History Film / Splinter

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:The creature is killed after its burned alive but Dennis is infected again and he decides to sacrifice his life by blowing himself and the gas station up so that Seth and Polly can escape. And while they're still alive the woods Seth and Polly are wandering in have infected creature corpses lying around so things aren't looking good for them.]]

* TenderTomboyishnessFoulFemininity: [[DarkChick Lacey]] is a JerkAss while [[OutdoorsyGal Polly]] is notably kinder to others.

* VasquezAlwaysDies: Inverted; [[DarkChick Lacey]] is [[spoiler:the first of the group to die]] whereas [[OutdoorsyGal Polly]] is [[spoiler:the FinalGirl]].

The film opens with a gas station attendant [[DontGoInTheWoods out in the woods]] being attacked by what appears to be a rabid animal. It then cuts to a couple; Seth Belzer (Paulo Costanzo) and Polly Watt (Jill Wagner); attempting to go on a camping trip, but upon failing to erect the tent, deciding to go to a motel instead. As they drive, they are pulled over by escaped convict Dennis Farell (Creator/SheaWhigham) and his junkie girlfriend Lacey Belisle (Rachel Kerbs), whom are eloping to flee to Mexico. The two hijack their car and take the couple hostage.

* TheEndOrIsIt: [[spoiler:Seth and Polly escape the gas stations ... but the final shot is of an animal infected with the parasite lurking behind a tree.]]

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Dennis. He's undoubtedly an asshole who's willing to use violent methods to get his way, but he clearly cares about Lacey. He also orders Seth and Polly into the freezer with him instead of leaving them to die, tells them to stay away when his arm acts up thanks to the splinter, pleads with the sheriff to radio for backup, [[spoiler:wants to send money to the wife of the truck driver he left paralyzed, and finally sacrifices himself in order to kill the monster so that Seth and Polly live.]]

* PainfulTransformation: The attendant after being infected by an animal. We see his body ''contort and twist unnaturally while he screams in pain''

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Dennis. He's undoubtedly an asshole who's willing to use violent methods to get his way, but he clearly cares about Lacey [[spoiler:and wants to send money to the wife of the truck driver he left paralyzed.]]

* TheVirus: A haemovore fungal mould that takes you over, eats you from the inside out and infects via sticking creatures with thorns made via it's own biomass.

* HalfTheManHeUsedToBe: Sheriff Frankel is torn apart, and gruesomely put back together by the virus.

* LifeOrLimbDecision: Later in the film, [[spoiler: the parasitic virus that Dennis contracted from pricking his finger has spread entirely up his forearm, taking full control of it. Before it can spread further, Dennis bravely decides to hack it off himself with a box-cutter but then blacks out from the sheer pain caused by his infected arm's violent independent movements. Fortunately, Seth and Polly take over and manage to finish the job for him. Due to the crudely improvised "surgical" tools involved, the experience for Dennis is understandably not comfortable.]]
* MarionetteMotion: Those infected exhibit violent, jerky movements with no fluidity due to the virus controlling them.

* DiesWideShut: [[spoiler:Lacey is smashed against a wall by the infected character from the beginning and dies instantly. [[HighOctaneNightmareFuel Having made contact with the mold, her ''body'' definitely is not dead...]]]]

* BotanicalAbomination: The threat is a [[spoiler:a strange, parasitic mold that turns those infected by it into ParasiteZombie[=s=] that can detect other victims through their body temperature. When it manifests, it manifests spikes across the infected area as it ''breaks the bones of its host'' to increase its mobility]]. We never find out exactly where it came from and it is very likely that whatever it is, it is still out there, ready to cause a pandemic.

%%* PeoplePuppets

%% ZeroContextExample entries are not allowed on wiki pages. All such entries have been commented out. Add context to the entries before uncommenting them.

* TooDumbToLive: Sheriff Frankel. Seriously, when not only a couple that are being held hostage but ''the man holding them hostage'' are pleading for you to run back to your car and radio in for backup, you'd best go do as they say unless you wanna end up as a piece of a parasitic monster.

%%* HeroicSacrifice: Dennis at the end.
%%* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Dennis.
%%*KillItWithFire