In a remote gas station in the woods of Oklahoma, something deadly emerges. It feeds on wildlife. It takes the life of a bored station clerk. Now, a young couple and the criminals who have taken them hostage must put their animosities aside to escape a killer unlike anything they could have imagined. Unfortunately, they are far from help, no one is coming, and the thing that lurks is only getting bigger. This is Splinter, a 2008 horror starring Shea Whigham, Paulo Costanzo, and Jill Wagner.

What we have here is something that is unlike most other films you will see. The concept of a biological organism that infects and absorbs its prey through attachment via splinter-like barbs was new when I first saw this movie in 2008 and has not been replicated over a decade since. The tone and atmosphere give this film a dirty feeling and almost make you feel like you need a shower after viewing. It being set in a gas station may be the cause as much as the disgusting creature. I always see gas stations as being barely clean, like you can lift a rug and find the mountain of dust swept under it. The location in the woods and the country look of the first victim adds a backwoods feeling and a real sense of isolation, which is always an essential need in good horror.

The acting of Splinter is decent. Shea Whigham is something of a household name now over a decade later, with acting credits in works like Boardwalk Empire, Joker, and Kong: Skull Island as notable titles on his resume. His performance here isn’t show-stealing, but he still puts forward the best acting in this macabre as the criminal Dennis Farell. Seth Belzer and Polly Watt, played by Costanzo and Wagner, respectively, are the young couple that Farell takes hostage in the early stages of the plot. Costanzo plays his role as the nerdy Seth well and sinks effortlessly into the role. He is crucial in establishing what we come to know about the creature and how to survive its onslaught. Wagner is the only weak link of the trio as far as performance. The other two have unique characterization, but Polly felt more like eye candy for the viewer. I found her performance to be wooden at times, and the least believable, falling into a category that resides in too many horror films of being there for sex appeal. Wagner tries to keep up with her male costars, but I found myself at times cringing at her sometimes stiff acting.