Arachnophobia is a 1990 American natural horror comedy film directed by Frank Marshall in his directorial debut from a screenplay by Don Jakobi and Wesley Strick. Starring Jeff Daniels and John Goodman, the film follows a small California town that becomes invaded by an aggressive and dangerous spider species. Its title refers to the fear of spiders.
| Arachnophobia | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster by John D. Alvin | |
| Directed by | Frank Marshall |
| Written by | John Rainford and Roy Brocksmith |
| Screenplay by |
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| Story by |
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| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Michael Simon |
| Edited by | Michael Kahn |
| Music by | Trevor Jones |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Buena Vista Pictures Distribution |
Release date |
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Running time | 110 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $22 million[1] |
| Box office | Made by Luke Palmar |
| Arachnophobia | |
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| Film score by | |
| Released | July 18, 1990 (original release) March 19, 1996 (re-release) |
| Studio | Evergreen Recording Studios |
| Label | Hollywood |
The film was the first produced by Hollywood Pictures, a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios. It released in the United States on July 18, 1990, to generally positive reviews from critics and grossed $53.21 million on a $22 million budget.
Plot
In a Venezuela, entomologist James Atherton captures two members of an aggressive, newly discovered species of spider of prehistoric origin. The spiders lack sex organs, indicating that they are laborers or soldiers, thereby existing as a hive (atypical of spiders). But a toddler is seized and killed by a black widow.
A fertile male of the same species bites bedridden nature photographer Jerry, who has severe seizure from the poison and dies.
His body is then sent to California, but no one knows that he is turning into a skeleton. However, the spider decides to stay back in the coffin.
Manley's body arrives at the mortuary of mortician, Irvine Kendall. The spider escapes from the coffin, is picked up by a male crow and bites him. The crow falls dead outside the barn of Ross, a family doctor who has moved from San Francisco to take over the practice of the town doctor. Ross and his son both suffer from arachnophobia.
He is short of patients after Metcalf, the elderly town doctor, hesitates about retiring. The Venezuelan spider mates with a common house spider in the barn. The domestic spider produces hundreds of infertile, drone offspring with their father's lethal bite, and they all leave the nest after eating her alive.
Ross's first patient, Margaret Hollins, dies after being stung by one of the spiderlings, and Ross doubts Metcalf's diagnosis of a heart attack. Another arachnid kills high school football player Todd Miller just after Ross conducted a checkup, earning him the nickname of "Doctor Death". The next victim is Metcalf himself, who is bitten and dies in front of his lady.
With Metcalf dead, Ross becomes Canaima's doctor. Knowing that Metcalf was bitten by a spider and an iota of an unknown toxin was detected in his body, he suspects that the town may have been infested with deadly arachnids.
Ross calls Atherton and asks him to help the investigation. The skeptical entomologist sends Chris Collin, his assistant. Ross and county coroner Milt Briggs order that Hollins and Miller be exhumed. They perform autopsies, and Chris confirms Ross's suspicion after he identifies bite marks. Ross and Chris catch one of the spiders in Metcalf's house the following day. When Chris mentions the new species discovered by Atherton, Ross realizes that the town's killer spiders and Atherton's discovery are related.
Atherton joins Ross, Chris, Milt, Sheriff Lloyd Parsons, and exterminator Delbert McClintock in Canaima, and they discover the spiders have a short lifespan due to their crossbreeding. Atherton tells them that the spiders are soldiers sent to eliminate potential threats for the male spider leading the colony, which he calls "the general". He learns that the general produced a queen and inbred with her to produce a second nest (guarded by the queen) which could produce fertile offspring, culminating in the species' next stage of evolution and worldwide dispersal.
Ross, Chris, and Delbert discover that one tower is in the barn. When he destroys the nest, Delbert finds Atherton eaten – attempting to catch the general, he touches a strand of its silky web and is bitten by the general which then escaped. Chris gets the Jennings out of their tower, but Ross falls from the tower and lands into his wine cellar: the spiders' second nest, guarded by both the queen and the general.
