''Slugs: The Movie'' (known under the Spanish title, ''Slugs, Muerte Viscosa'') is a 1988 English-language Spanish

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...

based upon the novel ''

Slugs Slug, or land slug, is a common name for any apparently shell-less terrestrial gastropod mollusc. The word ''slug'' is also often used as part of the common name of any gastropod mollusc that has no shell, a very reduced shell, or only a smal ...

'' (1982) by

Shaun Hutson Shaun Hutson (born 1958) is a British novelist in the horror and crime genres. Under his own name and various pen names, he has written at least thirty novels. Background A native of Letchworth Garden City in Hertfordshire, England, Hutson no ...

Plot

When a rural town becomes prey to a strain of

black slug The black slug (also known as black arion, European black slug, or large black slug) ''Arion ater'' L. is a large Terrestrial locomotion in animals, terrestrial Gastropoda, gastropod mollusk in the family (biology), family Arionidae, the round ba ...

s spawned from the disposal of

toxic waste Toxic waste is any unwanted material in all forms that can cause harm (e.g. by being inhaled, swallowed, or absorbed through the skin). Mostly generated by industry, consumer products like televisions, computers, and phones contain toxic chemi ...

, it is up to the local health inspector to stop them. People die mysteriously and gruesomely, and only health worker Mike Brady has a possible solution, but his theory of killer slugs is ridiculed by the authorities. Only when the body count begins to rise and a slug expert begins investigating the town does it begin to appear as though Brady's theory may be right.

Cast

* Michael Garfield - Mike Brady * Kim Terry - Kim Brady * Philip MacHale - Don Palmer * Alicia Moro - Maureen Watson * Santiago Álvarez - Foley * Concha Cuetos - Maria *

Frank Braña Frank Braña (born Francisco Braña Pérez; 24 February 1934 – 13 February 2012) was a Spanish character actor. Biography He was born Francisco Braña Pérez in Pola de Allande, Asturias, Spain on 24 February 1934. Also credited as Frank Bla ...

- Frank Phillips *

Patty Shepard Patricia Moran Shepard (October 1, 1945 – January 3, 2013) was an American film actress based in Madrid, Spain. She appeared in more than fifty Spanish, Italian and French films from the 1960s to the 1980s, notably several cult horror films. ...

- Sue Channing * Kari Rose - Donna Moss * Kris Mann - Bobby Talbot

Release

The film opened in the United States on February 5, 1988.

Critical reception

On review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the film holds a 38% approval rating based on 8 reviews. ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' praised the "convincing special effects and make-up and snappy direction" and said it "has enough thrills and spills in it to keep youth audiences alert".

Box office

The film flopped at the U.S. box office. It opened in seven theaters in the United States and grossed $15,842 in its opening weekend.

Awards

The film won a

Goya Award The Goya Awards ( es, Premios Goya) are Spain's main national annual film awards, commonly referred to as the Academy Awards of Spain. The awards were established in 1987, a year after the founding of the Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sci ...

for Best Special Effects by Gonzalo Gonzalo, Basilio Cortijo and Carlos de Marchis.

Home video

Anchor Bay Entertainment Anchor Bay Entertainment (formerly Video Treasures and Starmaker Entertainment) was an American home entertainment and production company. It was a subsidiary of Starz Inc. Anchor Bay Entertainment marketed and sold feature films, television ser ...

released a DVD of the film in 2000. In 2011,

Image Entertainment RLJ Entertainment (formerly Image Entertainment) is an American film production company and home video distributor, distributing film and television productions in North America, with approximately 3,200 exclusive DVD titles and approximately 340 ...

released a DVD of the film under the Midnight Madness Series. In 2016, British home video distributor,

Arrow Films Arrow Films is a British independent film distributor and restorer specialising in world cinema, arthouse, horror and classic films. It sells Ultra HD Blu-rays, Blu-rays and DVDs online, and also operates its own subscription video on-dema ...

, released a special edition Blu-ray of the film, which contained a commentary track and interviews with several people associated with the film.

References

External links

* 1988 films 1988 horror films 1980s monster movies American monster movies American natural horror films American splatter films Spanish splatter films 1980s English-language films English-language Spanish films Films based on British novels Films set in the United States Films shot in Madrid Spanish horror films 1980s American films 1980s Spanish films {{1980s-horror-film-stub