# Horror Movie Review: Arachnaphobia



## Sinister (Apr 18, 2004)

This film starts out promising: A guided expedition through the mountainous regions of Venezuela turns up a new species of spider more deadly than any ever discovered, a memeber of the party dies within seconds from a single bite of the arachnid, and unbeknownst to all involved, the creature hitches a ride back to North America, via the coffin of its first victim. 

It winds up in a small town, that has just seen the arrival of another stranger in the form of a Doctor and his family just moving in from San Francisco, to become the town sawbones there. Not long after the new Doc arrives, there are some mysterious deaths that occur amongst those not known to have any long standing illnesses. Being the stranger in town, the good doctor (Jeff Daniels) is naturally blamed, without any proof to substantiate the rumour. The doctor suspects something else and contacts the scientist that led the expedition (Julian Sands) to come out and have a look at the bite marks he has discovered on the victims. John Goodman as a bumbling Exterminator is thrown into the mix, and we have a mad scramble to find out where the devil responsible for these matters is hidden. It's closer than anyone thinks, and the situation is much worse than what anyone's expecting. With a creature that the humans are up against, which has a swarming army at its beck and call, how can anyone hope to survive.

This movie had some creepy moments in it. The scene where the doctors house is invaded is one such moment, and there are a few more. Daniels does a better than usual acting job as the put upon frustrated doctor. Goodman and Sands both turn out a good performance. The film wasn't a great one, some of the parts seemed tacked on and in a few places, the movie seemed as if it were about to run out of gas. The ending was pretty lame, but overall it was an enjoyable excursion. Spiders freak me out anyway, so there were some moments that I really had to admire the courage of the characters on the screen, because I sure as hell wouldn't have been in some of those places they went. The movie garners one "Jason" at least for "Skin-Crawling Factor" alone.

Anyhow, give this a look see, it's worth it; at least a one time viewing, maybe two.

Rating: :voorhees: :voorhees: 1/2


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## dougspaulding (May 22, 2004)

I have arachnaphobia - the DVD and the disease, and I think it's a fine black comedy (more comedy than black). Three and one-half bones.


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## Zombie-F (Apr 12, 2004)

dougspaulding said:


> I have arachnaphobia - the DVD and the disease, and I think it's a fine black comedy (more comedy than black). Three and one-half bones.


Wasn't this movie booked as the first-ever "Thrill-omedy"? I remember how much hype surrounded this movie... seeing it's full page ad at the back of every comic book I bought for like a year, the TV spots, all the "specials" and "making of" specials... Don't get me wrong, this was a decent movie, and funny at times, but it wasn't worth all the damned hype they blew up around it. At first I was totally disappointed by it and hated it, but over time, and with subsequent viewings, I find it to be enjoyable.

And yes, I too have arachnaphobia, which makes living in the sticks suck.


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## Witterally (Apr 15, 2007)

I just bought this movie on DVD about a month ago. It's not very funny and should have tried to be less humorous, but it is one of the creepiest movies I've ever seen. My hair stood on end the entire time. One of the few horror films that hasn't lost it's original impact on me.


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