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Spiders

Spiders: Arachnophobia Overload

  • Christa CampbellJon Mack...
  • Science FictionThriller
  • Tibor Takács
reviewed by
Marija Loncarevic
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Spiders: Arachnophobia Overload

Hungarian-born director, Tibor Takacs, is probably best known for his work on 1987 film, The Gate; a relatively successful fantasy-horror flick, in which pint-sized demons threaten to take over Earth. Spiders Takacs’ latest creature feature – instead opts for giant human-eating spiders. 

An 80’s Soviet satellite – carrying a nest of genetically engineered spiders – descends to Earth, crashing deep down into a New York subway tunnel. The on-call subway dispatcher, Jason (Muldoon), is the man in charge, and he immediately takes it upon himself to investigate.  With the help of his ex-wife, Rachel (Campbell) – an employee at the Health Department Services – and other governmental emergency services, Jason does his all to make sure that the area can be cleared in time for the eminent NY rush hour.

However, soon after the area is proclaimed clear and safe to use, the hair-raising spiders that have found their way out of the debris begin taking their first victims. Fabricating a story of a viral disease, the military shuts down several parts of the city in order to gain control. Suspecting that the government knows a lot more than they’re letting on, Jason orders a biopsy for one of the victims, only to find himself tangled in a web of conspiracies.

With his daughter, Emily (Sweeney), and babysitter, Phoebe (Varod), held captive in the quarantine zone, both Jason and Rachel need to fight their way through the mutant spiders, along with their giant-sized queen and the fraudulent military presence, in order to save their beloved daughter and seek refuge.  

Everyone enjoys a good monster flick every now and then. A bit of mindless fun never hurt anyone and the expectations for these types of film are usually not set very high.  The story alone is pretty solid; however, Takacs’ execution is where the problems lie.  From the banal dialogue to the amateurish backlot sets, the lack of commitment invested in the film as a production is evident from minute one. 

The choice of cast does the film no favours, either. Taking themselves a little too seriously, their inexperience shows so much that it hurts.  Thanks to his soap opera background, Muldoon delivers a very stiff and half-hearted performance, while Campbell gasps and shrieks her way through the entire film.

In conclusion, it boils down to this: Takacs’ Spiders is a perfect example of a film that probably should have gone straight to DVD. 

Like This? Try

Arachnophobia (1990), Eight Legged Freaks (2002), Arachnia (2003)

360 Tip

This is not the first time that Takacs has dealt with genetically modified animals in his films. Other directing credits include Mega Snake (2007), Ice Spiders (2007) and the awesome-sounding Mansquito (2005).

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