On A List of Movie Reviews
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Arachnophobia (1990)
Rate:
8
Viewed:
11/02, 12/21
12/21:
I've seen Arachnophobia plenty of times going back to when it was theatrically released, and there's one thing that
hasn't changed: it's a genuinely scary movie.
Yet I label it as a horror-comedy. It's the spiders that provide the most scares, but Jeff Daniels, John Goodman, and
others offer subtle comic relief for a change. There are moments of terror that are unbelievably effective, and
they never age for the slightest bit. The spiders are real as they're Avondale spiders from Australia and New Zealand but
are 100% harmless in real life.
I can see why Steven Spielberg signed on as an executive producer because there are similarities to Jaws.
Arachnophobia has a great backstory to make the rest of the premise be totally believable although the principal
characters aren't likeable. In the long run, there's a bit of The Birds going on with a
murder mystery at hand.
Of the performances, I like a couple the best: Julian Sands and John Goodman. Of the former, it's a
good role that he plays it straight, and the latter, it's perfect to match his personality. I'm surprised, for
an esteemed entomologist, Atherton is stupid enough to enter the barn in the dark. On the other hand, Jeff Daniels is great as usual.
All in all, when people think of The Birds and
Jaws, they should also think of Arachnophobia.