Earth vs. the Spider (2001) (TV)

Director:

Scott Ziehl

Writers (WGA):

Mark 'Crash' McCreery (story) and
Cary Solomon (story) ...

Release Date:

7 October 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Science made Quentin a mutant. Nature made him a killer.

Plot:

A shy, obsessive comic book fan gets injected with an experimental serum of a lab that is studying how to give humans the abilities of spiders...

Plot Keywords:

Spider | Comic Book | Detective | Superhero | Security Guard

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Dan Aykroyd	...	Det. Insp. Jack Grillo
Devon Gummersall	...	Quentin Kemmer
Amelia Heinle	...	Stephanie Lewis
Theresa Russell	...	Trixie Grillo
Christopher Cousins	...	Officer Williams
Mario Roccuzzo	...	Nick Bezis
John Cho	...	Han
Randall Huber	...	Midtown murderer
Zia Harris	...	Gutterpunk #1 (as Zia)
Lloyd Lowe Jr.	...	Lloyd (gutterpunk #2) (as Lloyd Lowe)
Michael Keenan	...	Willie
Ted Rooney	...	Coroner
Dan Martin	...	Huge cop
Rob Hill	...	Liquor store cop
Brian J. Gilbert	...	Photojournalist

Also Known As:

The Spider (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language and violence.

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Finland:K-15 | Spain:13 | Singapore:NC-16 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Canada:14A | Germany:16 | UK:15 | USA:R

Company:

Creature Features Productions LLC

Trivia:

The character Quentin Kemmer is named after Ed Kemmer, star of the original _Earth vs the Spider (1958)_.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Troldspejlet: (#28.4)" (2002)

The Arachnid Avenger!

As a fan of superhero comics, hard-boiled pulp stories and old school monster movies, this film was a lot of fun. Yes, there are immediate comparisons to David Cronenberg's remake of "The Fly," but I think there are a lot of other cool influences here as well. The movie has an interesting "retro" feel. The thugs are like 50's era baddies, the female lead always looks like she's dolled up to go swing dancing and the music has a kinda hep-cat jazz flavor. And it works. The main character "Quentin" is in that mold of hero/villains, like Sam Raimi's "Darkman." You like seeing him get even, but then it starts to go too far and he just can't help himself. The way he learns and deals with his transformations is also really well done. Another solid entry in the Creature Features film series. There's even a cool homage to the original "Earth vs. The Spider." See if you can spot it.