Arachnophobia (1990)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Frank Marshall

Writers (WGA):

Don Jakoby (story) &
Al Williams (story) ...

Release Date:

18 July 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Sci-Fi | Thriller | Horror

Tagline:

Eight legs, two fangs and an attitude.

Plot:

South American killer spider hitches a lift to the US in a coffin and starts to breed and kill.

Plot Keywords:

Spider | Doctor | Venezuela | Small Town | Exterminator

Awards:

2 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Jeff Daniels	...	Dr. Ross Jennings
Harley Jane Kozak	...	Molly Jennings
John Goodman	...	Delbert McClintock
Julian Sands	...	Doctor James Atherton
Stuart Pankin	...	Sheriff Lloyd Parsons
Brian McNamara	...	Chris Collins
Mark L. Taylor	...	Jerry Manley
Henry Jones	...	Doctor Sam Metcalf
Peter Jason	...	Henry Beechwood
James Handy	...	Milton Briggs
Roy Brocksmith	...	Irv Kendall
Kathy Kinney	...	Blaire Kendall
Mary Carver	...	Margaret Hollins
Garette Ratliff Henson	...	Tommy Jennings (as Garette Patrick Ratliff)
Marlene Katz	...	Shelley Jennings

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby SR (35 mm prints)

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #30592) | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | Germany:16 | Iceland:14 (original rating) | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:12 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Angel Falls, Canaima National Park, Estado Bolívar, Venezuela

Company:

Amblin Entertainment

Trivia:

"Family Ties" (1982) is playing on the TV when spiders start crawling over the screen.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: After the Margaret's party where Doctor Jennings (Daniels) is introduced to village residents there is a shot of Margaret's feet as she enters her house followed by a spider. There is a noticeable 'Wobble' and the camera position shifts slightly as the frame is cut after the actress passes before the spider enters. (The spider would have been filmed separately then the shots spliced together.)

Quotes:

Sheriff Lloyd Parsons: [introducing Delbert to Doctor Atherton] Excuse me. Professor? This is our town exterminator.
Delbert McClintock: Delbert McClintock, infestation management. Always nice to meet a collegue.
Sheriff Lloyd Parsons: Now, he believes he came across one of the offending spiders a couple of hours ago.
Doctor James Atherton: Might you have brought it with you?
Delbert McClintock: Actually, he's probably still at the bottom of my shoe. You really can't tell what it is anymore.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Bad Boys of Saturday Night Live (1998) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Blue Eyes Are Sensitive To The Light

Ewwww, Spiders...

Spiders are not a favorite of many people, something about eight legs does not appeal to the masses. The movie Arachnophobia plays on the fears of an audience, while mixing in enough humor to engage the viewer with a standard horror story. Jeff Daniels plays a big city doctor who moves out into the country to take over the practice of the soon-to-be retiring doctor who has served for about 140 years or so. The Daniels' character is also scared of spiders, so when killer spiders enter the town, we have the standard ingredients to the standard horror movie. The spiders look convincing enough to scare almost anybody, and the exterminator, played by John Goodman, offers enough jokes to lead to an entertaining movie. There is nothing Earth-shattering about the film, but for popcorn season, this movie will not disappoint.