Arachnophobia

1990

Frank Marshall

Jeff Daniels, Julian Sands, John Goodman, Garette Ratliff Henson ...

5.0

9,062

Horror

Horror

A large spider from the jungles of South America is accidently transported in a crate with a dead body to America where it mates with a local spider. Soon after, the residents of a small California town disappear as the result of spider bites from the deadly spider offspring. It's up to a couple of doctors with the help of an insect exterminator to annihilate these eight legged freaks before they take over the entire town.

	Media	Author	Review
		Janet Maslin The New York Times	"Made in a bold, cheery style that is very successfully derivative of Mr. Spielberg's (...) The specifics of the spider rampage have been very enjoyably executed"
		Roger Ebert rogerebert.com	"This is the kind of movie where you squirm out of enjoyment, not terror, and it's probably going to be popular with younger audiences (…) Rating: ★★★ (out of 4)"
		Rita Kempley The Washington Post	"Since most of the characters are spider food, they tend to be expendable, obnoxious or rude. This is Disney's idea of a fright fest -- about as threatening as 'Jaws' with Flipper in the title role."
		Almar Haflidason BBC	"[Frank Marshall] makes a brilliant debut, effectively weaving together thrills and humour in equal measure (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"
		Philip Thomas Empire	"It's scary and it's funny (...) An exciting and thoroughly enjoyable experience (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"
		John Semley Slant	"This is a pretty (sub)standard package for a pretty serviceable B movie (…) Rating: ★★½ (out of 5)"
		Owen Gleiberman Entertainment Weekly	"'Arachnophobia' will make you jump a few times, but it isn’t a relentless, primal scare-a-thon like 'Jaws' or 'Alien'. It gives you the willies in a cheery, presentable way."
		Variety	"[It] expertly blends horror and tongue-in cheek comedy (...) Marshall has the directorial confidence to allow scripters (...) plenty of screen time to develop characters more fully than usual in a horror film"
		Alan Jones Radio Times	"[Marshall spins] a tension-laden web full of solid scares and well-timed wit in what is virtually a version of Alfred Hitchcock's 'The Birds', only with eight legs (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"

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