The sleepy town of Wheelsy could be any small town in America — somewhat quaint and gentle, peopled with friendly folks who mind their own business. But just beneath the surface charm, something unnamed and evil has arrived…and is growing. Intent on devouring all life on Earth, this dark and slimy entity is infecting anyone in its path. Now it’s up to the local sheriff, Bill Pardy (Nathan Fillion, Firefly, Serenity), and his team to stop the spread of rampant devastation – and shocking mutilation – before it’s too late.

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Video Quality

Slither has been given a wonderful new 4K UHD Blu-Ray in 2160p/Dolby Vision courtesy of Scream Factory. The new release is derived from a 4K remaster of the Digital Intermediate approved by writer/director James Gunn and director of photography Gregory Middleton. This transfer offers a pleasant uptick in quality over the Blu-Ray released by Scream Factory in 2017. The new Blu-Ray included in this set is derived from the fresh master, while the previous Blu-Ray was seemingly from an older master with some processing applied to it. The film has finally been treated with the proper respect on physical media.

This 4K UHD presentation delights with notable gains in clarity throughout the feature. The clothing and production design are given a chance to shine with texture and depth, along with the disgusting makeup effects which are heightened in all of their gross-out glory with this transfer. The implementation of Dolby Vision is a major win for honing in on the most accurate color palette intended for this one. With horror films, you need a strong handling of the contrast, and black levels stay deep with more detail than ever. The highlights are strong and balanced with no instances of blooming. Any instances of compression artifacts or banding present on the Blu-Ray are eliminated with this 4K UHD disc. Scream Factory has made this film look as good as possible.

Audio Quality

This 4K UHD Blu-Ray release delivers a mighty new Dolby Atmos track, along with the original DTS-HD 5.1 and a 2.0 stereo lossless tracks, that provides an impactful listening experience for fans. The track engages all channels with sound effects and ambient noise that elevate the degree of immersion to fun heights. The surround speakers deliver a compelling three-dimensional experience. The music and the score complement the general tone of the picture with top-tier fidelity. Dialogue emerges clearly out of the center channel without getting drowned out by the music or any sound effects. The activity in the low end hits hard when it needs to. This disc showcases each shudder-inducing development with nuance and clarity. Scream Factory provides a fantastic audio experience for this film. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided.

Special Features

Audio Commentaries: A pair of jovial commentary tracks are provided in which these creatives reminisce about the production of the film with plenty of amusing anecdotes to make these well worth a listen.

- Audio Commentary #1: Writer/Director James Gunn and Actors Nathan Fillion and Michael Rooker (2017)

- Audio Commentary #2: Writer/Director James Gunn and Actor Nathan Fillion (2006)

We’ve Got Worms: A new 18-minute interview with Director of Photography Gregory Middleton in which he discusses working with James Gunn to craft the look of the film, what he used as inspiration, trying to make things memorable for the audience, memories of the performers, and more.

Feed the Fear: A new 13-minute interview with Editor John Axelrad in which he discusses his earlier work that put him on the radar of James Gunn, how he went about editing the film, collaborating with the creative executives, how his perfectionism feeds into his work, and more.

Just a Bee Sting: A new 12-minute interview with Special Make-up Effects Designer Todd Masters in which he discusses trying to keep things as practical as possible, memorable creations, and more.

What’s Gotten Into You: A new 15-minute interview with composer Tyler Bates in which he discusses first befriending Gunn, the noises he wanted to bring to this feature, and more.

The Genesis of Slither: A 30-minute interview with Writer/Director James Gunn in which he discusses his original plans for Slither, his early days at Troma, the balancing of different characteristics, and more.

The Other MacReady: An eight-minute interview with actor Gregg Henry, who discusses what he brought to the character, working with Gunn, his love of the script, memorable moments from the film, and more.

Deleted and Extended Scenes: A 17-minute selection of unused footage is provided with optional commentary from James Gunn.

Visual Effects Progressions: A five-minute look at the evolution of the visual effects.

Slithery Set Tour: A nearly five-minute look at life on the set with Nathan Fillion.

The Sick Minds and Slimy Days of Slither: A ten-minute archival piece that features many of the creatives discussing the inspirations for the movie and the energy that was brought to the production.

Brewing the Blood: A three-minute tutorial detailing how to make prop blood.

Bringing Slither’s Creatures to Life: A 19-minute piece that delves further into the special effects work in the film.

Lloyd Kaufman’s Video Diary: A nine-minute look at James Gunn bringing his mentor, Lloyd Kaufman, from Troma to have a small part in the film.

Gag Reel (8:11)

Who Is Bill Pardy?: A five-minute humorous piece that takes a look at Nathan Fillion and his character from the film.

Theatrical Trailer (1:31)

Final Thoughts

Slither is a properly disgusting early genre effort from James Gunn that honors the creature features that came before while managing to establish its own identity. The tendency to lead with practical effects is part of what makes the film so memorable, as completely digital effects would feel so lifeless in comparison. The ensemble is filled with actors we love giving performances that feel authentic to this world. This one is a lot of fun, and we wouldn’t be mad to see Gunn return to such genre filmmaking sometime. Scream Factory has released a 4K UHD Blu-Ray featuring a favorable A/V presentation along with a gaggle of new and archival special features, all in a lovely SteelBook. If you love the film as much as we do, this is an easy upgrade. Recommended

Slither is currently available to purchase on 4K UHD Blu-Ray.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the 4K UHD Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Scream Factory has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.