I’ve seen some of the most vile and disgusting things in horror films. Decapitations, severed limbs, and even sex with the dead don’t make me cringe. Nope, leave that to spiders. That’s right. Not just any spiders, though. I’m talking the about gigantic alien spiders in Tibor Takacs’ Spiders 3D.
Twenty years after a Soviet satellite is shot into space, it breaches the Earth’s atmosphere and comes crashing through, landing right in the center of Manhattan’s railway system. The hole in the ground and the halt to the transit schedule aren’t the only problems, however. With it, the satellite happens to have transported an alien breed of spider that doesn’t delay in spreading its eggs, harvested inside the bodies of whoever is unfortunate enough to get in the spiders’ path.
Whenever I press play on a film of this nature, I make sure to prepare myself for some SyFy (Sci-Fi) Channel, made-for-tv caliber CGI. To my surprise, Spiders features visual effects work that is a step above the rest. As if the spiders, with their enormous stature, weren’t freaky enough, the 3D element really lent itself well to the entire project. The CG and the 3D effects worked symbiotically, making for a really fun time.
You can’t tell the story of giant spiders from outer space with bad acting, right? Well, you probably could, but thankfully this film didn’t go that route. Patrick Muldoon (Stigmata, Little Dead Rotting Hood) leads a cast of pretty competent performers. Aside from a few of the ‘extras’ and those with lesser roles, everyone did a really great job. Muldoon was able to step up as the protagonist, really making this one a pleasure to watch from start to finish.
While I wasn’t really a fan of the subplot — the military want to utilize the webbing of the queen spider for state-of-the-art weaponry — Spiders still managed to keep me entertained for its entire 89 minutes. There was a lot of fast-paced action, an adequate amount of character development, and impressive visual and practical effects. If you’re a fan of old-school monster movies or anything related to Godzilla and the kaiju world, you’ll have a blast with Takacs’ film. The queen spider is a mammoth and witnessing her running [and roaring] through the streets of NYC being shot at by the military certainly brings back the feelings of watching those classic Toho films!
If you are a fan of films like Big Ass Spider, Eight Legged Freaks, or even Lavalantula, give Spiders a shot. You’ll have a great time!
I give this one 3.5 mechanical toy dogs out of 5.
