Earth vs. the Spider

I had to outbid several bidders on e-bay to get the VHS of this, as it seems to be getting a cult following or something. So it came and I watched, and it was completely interesting and never had a boring moment. It's kind of a low-rent SPIDERMAN, without the generally positive outlook of Spidey, kind of what might happen should the spider abilities include a hideous transformation and thirst for live prey. There are some suspicious coincidences between the 2 flicks. This one's dated 2001, and Spiderman is 2002, but who knows what the buzz was around Hollywood prior to the releases. So in this one, remake of the 50's version in title only, we have a hero/villain combination with pathos, and Dan Ackroyd in a good bit as a character actor, something he's been doing well since Driving Miss Daisy, as he's gotten too heavy to be a leading man any longer. If you like B-flicks, this is worth the time and you won't be disappointed. It's typical B-flick build and has the slow reveal of the hideous man/spider monster, which is well worth the wait, in the usual grand Stan Winston fashion (or his assistants perhaps). If you cannot stand B-flicks of this genre, then don't bother, you'll hate it and be mad at yourself for spending the time.

A title like Earth vs. the Spider is way too pretentious for a film of middling scale like this. What we have here is nothing more or less than a rip-off of the Fly. It feels shallow, pointless, maybe occasionally freaky, but hardly exciting. On top of that it has a majorly disappointing finale.

Quentin Kemmer is a security guard at a major biochemistry firm. He is a nice guy, and all he really wants out of life is a chance to be a hero. One afternoon there is a break in to the firm. Six people are killed, including his parter, and he blames himself for not being tough enough to prevent it. It a moment of hesitation he injects himself with the firm's latest top secret formula mixed from spider DNA. The next day he is a lot stronger, happier, and even gets a chance to be the hero he wants. As the days progress however, he gets hungrier, more deformed and dangerous to the point that he must stop himself before the beast within him gets loose.

The film is most involving when it explores the relationship between Quentin, and his lady friend next door, who he is shy of asking out. The entire film could've been based around this one thing and it would've been fine. However, another part of the plot concerns the investigation of Dan Akroyd's character which ends up amounting to nothing. What is more frustrating however is the total sloppiness of the climax. Like the film in its entirety, the last scene is random, rushed and insulting to the viewer. There is much to be explained when Earth vs. the Spider ends. The question is whether the story has gotten you involved enough to care, unfortunately no.

Neighbourhood vs. the Spider would be a more appropriate name. It is a small scale, not very effective creature feature, too short, and far too derivative. Monster fans will be disappointed I think.

A geek gets bitten by a modified spider and develops superhuman powers . Hey wasn`t there a recent blockbuster based on the same premise ? Yes there was and you can`t help thinking that the producers of EARTH VS THE SPIDER are going out of their way to deconstruct everything flawed about Peter Parker . " People like nice guys " says Stephanie the hot chick neighbour of anti -hero Quentin , no they don`t Stephanie and being a nurse you should know this better than anyone . People - Especially hot chick nurses - like anti-heroes , they like people who clean up the streets of sex offenders and other slime , I mean crime is at an all time high and what`s Peter Parker doing about it ? He`s chasing after a man in a green costume ! He`s far to concerned about his cholesterol levels and newspaper deadlines to care about Joe Public

As you can guess EARTH VS THE SPIDER owes more to Stan Lee than it does to the B movie that shares its name . Of course it has none of the massive budget of the recent Sam Raimi blockbuster , in fact the production values of this film are rather weak with cobwebs that look like used chewing gum and mixed standards of make up , but for entertainment value I probably enjoyed this more than the not too dissimilar THE FLY

I didn`t like THE DAY THE WORLD ENDED , but I liked EARTH VS THE SPIDER and I loved SHE CREATURE and I hope someone makes a few more " Creature Features "

It took four writers to come up with the story, which turns out to be a cheap, stupid ripoff of "Spiderman" and "The Fly." Nothing much in the plot is interesting or makes much sense. The special effects are pretty cheesy (maybe deliberately so), and there's little in the way of quality acting...Dan Ackroyd and Teresa Russell are wasted in such shallowly written roles. Watch David Cronenberg's "The Fly" or wait until the new Sam Raimi-directed "Spiderman" movie hits theatres to see how this material should REALLY be handled! My rating * 1/2 stars.

I should say i caught this little piece of gem the other day on tv and this tv movie was quite impressive.To begin with we have this kid who loses his job as a security officer at a research lab as he screws up a bust up by a bunch of crooks .To top it the kid injects himself with some potion say xxx which has something to do with spiders .So this kid will he become a super hero or some thing very sinister? thats for u to watch mucho. And well we have Dan akroyd as the investigating officer,and he gives a good performance.The movie builds upon the premise which we all dreamt when we were kids "to be a super hero with that special powers in order to save the world, save the girl and save the day". Quite a little neat movie i give it 4 otta 5.Have a good day.