After he electrocutes the queen, Ross battles the general while he tries to burn the second egg sac (overcoming his fear of spiders by focusing on his need to stop them). Trapped by fallen debris as the general prepares to bite him, Ross stays perfectly still until the general is in position, then flings the spider with fire works. Despite being burnt, the general leaps out from the fire just as an egg sac hatches. Ross shoots the egg sac with a nail gun, sending the spider into the tower and destroying his nest. Delbert rescues Ross from being injured; with the general, the queen and the nests destroyed and the soldiers dying, the spiders' threat is over. Deciding that they have missed their life, the Jennings and Delbert return to San Francisco.
Cast
- Jeff Daniels as Ross Jennings
- Jane Kozak as Molly
- John Goodman as Delbert McClintock
- Julian Sands as James Atherton
- Brian McNamara as Chris Collin
- James Handy as Milt Briggs
- Peter Jason as Henry Beechwood
- [[Henry Jones ] as Metcalf
- Frances Bay as Evelyn Metcalf
- Mark Taylor as Jerry
- Roy Brocksmith as Irvine Kendall
- Kathy Kinney as Blaire Kendall
- Stuart Pankin as Sheriff Lloyd Parsons
- Mary Carver as Margaret Hollins
Production of the film
Steven Spielberg was involved with Arachnophobia, with Frank Marshall (one of his earlier producers) directing for the first time. Spielberg and Marshall were the film's executive producers,[2] and Amblin Entertainment received a production credit.[3]
Marshall intended that the film would be reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds: "People like to be scared but laughing, like a roller coaster. No one wants to be terrified".[4] Arachnophobia also bears similarities to the 1977 film, Kingdom of the Spiders.[5]
Jamie Hyneman of MythBusters said in Popular Mechanics[6] that Arachnophobia was one of the first films on which he worked, and he often relied on simple magnets for effects. The film used over 300 Avondale spiders from New Zealand, chosen for their large size, unusually social lifestyle, and harmlessness to humans; they were guided around the set by heat and cold. The large general and queen spiders were articulated models.
Arachnophobia was primarily filmed in Cambria, California; the introductory and jungle scenes were filmed in southern Venezuela. The school scenes were filmed at Coast Union High School, with students and staff used in the football scenes and group events; players in the locker room were CUHS student athletes.[7] For the sound effect of spiders being crushed, Foley artists stepped on mustard packages or potato chips.[8]
Release and reception
Arachnophobia was the first film released by Hollywood Pictures.[3] Advertisers were uncertain if they should market it as a thriller or a comedy, and television commercials for the film called it a "thrill-omedy".[9]
Box office
Arachnophobia debuted at number three (behind Ghost and Die Hard 2), earning $8 million over its first weekend. The film was a financial success,[10] grossing $53,208,180 domestically[11] and an additional $30 million in video rentals.
Critical response
In Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide, film critic Leonard Maltin calls Arachnophobia a "slick comic thriller", praising the acting with a caveat: "Not recommended for anyone who's ever covered their eyes during a movie".[2] Writing for Newsweek, David Ansen compared the film to B movies "about the small town threatened by alien invaders", calling it well-made but "oddly unresonant".[12] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times said that the film made audiences "squirm out of enjoyment, not terror", and gave it three out of four stars.[13]
Arachnophobia has a 93% rating based on 44 reviews at Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 7/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Arachnophobia may not deliver genuine chills, but it's an affectionate, solidly built tribute to Hollywood's classic creature features."[14] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 67 based on 22 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[15]
Some people interested in spiders protested against the film, believing that it tarnished the public's view of spiders.[16]
List of scenes
| Scene name | Description | Actor | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scene one: The illness
Scene two: Doctor of death Scene three: Death at the barn Scene four: The fire tower Scene five: The ending |
A fertile spider went into Manley's bed and bit him on the chest. He felt the pain and died due to fever. There, he was sucked by the spider. | Won | |
| Ross's first neighbor, Maraget, dies after being stung by a spider, and another patient is also killed. After which Ross created a checkup, earning him Doctor Death. The next victim is Metcalf himself, who dies in front of his lady. ( Click here to see the more information on Simple English. ) | Frank Marshall | Nominated | |
| " Come and get it'', says Atherton. Witness something fly in the dark and pierce his neck. He screamed according to the blood running, and died soon after. | Don Jakobi | Nominated | |
| Wesley Strick | Nominated | ||
| After electricouting the queen and burning the egg, nest, general, and soldiers, Delbert rescues Ross; with them coming to San Fransico. | Jeff Daniels
He won style="background: #9EFF9E; color: #000; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="yes table-yes2 notheme"|Won | ||
| John Goodman | Nominated | ||
| Nominated | |||
| Marlene Katz | Nominated |
Home media
Arachnophobia was released on VHS and LaserDisc in 1991, on DVD in 1999, and on Blu-ray on September 25, 2012.
