Il nido del ragno

Not really bad Italian production of the late Eighties, with a story of an ancient religion of a spider-god survived till our days in a ghostly photographed Budapest. A few scenes are well done (like the death of a maid similar to one of the finest scene in Argento's Suspiria) or evocative (like the nightmarish underground voyage of the American professor in the spider nest, full of human remains), while the major faults of the movie are in the dialogues and in the fact that a good idea is wasted in a too derivative ending

An American professor of archeology Alan Whitmore is ordered by his superiors at his university to go to Budapest.He travels there to work with another researcher and stumbles into pagan worshippers of a giant subterranean spider monsters.A crazed demonic killer is slaughtering those who stumble unto the secrets of 4000 year old cult and there seems no way out of the labyrinth."Spider Labirynth" is an eerie and very stylish homage to Italian horror as well as the film with extremely dense Lovecraftian atmosphere of terror and menace.The use of colors in "Spider Labirynth" reminds me Dario Argento's brilliant "Suspiria" and "Inferno".The special visual effects by Sergio Stivaletti are gruesome and bloody and the suspense slowly builds up.9 out of 10.Along with Michele Soavi's "Deliria" definitely the best Italian horror movie of late 80's.

A professor sent to Italy to check on a reclusive colleague finds himself in a world whose reality seems less and less certain. That's about all one needs to know about the plot. Most Italian horror is mood driven not plot focused. The Spider Labyrinth certainly owes a debt to Dario Argento. We have a mystery, a sect, a hotel with strange residents, and the unsettling feeling that the protagonist left reality behind the moment he stepped off the airplane. The world of the film is one of magic, just like in Suspiria or Inferno, yet the film does not fall into the trap of being a rip-off of those films. Only one scene, the murder of a maid in a room with hanging sheets, suffers from being overly familiar. Otherwise, the film has the feel of an Argento film without coming across as theft. While The Spider Labyrinth is not without problems (some hokey FX; an at times easy to predict plot), it seems more daring and evocative than Mother of Tears, Argento's last Three Mothers film. I am surprised by how little attention the film has gotten in the U.S. even with horror film fans like myself.

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.

This largely unknown Italian horror movie encapsulates the best of Italian horror. We've got Giallo elements, supernatural elements, surreal ambiance and a dark, sinister plot. Despite a lovely murder scene that takes place in the middle of a load of bed sheets, the first half of the film is largely rather uninspiring; but as the film moves on, it mutates into one of the most grisly assaults that I've ever seen from Italy. Many people that have seen this movie have labelled it a Giallo, and while the film does have it's Giallo moments in the first half - I'd put Spider Labyrinth in with the robust Gothic horror films such as Kill Baby Kill, Inferno and Suspiria before listing it amongst the likes of Solange and The Bird With the Crystal Plumage. The plot follows a professor who is sent to stay with a fellow professor for reasons that are always left rather vague. It's not long before his professor host ends up dead, and our hero is being plunged into a world of mystery and sinister cults, which all seems to focus around some strange 'fist-sized' black balls.

Italian horror is well known for not making a lot of sense and this film suffers from a screenplay that adheres to that 'rule'. The intrigue is generated towards the start mainly because of the fact that the film is so difficult to follow, but once the film enters it's more satisfying second half, these problems are somewhat resolved. Even while the film isn't making a whole lot of sense, however, it still remains interesting by way of its atmosphere. Atmosphere tends to be more important in this sort of film anyway, so the fact that this one relies on it is largely to its credit. The beautiful Italian locations are well shot and the lighting in the scenes indoors gives the film exactly the right mood. The underground scenes towards the end represent the film's strongest location shoots, and are one of the main reasons why it ultimately succeeds. The special effects look extremely cheap and are mostly stop-motion. However, they're really disgusting also, and the final scene; even though the 'monster' is a doll, really is nightmarish. Overall, I could easily understand anyone that doesn't like Spider Labyrinth; but it hit the nail on the head for me, and I definitely recommend it to my fellow Italian horror cinema fans!