Earth vs. the Spider

A title like Earth vs. the Spider is way too pretentious for a film of middling scale like this. What we have here is nothing more or less than a rip-off of the Fly. It feels shallow, pointless, maybe occasionally freaky, but hardly exciting. On top of that it has a majorly disappointing finale.

Quentin Kemmer is a security guard at a major biochemistry firm. He is a nice guy, and all he really wants out of life is a chance to be a hero. One afternoon there is a break in to the firm. Six people are killed, including his parter, and he blames himself for not being tough enough to prevent it. It a moment of hesitation he injects himself with the firm's latest top secret formula mixed from spider DNA. The next day he is a lot stronger, happier, and even gets a chance to be the hero he wants. As the days progress however, he gets hungrier, more deformed and dangerous to the point that he must stop himself before the beast within him gets loose.

The film is most involving when it explores the relationship between Quentin, and his lady friend next door, who he is shy of asking out. The entire film could've been based around this one thing and it would've been fine. However, another part of the plot concerns the investigation of Dan Akroyd's character which ends up amounting to nothing. What is more frustrating however is the total sloppiness of the climax. Like the film in its entirety, the last scene is random, rushed and insulting to the viewer. There is much to be explained when Earth vs. the Spider ends. The question is whether the story has gotten you involved enough to care, unfortunately no.

Neighbourhood vs. the Spider would be a more appropriate name. It is a small scale, not very effective creature feature, too short, and far too derivative. Monster fans will be disappointed I think.

Crossing Marvel's Spiderman with David Cronenberg's The Fly, Earth vs. The Spider sees meek comic book fan Quentin Kemmer (Devon Gummersall) injecting himself with a top secret serum developed from spiders, hoping to become a superhero. Imbued with super strength and the ability to shoot webs from his abdomen, he tackles murderers and thugs, but things go awry for Quentin when the spider's genes begin to take over, his body mutating and his hunger driving him to kill.

What starts off as web-slinging comic-book fun gradually develops into a tragic horror, as Quentin's transformation into a bug-eyed freak ultimately leads him to attack the apple of his eye, girl next door Stephanie (Amelia Heinle). Detective Inspector Jack Grillo (Dan Aykroyd) is hot on his trail, but will he be able to stop the Kemmerspider before it drains Stephanie of her bodily fluids? Made for TV, the film lacks the overall quality of a big screen flick, but solid performances, nuanced direction that achieves a pulp magazine atmosphere, and effective use of music make this more than passable fare for the duration. It's definitely worth hanging in there for the moment when Quentin goes full arachnid, with impressive FX by the always reliable Stan Winston Studio.

There are many sides to a script, what you appreciated was just I wasn't admired for. I vote this film for 6,even 7, cause in my opinion, I assumed that this movie tended to transform the topic to humanity. When the comic-addicted person injected some unknown blood-cell, you know it was illegal, but he wanted to be like spider-man, saved those people who were needy. It's normal to have these feelings. But the effects of the injection was getting more and more weird, he lost his sensibility and humanity. When his beloved woman recognized that this huge human-like monster was Queen, she shed a tear, to my delight, the monster didn't bite her or hurt her, because "he" could tell that he was still a human being, she was standing nearby, still. The plots might be a little bit cliché these days, but personally, I think that it's also a good film which is worth browsing around.

Keeping in mind that this is not a 20 million special effects block- buster but rather a TV movie, or to be precise, a straight to Showtime movie, I would like to say that this movie is not bad at all. A young security guard, obsessed with comic books and super heroes and the like, secretly injects himself with a top secret (and highly unstable) new drug, hoping that it will give him the incredible powers of a spider and thus make him into a loved superhero. Well he does garner the powers he craves, super strength and super agility, but at a ghastly price. He develops grotesque deformities, kinda like Jeff Goldblum in "The Fly" (1986), and also a terrible hunger that can only be sated by a particular dish, one that struggles. This movie, like earlier stated compares easily to "The Fly", the tragic young man loses his love due to becoming a monster, and he also was a lonely, mousy kinda guy, like Jeff Goldblum was. But, unlike "The Fly", this movie was not shown in theatres nationwide, nor did it have a booming budget. You can tell, however, than Dan Ackroyd is having a blast hamming it up as a nervous cop in a bad marriage, who hunts the monster as it kills and kills. Let's be honest, folks, Ackroyd doesn't need the money. This movie has a 50's camp feel to it and as a matter of fact, it's a remake of a 50's movie by the same name. So hey, if you are lucky enough to have Showtime on your cable, check this flick out. Final judgement....it's a remake of a 50's camp classic, modernized with gory special effects. You'll love it. You have my word.

Quentin Kemmer (Devon Gummersall) is a shy and coward security guard and a passionate collector of comic books, who lives in a junkie building and has a crush on his next-door neighbor, the nurse student Stephanie Lewis (Amelia Heinle). However, he is too shy to declare his love for or invite her for a date. He works in a laboratory, which is studying and trying to develop a secret genetic weapon using the power and skills of the spiders. When the laboratory is robbed and his partner and great friend is killed with other persons by the criminals, Quentin feels under pressure with the situation and decides to inject himself the experimental vaccine. In the beginning, his strength and abilities increase and he feels like an arachnid superhero from his magazines. However, a couple of days later, he begins to transform himself into a giant spider-man hybrid, capable of throwing webs through his abdomen, developing claws in his mouth and prevailing the instincts and a non-stop hunger of the spiders over his will. Meanwhile, Quentin eliminates many persons, and Detective Jack Grillo (Dan Aykroyd) investigates the series of mysterious deaths in the neighborhood.

"Spider Vs. Earth" is a surprisingly good B-movie that recalls the horror and sci-fi stories of the 50's, inclusive with a noirish environment. The plot is good, with the exception of the unnecessary participation of Theresa Russell, in the role of an adultery and drunken wife. The slow transformation of Quentin into a spider slightly recalls the dramatic situation of "The Fly". My true and honest opinion is that the IMDb User Rating is totally unfair with this film. I bought the VHS and I do not regret. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "A Maldição da Aranha" ("The Curse of the Spider")

Note: On 09 May 2023, I saw this film again.