Arachnophobia (1990)

Director: Frank Marshall
Starring: Jeff Daniels, Julian Sands, John Goodman

Synopsis:
A San Francisco doctor moves to a small town that is beset by an invasion of killer spiders.

Impressions:
I can remember the trailers for this when it first came out, but while it managed to stick in my mind, I didn't think much of it. One of the joys of this new hobby is that I'll watch just about anything that triggers even the slightest spark of interest. Now, the trailers played up John Goodman's character, who has a much smaller role than the trailers would imply. Also, a lot of people bill this as a comedy, but the comedic elements are fairly muted. To call it "Jaws with killer spiders" would be an overstatement, but there is a bit of a similar feel. Jeff Daniels is good in the lead role and John Goodman's Cliff Clavin-esque exterminator is amusing. The score by Trevor Jones is pretty good too. This is a surprisingly solid creature thriller. Now, if you do in fact suffer from arachnophobia, you may want to sit this one out, but for everyone else, it's worth a watch.

Rating:
Watch It