SLITHER: a forgotten gem

I had absolutely no expectations when I slipped SLITHER into the DVD player and turned on the tv. All I knew was that it starred James Caan, Sally Kellerman and Peter Boyle, it was made in 1973 and might be some kind of road movie.
The story had me hooked from the get-go. I had no idea who Caan's character was, where he was going, what part of the country he was in, or even what decade it was, but I definitely wanted to know more (even the poster for the film gives you no idea what to expect!). What made the viewing experience so enjoyable was the way that I found out what was going on at exactly the same time as Caan's character (the aptly named Dick Kanipsia) did. To describe what unfolds would be to spoil your pleasure in discovering it for yourself but suffice to say that Dick finds himself in a situation not of his own making, with very little idea what's going on, but with a growing realisation that if he can figure it all out there could be a very big pay-off for him.
Along the way he falls in with a bunch of off-beat characters who draw him into their weird worlds. Kellerman is a kooky, ever-so-slightly unstable free spirit who's unpredictability constantly catches Dick off-guard, while Boyle and screen wife Louise Lasser (why didn't she get her teeth fixed?!) are a truly bizarre couple with an obsession for Airstream campers and big band music.
Boyle is great, but the real pleasure is Caan playing against type and making it work. He'd been around in movies since the mid 60s but had finally broken into the big time in 1972 as Sonny Corleone in "The Godfather." Having established himself as one of 1970s cinema's toughest tough guys he chose to follow up this success by playing a man who's just as big a scaredy-cat as the rest of us when it comes to physical violence. It's genuinely funny to watch Caan confound our expectations time and time again and do it with such style and humour.
It's Caan's performance that gives SLITHER a legitimate shot at claiming the title of a minor cult classic. It's most definitely a forgotten gem - not quite a diamond but certainly not diamonique either.