lacey stumbles across what looks like a man in the bathroom but he’s got spikes (or splinters) coming out of his body. And he’s not safe. Soon, all of them are fighting for their lives, trapped inside with something outside that no one has ever seen before.

Splinter was released on Blu-Ray on April 14th, 2009. Photo credit: Magnolia

Why don’t people make movies like “Splinter” any more? Do they assume that audiences all need Shyamalan twists or Jigsaw’s traps? Can’t we just appreciate the classic set-up that John Carpenter used so many times of good guys in a building and bad guys outside of it? It’s so relatable. We all fear what’s beyond the street light or just over the horizon and we can all imagine being stuck in a gas station with no discernible way out.

It’s easy to see why critics fell for “Splinter” (70% on Rotten Tomatoes is about as high as a horror movie can go), but I wish more audiences had seen it in theaters. This should have been a “Saw”-level hit. But Magnolia/Magnet doesn’t have the draw to bring people to a movie like this with no stars and no proven franchise.

They do, however, have the ability to create a cult hit on DVD and Blu-Ray. In fact, Magnolia is quietly becoming one of the best genre studios out there, having released “The Host,” “Let the Right One In,” “Timecrimes,” and “Splinter” in just the last few years. It’s getting to the point that the Magnolia name is intriguing enough to warrant a viewing without any other details.

They’ve done a very good job with a movie that I expect thousands will see on Blu-ray. It’s going to be rented, then bought, then passed around like the movies that made Carpenter and Raimi icons of horror in their early years.

The video for “Splinter,” presented in 1080p with a 2.35:1 aspect ratio isn’t perfect. It’s good, but the picture felt a little flatter than a lot of HD transfers. I think it may be a byproduct of taking a low-budget film and trying to give it the HD polish. I still wonder if low-budget horror is the right fit for Blu-Ray but that could just be because I’m so used to seeing them at grainy midnight marathons or on the VHS of my youth.

Splinter was released on Blu-Ray on April 14th, 2009. Photo credit: Magnolia

The video may not be remarkable but the audio in 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio is excellent. The sound design of “Splinter” is well above-average and incredibly effective on Blu-Ray. Turn it up loud.

The special features for “Splinter” are a little scattered but ultimately worthwhile. I’m just tired of 4-minute featurettes. Either bunch them together or don’t include them at all, but no one likes to be thrown back to the menu screen that quickly.

Featurettes include “The Splinter Creature,” “The Wizard,” “Building the Gas Station,” “Shooting Digitally,” “Oklahoma Weather,”” “How to Make a Splinter Pumpkin,” and “HDNet: A Look at Splinter”. The disc also includes a creature concept art gallery and two great commentary tracks - one with the director, cinematographer, and editor, and one with the director and his three stars. You won’t find a more perfect set-up for audio commentaries. One focuses on what happened in front of the camera and one focuses behind it. Perfect.

For a lot of horror nuts, “Splinter” will be perfect. Will it bleed out of the genre and convert some non-horror fans? I certainly think it’s good enough that it has the potential to do just that with such a great Blu-ray release. Say you saw it before it became a cult hit.

By BRIAN TALLERICO Content Director HollywoodChicago.com brian@hollywoodchicago.com