Not really sure where to start, so I'll start with the positives, then I'll go through... the rest.
First off, I was not expecting the immediate reveal that the spider is actually an alien. Honestly at first I didn't know how to feel about it, but quickly realized that it was not only the best move to explain just how ridiculous Stings abilities are, but it also fits the overall campy nature of the film and I found myself totally game.
As for the horror elements and deaths, they are without a doubt the highlight of the movie. The titular creature often looked sufficiently creepy and nasty, brought to life by a blend of fairly decent CG and practical effects. The deaths are particularly gruesome. One in particular really stood out and I was genuinely surprised by just how far they stretched it. If only there was more of all that
Okay that's about all the good, now for the rest of the movie! Biggest problem first: THE CHARACTERS ARE INSUFFERABLE! Our main protagonist is arguably the most likable and even he is obnoxious and frustrating. The worst offender is the step daughter, aka the little brat whose fault all this is for being too stupid to realize way early on that this thing was no spider and certainly no pet. She is supposed to be a young hormonal girl who is having trouble connecting with her stepdad, so some of her attitude is definitely intended to annoy us, but as the film progresses, it gets increasingly hard to tell when the movie is trying to say she's justified in her outbursts or not. The movie tries to paint out the stepdad as an idiot who can't do or say anything right and while all that is true, they forgot to make him endearing enough to root for. And they went way overboard with the girls attitude. Then there is the wife. Similar deal as the daughter just way less severe. She just always has this sarcastic, rushed tone as if she can't wait to end the conversation and for her husband to shut up. Even the side characters are each their own brand of suck. The grandma's the exception, but the exterminator is loud and annoying and keeps popping in and out of the story just to get killed off in a second once you think he will be a part of the third act.
Speaking of the third act, particularly the climax, it was so underwhelming. I have yet to mention just how few scares are in this film and how seldom we see Sting. I understand budget limitation are a very real thing, but I say if you can't make a movie about a killer giant spider properly, maybe dont make it at all. Instead, the movie chooses to fill its minimum required runtime of 80 minutes to be a feature with "family drama." This is a whole other can of worms and maybe a hot take but I have been so annoyed with every single horror movie coming out in the last 10 years thinking they have to be some character piece with relatable character and drama. Some movies don't need that. Not every movie is Hereditary. If it works for the story of the film, and the characters and drama are good and are consistent with the themes, then it can work. But this is a movie about a rapidly growing man eating alien spider... just let it be that please.
This movie doesn't hide from its camp. It's in full display in most scenes with Sting. But in the 90% of the movie without Sting, it tries to play itself way too seriously. It doesn't help that we have established how unlikable our characters are. I miss when campy movies were allowed to be just that and not everything had to try and be "prestige horror."
All in all, I found myself bored, frustrated and annoyed throughout most of the film. The only reason I'm not ranking it lower is because of the genuinely terrific death scenes. (Now that i think about it, it's really just the one death...) I do not and would not recommend anyone watch this. Watch the best scenes on YouTube. Or do yourself a real favor and watch this years other actually great spider horror pic "Infested." Now that's a movie that success at being exactly what this film fails at being. Really, it's really good, if you have read this far, I assume you're looking for an actually good spider movie and that's the one.
First off, I was not expecting the immediate reveal that the spider is actually an alien. Honestly at first I didn't know how to feel about it, but quickly realized that it was not only the best move to explain just how ridiculous Stings abilities are, but it also fits the overall campy nature of the film and I found myself totally game.
As for the horror elements and deaths, they are without a doubt the highlight of the movie. The titular creature often looked sufficiently creepy and nasty, brought to life by a blend of fairly decent CG and practical effects. The deaths are particularly gruesome. One in particular really stood out and I was genuinely surprised by just how far they stretched it. If only there was more of all that
Okay that's about all the good, now for the rest of the movie! Biggest problem first: THE CHARACTERS ARE INSUFFERABLE! Our main protagonist is arguably the most likable and even he is obnoxious and frustrating. The worst offender is the step daughter, aka the little brat whose fault all this is for being too stupid to realize way early on that this thing was no spider and certainly no pet. She is supposed to be a young hormonal girl who is having trouble connecting with her stepdad, so some of her attitude is definitely intended to annoy us, but as the film progresses, it gets increasingly hard to tell when the movie is trying to say she's justified in her outbursts or not. The movie tries to paint out the stepdad as an idiot who can't do or say anything right and while all that is true, they forgot to make him endearing enough to root for. And they went way overboard with the girls attitude. Then there is the wife. Similar deal as the daughter just way less severe. She just always has this sarcastic, rushed tone as if she can't wait to end the conversation and for her husband to shut up. Even the side characters are each their own brand of suck. The grandma's the exception, but the exterminator is loud and annoying and keeps popping in and out of the story just to get killed off in a second once you think he will be a part of the third act.
Speaking of the third act, particularly the climax, it was so underwhelming. I have yet to mention just how few scares are in this film and how seldom we see Sting. I understand budget limitation are a very real thing, but I say if you can't make a movie about a killer giant spider properly, maybe dont make it at all. Instead, the movie chooses to fill its minimum required runtime of 80 minutes to be a feature with "family drama." This is a whole other can of worms and maybe a hot take but I have been so annoyed with every single horror movie coming out in the last 10 years thinking they have to be some character piece with relatable character and drama. Some movies don't need that. Not every movie is Hereditary. If it works for the story of the film, and the characters and drama are good and are consistent with the themes, then it can work. But this is a movie about a rapidly growing man eating alien spider... just let it be that please.
This movie doesn't hide from its camp. It's in full display in most scenes with Sting. But in the 90% of the movie without Sting, it tries to play itself way too seriously. It doesn't help that we have established how unlikable our characters are. I miss when campy movies were allowed to be just that and not everything had to try and be "prestige horror."
All in all, I found myself bored, frustrated and annoyed throughout most of the film. The only reason I'm not ranking it lower is because of the genuinely terrific death scenes. (Now that i think about it, it's really just the one death...) I do not and would not recommend anyone watch this. Watch the best scenes on YouTube. Or do yourself a real favor and watch this years other actually great spider horror pic "Infested." Now that's a movie that success at being exactly what this film fails at being. Really, it's really good, if you have read this far, I assume you're looking for an actually good spider movie and that's the one.
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