Spook Out! Day 5 ~ Arachnophobia (1990)

Amazon Says...
"An unexpected guest causes a web of chaos."

I Say...
More like web of deaths. Also, surprisingly succinct, Amazon. Nice job.

Horror Type...
Comedy Horror, Creature Feature

Main Players...

Jeff Daniels as Ross Jennings (Determined Doc)

Harley Jane Kozak as Molly Jennings (Sensible Spouse)

Julian Sands as Dr. James Atherton (Arachnid Aficionado)

I liked...

• how it engrossed me straight away, and not just bc of Julian Sands being all smoldery British sexy W00F (le rawr freakin RAWR)
• that when we meet Ross and Molly, we learn pretty quickly why everything that's about to go down is the worst possible thing Ross could ever have to deal with, but also,
• that Ross deals with it all like a friggin boss
• the bits of foreshadowing, delicately sprinkled here and there, so subtle you might miss them
• how Ross, et al (once the locals stop crapping on him for being a city-slicking outsider), methodically investigate and process the clues, making this flick almost equal parts small-town drama, creature-feature, and police procedural--leading to disaster-movie-level danger
• the humor--some stuff made me LOL, even if it was patented late '80s cheese, bc...
• the scares! Spiders fixing to drop on you when you're showering? Or climbing up from the toilet just when you've settled in for a good read? EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!!!!!

The Meh...

• the pacing was mostly good, but it was definitely a slow burn and could've been edited down at least ten minutes or so without losing anything important
• that smarmy, shitty soundtrack. Le suck.

Would I recommend it...?

I would, though I wonder if a lot of my love for this movie stems from nostalgia...perhaps younger audiences wouldn't be too into it? It's heavy on the creep factor and does have a few jump scares (one had me catching my breath and goosebumpy), though if spiders don't wig you out as they do me, you might consider it a bit tame for a horror movie...

Miscellany...

• This is a re-watch for me, and I've always had the warm and fuzzies for Arachnophobia. In the first place, bc I adore comedic horror, but mainly because of the era it captures (despite the crappy music and, I'm sorry, the UGLY dresses on the townies and the boxy tops Molly wears--UGH). I'd pretty much forgotten everything except for Jeff Daniels, John Goodman (hilarious), and spiders. Loved sinking into it again today. 💜
• Curiously, I came upon a spider's web today, in my parents' garden. A big one, spanning across a little path between beanstalks. Something curled up and brown was caught up in that thing, hard to tell what...hmmm...I'm sure it's just a coincidence.

Ratings...

My Grade: A-, though I admit that nostalgia-colored glasses nudged it up from a B+

Rotten Tomatoes Scores: Tomatometer=92%, Audience Score=54%

Details, Schmeetails...

I Watched Arachnophobia on Amazon (the Rotten Tomatoes page linked above provides links to other streaming platforms)

Check it out on IMDb

Learn more about it on Wikipedia (Contains Spoilers)

This concludes Day 5 of

Thanks for reading and come back tomorrow...

IF YOU DARE