Itsy Bitsy

This was more like a dark family drama with a subplot involving a big ancient spider.

ITSY BITSY begins with a tribal ritual, where a black, earthen jar / container is stolen by desperate men. The scene shifts to a mother (Elizabeth Roberts) and her two kids relocating to her new job in a new town. She will be providing in-home care for an elderly collector of tribal artifacts (Bruce Davison- WILLARD), who just happens to have received said container.

As more is learned about the sacred pottery, it becomes clear that something terrible is brewing. When it is broken, the horror is unleashed.

Two things can be said up front: #1- Arachnophobes will utterly hate this movie! #2- Monster / practical effects fans will absolutely love it!

The complaints about the "family drama" aspect of the movie are unfounded. Any such drama is just a necessary part of the overall story, unless we only want a pointless series of jump scares. The movie also has its own mythology, explaining the significance of the creature. A solid monster movie with some creepy moments.

Denise Crosby co-stars as Sheriff Jane Dunne...

Yes, the title was meant to say that. This movie is hokey, cheesy, unoriginal and kinda dumb. But, I was entertained and watched the entire film...and didn't get bored. That says something right?

The story is almost storybook ripoff of Arachnophobia but without the comedic element. And there's really only one spider, I think, except babies and disgusting egg sacks. Instead, they introduce a spider who's supposed to be an ancient deity. Again kinda dumb. With all this power and its ability to survive for millennia, it's pretty cool this one lady gives it a run for its money.

Acting is not anything to write home about and the dialogue was stupid. I wish I felt the makers didn't take making this so seriously. But I'm pretty sure they did.

That being said, if you're good with a mindless film you don't care to think about afterwards (except that the mom from Pet Sematary was in it), then give it a shot.

I'm not a horror fan. If I were I'd probably give this movie a seven. Good special effects. I was especially satisfied with the acting of the children. As with many such movies there are implausibles that go against known science but are necessary for the movie to work. I won't mention what they are as to not give anything away. Not as good as "Arachnophobia" but worth a view.

If you're not afraid of spiders, this movie will probably not be scary at all to you. I'm an avid fan of horrors and have become desensitized over the years but always looking for something different and always looking for gore. For me this movie really could have been made as a short. There is nothing horror about the first hour of this movie. I was settling on 4 stars until I saw the last 20 minutes and it made up for the bore the first hour gave me.