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

It was banned in the Australian state of Queensland until the early-'90s when the Queensland Censorship Board was disbanded.

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Goofs

The jar with one slug collected from the garden was given to the scientist and was after shown to contain multiple slugs when removing one for dissection.

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Quotes

Mike Brady: After I've dealt with these slugs, what do you say to we get naked and crazy?

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Connections

References Jaws (1975)

User Reviews

Pretty Much the Greatest Film About Slugs Ever Made

Killer slugs on the rampage in a rural community.

Believe it or not, the story behind the screenplay started as a book. In the original novel, the titular slugs were not caused by radiation or any such thing, but actually on author Shaun Hutson's knowledge that there were three species of carnivorous slugs. (The book's success apparently was enough to get the author the gig to write "The Terminator" novelization.)

If you love the late J. P. Simon's "Pieces" (a true cult classic if ever there was one), you may also love "Slugs". It has some of the same great things going for it: incredible special effects on the gore, a great 1980s mentality and some of the worst dialogue ever to hit a screen near you (which may be due to the fact that the actors are not proficient in English).

The film is best enjoyed by taking it as not seriously as possible. I mean, thousands of slugs that come and go in unison, eat people and apparently have the ability to plan ahead? Not very plausible. A high school teacher who has his own lab for experiments? Not likely.

But I personally love this movie. I think it is so unbelievable that it is just perfect for a good film with friends, some Tootsie Rolls and a soda. And if you have the legendary horror historian Jon Kitley lurking around making slug-shaped chocolates, that just tops it off. This Spanish film made in America featuring Italian actors is a must-see.

The Arrow Video Blu-ray is jam-packed. We have audio commentaries with "Slugs" author Shaun Hutson and filmmaker Chris Alexander. The Hutson commentary is interesting in that he never actually met any of the film's producers, actors or director, so the focus there is much more on horror literature. There are also new interviews with actor Emilio Linder, special effects artist Carlo DeMarchis, art director Gonzalo Gonzalo and production manager Larry Ann Evans. The last one, with Evans, is really very insightful and tells you more stories about the making of the film than you're likely to hear anywhere else.