For those who think Saw V and The Haunting of Molly Hartley are the only new horror movies available to see this Halloween season, I ask you all to dig a bit deeper. First, go to your local video store or your Netflix queue and rent a 2007 French horror film entitled Inside. It’s the best horror film I’ve seen since The Descent, and a must-watch for genre fans. If you’ve taken a look at that movie, and you still have a craving for something scary, try searching at your local theatres for the menacing indie film Splinter. Can’t find it? You’re not alone. While the annual Saw movies still manage 30+ million opening weekends, a classy and original movie like Splinter barely even gets a theatrical release. It’s a sad day for genre fans when they can’t see a movie like this on the big screen, because Splinter is actually really scary! I saw the film at Screamfest in mid-October and enjoyed it immensely, especially with such a loud and large croud for its Los Angeles premiere. I actually have a relation to the movie, as I know some people who worked on it, and I was even offered a production assistant job that I unfortunately wasn’t able to take. A year and a half later the movie is finally completed, and I must say I’m ecstatic about the results. Location-wise and cast-wise, it’s as indie as a movie can get. The whole thing takes place in one 24-hour period, involving just four people, a gas station, and a creature that craves on building itself through human flesh. Director Toby Wilkins opted to mostly go with practical creature effects, and the results are outstanding. The movie takes a little bit to get going, and there are a few steps the characters make in the beginning that are questionable, but the lead characters played by Paulo Costanzo and Jill Wagner actually seem to fit their ages and personalities (wow, amazing!). An added plus is that they’re not annoying. The movie features its share of gore moments, but Wilkins keeps most everything off-screen and to the audience’s imagination, except for one key moment involving an arm that is oh-so-gross it inspires pure joy. While Splinter isn’t anything groundbreaking, and not really anything we haven’t seen before, it promises great work ahead from first-time director Wilkins. It deserves a bigger audience. Like whatever movie the following screen-shot is taken from a different movie starring Paulo Costanzo. Yowza!