This is some of the most weak, limp, almost insouciant direction I've ever seen. Scenes generally progress with a flummoxing carefree ease that suggests a stroll in the park instead of a genre flick, and much the same goes for the acting. Nevermind the curiously flimsy, meager, lackadaisical dialogue - actors' delivery, expressions, and even their movement are mostly casual and unbothered even as strange goings-on begin to mount. There are exceptions, sure, and sometimes the direction or acting are more vibrant, as seen in the first death sequence we witness nearly halfway in. Sometimes filmmaker Gianfranco Giagni does manage to strike the right tone or infuse some easy atmosphere, aided by the original music of Franco Piersanti. Yet even Piersanti's music sometimes struggles in a similar manner. One may reasonably suppose that the proceedings would suitably intensify as the plot develops, and they'd be correct in part, but it continues to be the case to an astounding degree that 'The spider labyrinth' carries itself with a relaxed, indifferent nonchalance more closely resembling a television program about, I don't know, tracing the history of recipes for chocolate cake.
All this is more bizarre still as I recognize how well the picture is made in other regards. The filming locations are gorgeous; the production design and art direction are very easy on the eyes, with some fabulous detail to come. There are some extra fetching shots throughout, some that would look right at home if framed on a wall. The stunts and practical effects are excellent, and gnarly, including some terrific stop-motion animation; there's even fine consideration for lighting, and sound effects. At its best I really do like the score; at its best this movie does boast some nice touches of atmosphere (predominantly in the last stretch). Broadly speaking the costume design, hair, and makeup are swell. And there are some solid ideas in the story and screenplay: a man unwittingly drawn into something he doesn't grasp, ties between ancient relics and sinister conspiracies in the modern world, and something still more monstrous lurking on the edges. The notions underlying the plot, the scenes, and even the characterizations are pretty fantastic and ripe for cinematic treatment, and intermittently - again, predominantly in the last stretch - the feature really does discover some welcome strength, the vitality that one would hope to find in horror at large.
Yet for all the strong craftsmanship, and all the good ideas on hand, how the screenplay is fleshed out is decidedly more questionable. By Jove, we don't particularly get plot development or an unfolding mystery, we very gawkily and inelegantly get a wealth of plot and most answers all at once at about the one-hour mark. Through to the end there are troubled spots in the music. Through to the end the acting is too often marked by glaring unconcern - for the majority of the length Roland Wybenga rarely comes off well, the poor guy - and Giagni's direction is peculiarly easygoing. The last twenty minutes or so are notably vivid, building into a superb climax, and the ending is a delight (and also the one time when Wybenga's informal composure specifically works). Even observing clear influences (some giallo here, some John Carpenter there, and so on), 'The spider labyrinth' is splendid and enjoyable when it's firing on all cylinders. And that makes it all the more odd that so much of the title is kind of anemic. On the one hand I want to like it more than I do; on the other hand, for it to be so uneven, I wonder if I'm not being too generous.
When all is said and done this is worth watching, for the payoff rewards our patience. But one should surely temper their expectations in light of how the last stretch especially needs to compensate for such infirm dominant construction. Don't go out of your way for 'The spider labyrinth,' and don't necessarily get your hopes up, but it's good enough overall to warrant checking out if you have the opportunity.
