Spider Movie Review:


The itsy bitsy spider came down the waterspout. He tried to remember what turned his life upside down and inside out. But instead of making the same mistake twice, the itsy bitsy spider went back up the waterspout. The end. I'm not kidding. That's the whole story.

But if you are a hardcore Cronenberg fan like me, the story is only an itsy bitsy part of the film. Behold Ralph Fiennes. He doesn't play Spider. He is a spider. Weighing in at a spindly 104 pounds before removing 5 shirts and newspapers, he looks like a spider, he makes incoherent sounds like a spider, he moves like a spider. Making incessant notes in code with his mutated hand while making his sounds sitting under a self-made web of twine, this is the real deal. He's a spider on a mission. He's a guy even J-Lo couldn't fall for…

The visuals are stunning. The row houses of working class England provide a depressing set for this spider to unravel his mystery of delusion and self-deceit. Howard Shore provides creepy atmospherics without being overdone whatsoever. There are some rare, but highly effective uses of surround sound as well as superb foley. The support cast is first-class Brit pedigree with Gabriel Byrne, Miranda Richardson, Lynn Redgrave, John Neville, and Bradley Hall (not that one) as the young Spider featured in continual and on-going flashbacks.

Old Spider is present along with young Spider during the flashbacks. He's never judgmental, just as an objective viewer going about his spider work of introspection. If this sounds confusing, remember, it's a spider's nest of a story. He does guide us to a satisfactory conclusion though, which says a lot for all the work Spider puts in on the way there.

So if you love Cronenberg, this is a must see. No crashing cars or exploding heads or videos emerging from James Woods. Just Ralph Fiennes weaving a creepy web of subtle terror enough to chill your soul on the hottest day at the equator. Watch where you step.

T R Black

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