ARACHNOPHOBIA (1990)

After some newer reviews, it was time to go retro for a change. While this might not be considered horror in the traditional sense, it’s still got enough heebie-jeebie moments and genuine jump moments to earn its place in the genre. Just the title alone, ARACHNOPHOBIA, tells you what you’re in store for: spiders! The story begins when scientists travel to Venezuela to study a new species of spider and unknowingly transport it back to the US. After mating with the common house spider, we get an enormous amount of offspring and now have a new breed of venomous crawlies. What differentiates this one from the million other ‘spider’ or even ‘bug-gone-amok’ flicks out there is this one is deeply rooted in realism. No giant spiders swinging outside buildings, or demolishing cities like Godzilla. These are all real-sized creepers with a storyline as real as it gets: We follow Jeff Daniels as the doctor of a small town when the mysterious deaths start piling up. Additionally, the tone is played completely straight. Plus, the one other major thing setting this apart? No CGI! We get a mix of actual real spiders used along with some puppetry for just a couple unique shots. Real spiders, real size, running amok in a small town, pre-CGI, and you have yourself an effective flick. Add in some John Goodman as a comical exterminator and you get some much-needed tension relief. Check out this retro ‘horror’ pic to see how things were done before CGI and way before the Sharknado days…proof that a little subtlety can go a very long way. Shame we didn't get more of these types of flicks before the days of CGI. Watch at nighttime at your own risk…then see if you can enter a dusty old barn.

SLASH SCENE: The shower scene

SLASH SCORE: 4.5/5