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Arachnophobia
is the 1990 "thrillomedy" from Amblin Entertainment. It is
a horror picture that is meant to thrill and scare its viewers,
but in the same time make them laugh. The tool that it uses
to reach these goals are spiders. The word 'spider' alone
may cause some thrills for some viewers and there are plenty
of them in Arachnophobia. Some really big furry ones and lots
of smaller but equally nasty villains. There are moments when
the picture achieves its thrills and places you on the edge
of your seat, and moments when you find yourself laughing
a bit.
A new breed
of spiders is found in South America and one has hitched a
ride back to a small town in California. The new doctor in
town, Ross Jennings (Jeff Daniels) and the offspring of the
deadly spider are taking house calls. The problem is that
the spiders kill their victims shortly after Jennings gives
them a clean bill of health. He becomes "Doctor Death" to
the townsfolk and everyone seems to laugh at his theory of
giant killer spiders. These spiders bite, and within moments
their victims die. After a period of time, Jennings gains
a small band of experts to help him track down the nest and
save the town from being killed off by the nasty arachnids.
Two spider experts, an unusual exterminator, the town sheriff,
county coroner and Jennings are the only ones to save the
town before it is too late. They are outnumbered and Jennings
has a terrible fear of even the smallest spider.
The picture
succeeds more as a horror thrillfest than it does as a comedy
piece. John Goodman portrays Dilbert, a very different exterminator.
Without him, the film has a few lighthearted and humorous
moments, but he is certainly the center of humor in the picture.
The funny moments may bring a smile to your face, but will
probably not put you in a fit of laughter. Director Frank
Marshall uses timing and lighting perfectly to keep you on
your toes so you never are completely sure when the eight-legged
killer will strike the screen. The film has a certain B-movie
feel to it and the larger budget and talented cast that Amblin
brought together make it the picture that it is. The story
is fun, but not particularly strong. Predictability is fairly
high, except when the spider is going to jump.
Someone
who fears spiders should not watch this film. There are tons
of spiders and they are put in some situations that will cause
one with arachnophobia to look under toilet seats and not
sleep for days. A couple scenes in the film are pretty nasty
looking, especially a scene where a spider moves in and out
of the nose of a recent corpse. There are dead rats, dead
people and other sights that may cause the squeamish to be
rather uneasy. These are the elements that make the film what
it is. A little horror picture with a bit of humor mixed in.
It is not as funny as advertised but Goodman is funny and
delivers a couple great lines.
Packaging:
Does It Dress Well?
Some may
find the biggest surprise with Arachnophobia in the packaging.
This DVD is one of the first from Buena Vista to not be graced
with the horrible looking 'Wide Screen' banner across the
top. The result is one of the best looking keep cases released
by the studio so far. The cover painting is based from the
original theatrical artwork. There is one small error in the
special features box. The case lists sound as Dolby Digital
5.1. However, the sound is actually Dolby Digital 4.1 surround.
Buena Vista also continues with their long time practice of
not putting the date that the film was released theatrically
anywhere on the packaging. They are improving and it is certainly
nice to see the banner go the way of the dinosaur.
Video: How Does The Disc Look?
The 4:3
widescreen transfer is presented in its original 1.85:1 aspect
ratio. The picture quality is generally dark. Blacks are well
done and this is important for a film that spends many of
its time in the dark with the spiders. The rest of the color
seems slightly washed out and not nearly as bright and vivid
as it could have been. Detail is not particularly strong,
but it is satisfactory. Other than some film grain here and
there, there are no major distractions to be found. Digital
errors, scratches and dirt keep out of the way so one can
see the spiders better. For a film that is nearly ten years
old the picture quality is not bad, but it is not up to par
with the standard level of work that Buena Vista has shown
us.
Arachnophobia
is a dark picture that does have some rather nice daytime
exterior shots, however, the best action and sights are in
the dark. The film's opening shows some beautiful mountain
shots complete with waterfalls and tropical foliage. These
opening shots look good but could have benefited from a stronger
transfer. The spiders never look too artificial, though the
main bad guy moves around strangely while it travels to its
new home. The small spiders look great and will surely send
goose bumps up the arm of an arachnophobic person.
Audio: How Does the Disc Sound?
The disc
is mastered in Dolby Digital 4.1 Surround. This is one channel
less than the six channels the case advertises, but uses just
as many speakers. There is only one weakness to the film's
soundtrack, and that is the fact that the rear surrounds are
very Dolby Pro Logic in usage. They have constant information
being sent through them, but their volume level is far too
low to be noticeable through most of the film. The front channels
and .1 LFE channel sound incredible. Bass is used heavily
through most of the film and one particular scene when the
main spider is defeated bumps the room rather nicely. The
bass was certainly more than expected for a film of this age
and of this genre. There were also many effects that clearly
came from the left or the right and were well placed in the
speakers. Dialogue is clear and strong and never becomes lost
in the effects. The Dialogue is also well done and never shows
signs of its ADR mixing. Had the surrounds been stronger and
discrete and Arachnophobia would have easily ranked with the
best of Buena Vista's work so far.
Supplements: What Goodies Are There? Another
area where "The Mouse" is improving is in the area of supplements.
Granted, they still deliver very weak supplements, but they
are starting to at least deliver something. Arachnophobia
is shipped with its original theatrical trailer and one of
the very short production featurettes that was probably used
on cable subscription channels. They are something and much
better than the plain discs previously provided. The interactive
are still weak as well and this DVD lacks any foreign language
support. Buena Vista still has a long road to travel for its
features, but they seem to be trying.
Parting Thoughts
The latest
Amblin Entertainment disc to reach DVD is an entertaining
horror-thriller with a pinch of comedy and a ton of spiders.
John Goodman gives one of his most memorable performances
and the supporting arachnids may leave a permanent mark in
your mind. Buena Vista has provided a DVD that shows signs
the company is improving, but it is still quite weak in features
and presentation. The big question is whether or not you should
purchase this disc. I would recommend this picture and for
the guys out thereÜ if your date is not afraid of spiders,
rent this disc and she will be closer to you before the end
of the movie. You may also want to forgo the popcorn as it
may end up on the floor or your lap. Then again, maybe the
popcorn scene in the film will make you put the popcorn down
anyhow.
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