Slugs (1988)

Killer slugs on the rampage in a rural community.

Director:

Juan Piquer Simón (as J.P. Simon)

Writers:

José Antonio Escrivá (as Jose A. Escriva), Ron Gantman (screenplay)

Stars:

Michael Garfield, Kim Terry, Philip MacHale

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Garfield	...	Mike Brady
Kim Terry	...	Kim Brady
Philip MacHale	...	Don Palmer
Alicia Moro	...	Maureen Watson
Santiago Álvarez	...	John Foley
Concha Cuetos	...	Maria Palmer
John Battaglia	...	Sheriff Reese
Emilio Linder	...	David Watson
Kris Mann	...	Bobby Talbot
Kari Rose	...	Donna Moss
Manuel de Blas	...	Mayor Eaton
Andy Alsup	...	Officer Dobbs
Frank Braña	...	Frank Phillips
Stan Schwartz	...	Ron Bell
Juan Maján	...	Harold Morris

Storyline

People are dying mysteriously and gruesomely, and nobody has a clue what the cause is. Only health worker Mike Brady has a possible solution, but his theory of killer slugs is laughed at by the authorities. Only when the body count begins to rise and a slug expert from England begins snooping around does it begin to look like Mike had the right idea after all.

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Plot Keywords:

male nudity | alcohol abuse | pollution | eaten by an animal | small town | 

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Taglines:

No-one is safe!

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Spain USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

5 February 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

Slugs

Filming Locations:

Lyons, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dister Group

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The movie was chosen to be part of famous german "SchleFaZ" series. It was aired August 2018 on german TV station Tele5. "SchleFaZ" is a german abbreviation, means "the worst films ever". In that series 2 hosts present the whole film and make fun of it throughout the movie.

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Goofs

Mike Brady says a line before he's supposed to. Towards the end of the movie, he barges into the commissioner's office and tells the secretary, "Will you tell Mr. Phillips that Mike Brady is here to see him?" The secretary replies, "Hey, his office is closed." Brady says, "Yeah, watch me!" but only then the secretary says, "You can't go in there!"

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Quotes

Kim Brady: Did you hear? About Harold and Jean Morris?
Mike Brady: Nope, why?
Kim Brady: They're dead.
Mike Brady: Ah, come on now...
Kim Brady: Yeah, I heard it on the news. There was some sort of explosion in their greenhouse. They were both inside.
Mike Brady: Wha-Wait a second, how'd this happen?
Kim Brady: No one knows.
Mike Brady: Ah, Jesus. They were nice people. I liked them a lot.
Kim Brady: I know, I did too.
Mike Brady: [long pause as Brady looks down at the garden] So what are you doing out here anyway?

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Alternate Versions

The UK video version was cut by 42 secs by the BBFC to edit a bedroom scene of a naked girl being attacked by the slugs and shots of a man chopping his hand off with an axe. The cuts were fully waived for the 2009 Lions Gate DVD.

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Connections

References Squirm (1976)

User Reviews

Monster movie by Juan Piquer Simon , full of creepy scenes , gore , guts and blood

It's a monster film's homage with lots of man-eaters slugs and loads of blood , including revolting , repulsive scenes. This chiller with middling budget packs thrills, chills , some good action , gore , horror and few funny moments. It's a hybrid of monster movies from the 50s and modern American production in B series style . People are dying mysteriously and terrifyingly , and nobody has a track what the cause is . Only health inspector named Mike Brady (Michael Garfield) finds a possible origin , but his theory of murderous slugs is laughed at by the authorities . When his wife named Kim (Kim Terry) is attacked , he discovers that spilled toxic waste is being helpfully cleaned up by the slug population and causing countless deaths . Only when the slugs are mutating into blood-thirsty man eaters and the body count begins to rise , the police goes into the action . A slug expert from England begins snooping around does it begins to think Mike had the right idea after all.

This humdrum adaptation based on Monster movies from the 50s results to be a special version based on the bestseller titled ¨Slugs¨ by Shaun Hutson with screenplay written by also producer José Antonio Escrivá , Ron Gantman , and the same director Juan Piquer Simón (as J.P. Simon) . The thrilling screenplay is a bit yawn-inspiring but nifty special effects will keep you from dozing off , its author is Emilio Ruiz , he's a nice creature effects designer, a perfect craftsman who made effects , monsters , miniature and matte shots in ¨Pan's labyrinth ,The Devil backbone , Dune , Conan , Cat's eye¨ and many others . There're gruesome killings , rip-roaring action , thrills , chills and results to be briefly entertaining . Plenty of repellent images , it was X classified in England and was banned in the Australian state of Queensland until the early-'90s when the Queensland Censorship Board was disbanded . Average main cast with unknown actors as Michael Garfield and Kim Terry . There appears usual secondary actors seen in co-productions of the 60s and 70s , Spaghetti and Terror genre , as Frank Braña , Manuel De Blas and Patty Shepard . It's a slight fun with acceptable special effects by Emilio Ruiz Del Rio supported by Benito Cortijo and Juan Mirame , passable set decoration , functional art direction and none use of computer generator . The slugs monsters are the real stars of this production , being rightly realized , some of them are authentic Asturias (Spain) slugs and others are made by plastic miniature ; it has numerous "older technique" special effects such as matte paintings, rubber-suited monsters, Piquer uses the standard film technique of reverse-footage to create certain effects .

The fable is silly and laughable ,though the effects and action are professionally made . Among the most spectacular of its visuals there are some deeply shrouded caverns , several monsters roaring menacingly towards the camera , the colorful backgrounds of the sewers and slaughters and massacres committed by the horrible slugs . On the whole this is a suspenseful and tense thriller especially at the amazing ending tableau when Michael Garfield and his helper have to tackle the massive slugs at the lair in the final . Some scenes are clumsily shot but the movie has some good moments here and there . Some illogical parts in the argument are more than compensated for the excitement provided by the slugs , though sometimes are a little bit cheesy . Highlights of the story includes a roller-coaster ending , some terrifying frames in a restaurant and many others . Functional cinematography by Julio Bragado , being filmed the interiors in Madrid and exteriors in Lyon , (New York) , a population about 5.000 inhabitants . The motion picture was middlingly realized by Juan Piquer Simon . Piquer who recently passed away was a good craftsman , he owns his own studio and created and/or designed many of the simple special effects sequences you see in any of his many imaginative undertakings . Juan who was director of the Mostra of Valencia (Spain) , displayed a professional career and specialized on all kind of genres as Terror (Slugs, Piezes , Cthulhu ) and Sci-fi (The rift , The new Extraterrestres, Supersonic man) and made some adaptations about Jules Verne novels ("Fabulous Journey to the Center of the Earth" , "Mystery on Monster Island") . While his films have been universally panned by the prestigious reviewers, they have a kind of quality that must be endured to be fully appreciated .