Arachnophobia

Summary : Gremlins with spiders

Score : 8/10

Feel like laughing and being scared a little ? Arachnophobia with its $31 million budget has a lot to offer and it's not a surprise that it was well received by the critics back in 1990. Indeed it's one of the finest example of comedy horror films involving dangerous animals. Of course nature is wild but cult films like Jaws played with our fear of the unknown so the story of deadly spiders rampaging a town in the country was definitely refreshing. Prepare your best popcorn and ice scream because the time has come to convince you to watch the film at the theater near by, or on TV considering 21 years have passed since its release.

First of all it's important to understand that the story shouldn't be taken seriously. Indeed at the beginning my mistake was to try to compare it to other films and even focus on minor mistakes instead of enjoying the exotic adventure that was unveiling before my eyes. But quickly I realized that the production was nothing but a series of jokes and hilarious after effects to mock the ultimate predator, humans. And the palette of characters thrown in the mix is delightful. From the pesky old doctor you instantly want to struggle to the cop of idiot village it's Scream without the babes. A little too stereotyped or annoying at times but hopefully these personas are balanced with ones full of light. The friendly old lady next door ? Checked. The loving and complementary wife ? Checked. The arrogant but brilliant Professor ? Checked. However the two most important elements in this enumeration would be Doctor Ross Jennings (Jeff Daniels) and Delbert McClintock (John Goodman). Daniels is great as the new town doctor who seems to crawl under problems. As for Goodman his first appearance as the exterminator is just cult and all his scenes are barrels of crazy monkeys, mixed with a few spiders of course. Moreover his role is essential because he brings the necessary comic relief during scary sequences. To sum things up let's just say that he's the kind of guy you call when you have a blob stuck in your toilet or some ghost haunting your fridge !

As for the story it can be compared to Gremlins. The spiders are definitely not funny but the situations they're involved in are so diverse and over the top at times that you can't help chuckling. They're fast, they're small and more important… disgusting ! Hairy, webby and cocoony they should definitely creep you out. Taking their shower or playing soccer these arachnid soldiers seem capable of anything ! And the best part is that the audio and visual effects are top notch. I wouldn't trade these animatronics for CG ! These puppets look so real that the engineers behind them can be damn proud of their work. Moreover their filming is quite creative. From ground cameras to first person views the scenes keep dynamiting our excitement until the epic ending. And don't worry even if its main goal is to entertain its audience there's a morality and you might even find the protagonist journey inspiring ! Now that I think about it I also can't help thinking about cult franchises like Alien. Indeed Arachnophobia deal with similar topics after all and the slight twist it adds to the recipe is nothing revolutionary but definitely interesting. My only complain would be about the relative predictability of the story and I also wish its ending had been a little more wicked.

To sum things up in the direction department Frank Marshall did a masterful job. I'm also not surprised that Steven Spielberg served as executive producer. Last but not least Trevor Jones soundtrack can only be praised because without it the film wouldn't be as dynamic. It marvelously rhythms the action and make you feel like if the spiders were dancing instead of sneaking under your seat to bite your big foot.