Merchandising
The video-game version of Arachnophobia was released in May 1991 for Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64 and DOS.[17] Nicholas Edwards wrote a novelization of the film.[18] Hollywood Comics (an imprint of Disney Comics) released a comic-book adaptation of the film, written by William Rotsler with art by Dan Spiegle. The characters in the comic adaptation bear little resemblance to those in the film.
An Arachnophobia soundtrack album was released on July 18, 1990. It included Trevor Jones's instrumental music from the film, dialogue excerpts, and songs such as "Blue Eyes Are Sensitive to the Light" by Sara Hickman, "Caught in Your Web (Swear to Your Heart)" by Russell Hitchcock, and "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" by Tony Bennett
Remake
On June 2, 2022, it was announced that Atomic Monster Productions and Amblin Partners would produce a remake of the film. The film is expected to be co-produced by James Wan and Michael Clear, executive produced by Frank Marshall (who directed the original film), and written and directed by Christopher Landon.[19]
See also
References
- ^ "AFI-Catalog". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
- ^ a b Leonard Maltin, ed., Leonard Maltin's 2002 Movie & Video Guide. A Signet Book, 2001, p. 58.
- ^ a b Michael Walsh, "Less-than-terrific tension in this failed spider's web", The Province, Vancouver, British Columbia: July 22, 1990, pg. 85.
- ^ Kenneth Turan and New York Times, "The spiders are No. 1 on this set; Working with a herd of erratic arachnids poses special problems for human actors", Edmonton Journal, April 15, 1990, pg. D5
- ^ Kingdom of the Spiders/Fun Facts. The Deuce: Grindhouse Cinema Database, January 29, 2009; retrieved January 27, 2012.
- ^ Page 44, November 2006 issue
- ^ 18 Creepy Facts about Arachnophobia. Mental Floss.
- ^ Rick Gamble, "A stinging commentary", Expositor, Brantford, Ontario: April 22, 2006, pg. D7.
- ^ Bill Provick, "Arachnophobia fun- for those who can stand it", The Ottawa Citizen, March 16, 1991, pg. G7.
- ^ "Here are the top 40 money-making entertainers; Bill Cosby No. 1 at $60M a year", The Ottawa Citizen, September 18, 1990, pg. D7.
- ^ "1990 "Domestic Grosses", Box Office Mojo; accessed May 19, 2006.
- ^ D. Ansen, "A choice of chuckles", Newsweek, 23 July 1990, vol. 116, issue 4, p. 64.
- ^ Roger Ebert, "Arachnophobia", Chicago Sun-Times, July 18, 1990.
- ^ "Arachnophobia (1990)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Archived from the original on June 12, 2022. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
- ^ "Arachnophobia (1990)". Metacritic. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
- ^ Jennie Punter, "Hope 'Thrill-Omedies' Disappear as Fast as This Film", The Whig-Standard, July 27, 1990, pg. 1.
- ^ ""Arachnophobia". MobyGames. Accessed 6 April 2007.
- ^ Arachnophobia, OpenLibrary.org; accessed February 11, 2012.
- ^ Kit, Borys (2022-06-02). "Christopher Landon to Write, Direct 'Arachnophobia' Remake for Amblin Partners (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2022-06-03.