Arachnophobia

Arachnophobia (1990) is a movie in my DVD collection and is also available on Amazon Prime. The storyline follows a city doctor who moves out into the country to become a small town doctor. Unfortunately for him this small town has a local man who recently died in Valenzuela and is sent back home to be buried; and within the coffin is a rare breed of spider that is very territorial. This movie is directed by Frank Marshall (Congo) and stars Jeff Daniels (Dumb & Dumber), Julian Sands (Warlock), John Goodman (Roseanne) and Harley Jane Kozak (Parenthood). The opening of this movie in Valenzuela really sets the mood and intensity of the film. They do a great job of using lighting and shadows in this film to create the looks and attacks. They also do a great job of creating the look, feel and characters of the small town. I always think an aspect of this storyline that's interesting is how much people hate the opinions of the educated and how that still plagues our society (COVID as an example). John Goodman is outstanding in this movie and this is one of my favorite performances of his. The horror elements in this start very subtle and build as as the number of spiders increase and gets more and more intense as the movie unfolds. This is an absolute classic horror gem with a few outdated special effects but the characters and elements are so good it remains a masterpiece. This is a 9/10 that I'd strongly recommend.

Spiders are not a favorite of many people, something about eight legs does not appeal to the masses. The movie Arachnophobia plays on the fears of an audience, while mixing in enough humor to engage the viewer with a standard horror story. Jeff Daniels plays a big city doctor who moves out into the country to take over the practice of the soon-to-be retiring doctor who has served for about 140 years or so. The Daniels' character is also scared of spiders, so when killer spiders enter the town, we have the standard ingredients to the standard horror movie. The spiders look convincing enough to scare almost anybody, and the exterminator, played by John Goodman, offers enough jokes to lead to an entertaining movie. There is nothing Earth-shattering about the film, but for popcorn season, this movie will not disappoint.

Dr. Ross Jennings is a west coast doctor from the big city who relocates to a small town in the rural country. Not only does he not fit in with the local residents, but he also has an uncontrollable fear of spiders which are prevalent in the surrounding area. To make matters worse, a new, lethal breed of spider has made its way from South America to their hometown, and produced far more deadly offspring that are slowly taking over their peaceful little community. Exciting, creepy-crawly thriller with first-rate special effects, hair-raising chills, and an excellent cast. Even with the welcomed comedic overtones this is not for the squeamish or anyone with the titular fear, especially at the film's nail-biting finale. ***

I like Arachnophobia for different reasons than usual- I love its setting. Small town western coastal town, bathed in sunlight suddenly gets invaded by poisonous spiders from South America. This is a good enough film and Jeff Daniels is more than adequate as the lead everyday guy. Frank Marshall has an affinity with nature- He also directed Congo and Eight Below and this film suits his sensibility. I doubt if anyone except extreme arachnophobiacs would be scared. Go watch it for a good ride.

ARACHNOPHOBIA brilliantly takes a simple fear of spiders and magnifies it to monstrous proportions!

A highly venomous super-spider from Venezuela finds its way to small town America. As luck would have it, Dr. Ross Jennings (Jeff Daniels) and family, have just moved into the same town. Little do they know that the aforementioned arachnid has set up shop on their new home's property. Horror and hilarity soon unfold when the eight-legged menace manages to start a tiny population explosion of killer offspring!

This movie gets the whole horror / comedy balance just right, not sacrificing one for the other. There are an equal amount of chills and laughs. Daniels is great in his role, as is Julian Sands as the hyperbolic Dr. Atherton. John Goodman puts in a nice, extended cameo as Delbert the exterminator.

Special mention must be made of the spider wrangler, for making these creatures appear intelligent and terrifying! You'll never look at attics or basements in quite the same way again!...