Méga araignée

Big Ass Spider/Mega Spider could have gone either way. It could have been cheap, terribly written and acted and amateurish or it could have been entertaining and likable with a sense that it knows what it wants to be and who it's aimed at. Thankfully while it does have a fair share of flaws Big Ass Spider/Mega Spider belongs in the latter category. The locations are splendidly colourful and atmospheric and the movie is well shot and reasonably edited as well as efficiently and confidently directed. The spider however is a little inconsistent, never terrible but never exceptional at the same time, at points it's menacing and well-designed and at other points it's rather goofy-looking and over-proportioned for an intentionally huge spider. It does at least have a personality and is well used. The music has the right amount of groove and eeriness without feeling out of place and the movie is better than expected in terms of writing. A lot of the supporting cast have very little to do but the writing for Alex and Jose is brilliant, from the hilarious snappy banter to the endearing tongue-in-cheek humour, if there was a choice who fared a little better than the other it would be Jose. The story admittedly does next to nothing new with the concept it has and it is very stretched out in places but it avoids being too campy and it takes an earnest approach without taking it too seriously, considering the concept that is difficult to pull off and the movie makes a decent crack at it. It's never scary but there are some inventive and suspenseful attacks that stops Big Ass Spider/Mega Spider from being too much of one tone, and as acknowledged early on in the review the movie does know who its audience is and what tone it's trying to take, never trying to take on too many ideas or be too simplistic. The characters are a mixed bag, Alex and Jose carry the movie wonderfully and are likable but a lot of the rest of the characters are one-dimensional and annoying. Likewise with the cast, with the best being the likable if goofy Greg Grunberg and the often hysterical Lombardo Boyer. Lin Shaye is amusing if occasionally wooden and Ray Wise is also good. Clare Kramer is laughably bad however with her change from cold to damsel far too sudden while the rest of the cast do nothing with their already thinly-sketched characters and that's including the underused Patrick Bauchau. The ending takes ridiculous to a whole new level as well. In conclusion, not great but still a lot of fun. Oh and the intro is wonderful. 6/10 Bethany Cox

BIG ASS SPIDER! is the story of exterminator, Alex Mathis (Greg Grunberg) and his extraordinary day. Upon receiving a bite from a Brown Recluse spider, Mathis winds up in the hospital. While he's there, by some unholy happenstance, another species of spider, a particularly large specimen, crawls forth. In seconds, the angry arachnid is on a deadly rampage!

If that's not bad enough, the military shows up, led by Maj. Tanner (Ray Wise), to "take care of things". The hospital is quickly locked down, and it's obvious that this is no ordinary spider. Can Mathis use his bug-killing skills to assist in the eradication of this fast-growing monster?

Grunberg is fantastic in his nebbish cum hero role. The movie is an excellent blend of sci-fi horror / creature feature and comedy. Not as hopelessly "zany" as one might expect, it benefits from well-written humor. The CGI isn't bad, especially later in the movie, when the BAS goes "KING KONG".

A low budget film that makes the best of its limited funds...

I normally don't write reviews but had to after watching this flick. What a riot! I was not expecting excellent CGI or acting but have to say this is one of the best "B" flicks I have seen in a while. The one liners are classic and the plot is soooo predictable but FUN. I laughed again and again and did not stop it at any point. I see the rating is low which I except but I live in a cold ass place and this movie warmed me up a little, Fun Fun Fun, don't give up on it in the first Ten (opening is bad) but hang on and be entertained I know I was. Love It! PS don't watch for stellar acting moments although the leads are pretty good. I have seen John Goodman do worse. See if you can catch the Game like CGI, or the continuity problems....some bad edits etc. But I am going to spread the word about this Fun and dare I say Family movie which Pits Spider (Ok its part Alien) against man. I wonder why Sigourney didn't come forward on this one. She did Paul and it's not a lot better. Enjoy!.......or Not:-)

Alex (Greg Grunberg) is an exterminator working in Los Angeles, whose speciality is spiders – he can get inside their minds, you see. A minor spider bite sends him to the local emergency room, where he soon learns that something has infiltrated the place. Turns out there was a military "accident" and soon the hospital is taken over by a Special Forces Major (Ray Wise) and his crew, including lovely Carly (Clare Kramer). But it is up to Alex and his sidekick, hospital security guard Jose (Lombardo Boyar) to figure out how to save the day.... Really, a movie like this needs no description, as it says it all in the title – there's a Big-Ass Spider threatening downtown LA! Very funny, a little gory (but only very briefly), this film had rather more character development than I'd expect in an 85-minute popcorn movie – and it was a perfect film to see with the great FantAsia audience too!

For a B-flick this was actually rather well done; I would even go so far as to say that this is more a lovingly made spoof of B-movies than an actual B-movie (although the budget is clearly B). A cameo appearance by Lloyd Kaufman (legendary Troma producer) seems to further indicate that this an homage to trashy horror and monster films.

Given the budget on this, the effects - especially the spider - are pretty decent. Don't expect the kind of CGI quality of films like "Starship Troopers" or "Mimic" and you'll have a fun 82 minutes.

I guess the version I just saw must be the R-rated one: there definitely are at least a few gory moments in this film, so the PG-13 rating here on IMDb could be misleading.

This film is a lot of fun and has some witty dialog and was obviously made by someone who loves this genre - apart from that, the two lead characters are very likable and have great chemistry.

It might deserve less, but I'll give it a 6

Favorite Films: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls054200841/

Lesser-known Masterpieces: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls070242495/

Fun B-Flicks/Low Budget Films: http://www.imdb.com/list/YV1Lxq7WLkU/