Arachnophobia Review

Most people don't have the time, money, or energy to watch a lot of movies, so when you do get a chance to watch something, you want it to be good. That's why Rotten Tomatoes exists: to give a snapshot of whether a movie is worth your time. But does it always work? I'll be watching all of Rotten Tomatoes’ Certified Fresh movies from this Wikipedia list starting in the year 1990, the decade I was born, and we'll see if these movies are really worth the hype.

Movie 12 of 1990:

Arachnophobia, directed by Frank Marshall, explored one of the more common fears among people, that being spiders. I've never had a fear of spiders personally, so I figured I wouldn't find this very scary. What I did find, though, was a fun, campy ride.

Our hero of the story is Jeff Daniels as Dr. Ross Jennings. Daniels really does a great job here. He is a sympathetic everyman who isn't too annoying. It probably wasn't the greatest idea to move into an old house without getting an inspection, though. He is also very into wine, which is fine, but it does make you wonder if this man is a functioning alcoholic based on how much we see him drinking. Nevertheless, he is an entertaining focal point for this film.

I thought all of the spider effects were really well done. I figured there was a mix of real spiders, animatronics, and puppets, but they were all so great that most of the time I couldn't tell what was being used. I actually found all of the fuzzy spiders to be pretty cute. The production design here also deserves a shout-out. Every environment felt very real and lived in when necessary. I particularly enjoyed the giant tree in the jungle scene. The scale felt very grandiose, which contrasted nicely with the small town where the majority of the story takes place.

There is a lot about this movie that is actually funny as well. The actors all definitely know what kind of movie they're in, but the sincerity of the performances does help add to the stakes and overall vibe that the film is going for. John Goodman is particularly enjoyable as the town exterminator, Delbert. In addition to being successfully humorous, the tense moments actually work as well. The spiders are actually a threat here. It only takes one bite for someone to die, and that does happen multiple times. While it never feels like our main character will be taken out, everyone else is definitely on the table.

This was a really fun watch. It was campy when it needed to be campy and tense when it needed to be tense. This could be a really great movie to put on with friends if you want to laugh and maybe even squirm a little bit. It really exceeded my expectations because, based on the title, it seemed like it would be overly goofy. Maybe proceed with caution if you don't like spiders, but that might even make this a better horror experience.

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 93%

Is it worth the hype?:

I think so! I love cheesy horror, so this really scratched that itch. Capable performances and the spiders' realism make this a fun, sometimes nail-biting watch. Check it out if you're looking for a fun movie night.