Splinter was filmed in Oklahoma, where I live, and since movies filmed in my state are so rare (Twister was mostly filmed in Texas even though it takes place in Oklahoma, for ****s sake.) I picked it up today.
Holy shit was I amazed at how great it was.
It's about a couple who are taken hostage by an escaped convict and his girlfriend while on a camping trip. The group stop at a deserted gas station, where they encounter a creature that shoots porcupine-like spines into animals, changing the other animals into similar creatures. They are stuck inside the gas station while the creaure idles outside, waiting to eat them.
First off, the acting is impressive. The film has a tiny 6-person cast made up of unknowns, and noone is unconvincing.
What makes this movie is the creature. This has got to be one of the most intriguing creature designs I've ever seen in a film. Rather than one monster, the creature is more of a parasitic fungus or something that reproduces inside of a host, and it takes control of the still-living host like a puppet. The waypeople infected by the parasite move is incredibly original. The parasite disregards any damage it causes its host, resulting in behavior like breaking its hosts limbs to reach through tight spaces.
The movie shares my favorite theme of people trapped in a building while death awaits them outside. The way the creature infects people combined with the fact that the people are stuck in a building produce the effect of the movie feeling like a zombie film.
The gore effects are impressive, as are the pyrotechnics. This film is an example of great independant horror that manages to be more effective than most hollywood horror. Give it a watch: you won't be disappointed.
Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJndd5Eyz18