**Potential Spoilers**
I have over the years developed a predilection for monster movies so when I saw Splinter I was intrigued. Splinter was released back in 2008 but only had a limited theatrical release. To be honest only I stumbled upon the movie whilst looking through Amazon Prime I might have remained unaware of the movie's existence. I am, however, glad I found it as it was a decent horror movie.
The plot of Splinter revoles around two separate couples. Seth and Polly are on their way to camp out when they see a woman at the side of the road. They are promptly hijacked by a couple on the run from the law, Dennis and Lacey. As they drive down country roads they suddenly run over something that destroys one of the vehicles tyres and punctures their radiator. They manage to limp to a gas station to find no one is there, apart from the seemingly dead attendant. This is when the movie really starts to move through the gears as the remaining characters struggle to understand what is happening whilst trying to stay alive.
Splinter is a simple movie but sometimes they are the best. It largely takes place in one location, the gas station, and has a limited cast. That said, Splinter is never boring and is a great movie to watch if you just want something that is easy to watch with a simple plot. The monster is quite novel, it reminded me of The Thing (1982) with it's ability to infect a host whilst any part of the infected body that is separated has the ability to reanimate. Whereas the creature ftom The Thing replicates this monster mutates the living and reanimates the dead. I believe the monster is some sort of fungus.
From a technical point of view Splinter is a competent movie. The cinematography is decent but I found the scenes with the monster attacking confusing. I am sure it was edited like this in order to take our eyes off any shortcoming with regard to special effects. The acting is convincing, as is the dialogue, and there is enough gore to keep gore fans satisfied, indeed there is one scene involving a Stanley knife that should have them drooling.
6 out of 10
Summary: this film is the equivalent of fast food, it's good and it helps your horror hunger, but a week from now you won't even remember it.