Comments on: SIX LEGS GOOD EIGHT LEGS BAD: Why giant spider movies aren’t scary

By: Pete

Pete — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 07:55:48 +0000

Good point, the skittery facehugger probably reaches the maximum size for a credible “large spider”, and as you say while Ripley and Newt are prone that sequence is unbearably tense. You’re right that this sequence calls back on an aspect of Alien which is slightly underplayed (the facehugger is more of a jump scare there). But I still wonder whether the effect of this sequence is more due to the knowledge the audience has of what will happen if the facehugger “gets them”. But that is certainly the most spidery sequence in the films.

By: swanstep

swanstep — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 07:03:24 +0000

Good article. Perhaps you could have expanded on _Aliens_’s specific contribution: that scene the Ripley and Newt have gone to sleep, only to wake to find a face-hugger or two is on the loose around them is pretty much the ultimate arachnophobe nightmare you’re looking for, and shouldn’t be elided with the broader Alien stuff. When _Aliens_ came out (read its early reviews to confirm this) it was regarded as almost unbearably tense and nerve-wracking, and I do believe that it was this relatively early scene that directly shredded nerves for at least half the audience that set up the rest of the film to be a gut-knotting rollercoaster (rather than the straight action/war piece it would otherwise have been).

By: Cococomet

Cococomet — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 23:50:59 +0000

When you said “just big enough to cover our faces”, you really scared the hell out of me. EWWWW!

By: Pete

Pete — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 13:26:45 +0000

Of course, you’re right. I have made that mistake before and it keeps coming back.

I did consider updating this article with Shelob, when the LotR films came out, but beyond Peter Jackson’s obvious ability as a horror director, I still don’t think the spider itself is all that scary. Good to see someone else agrees.

By: LD

LD — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 01:43:19 +0000

oopss.. I meant to write that it was not Vincent Price’s head on the fly.

By: LD

LD — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 01:42:00 +0000

Enjoyed the article. One correction, it is not Vincent Price’s head on the spider. It is his movie brother’s head. It is Vincent who destroys the fly and spider with a rock….thus keeping the secret. But that chilling “help me, no no no…” is truly frightening.

By: destiny clontz

destiny clontz — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 21:13:35 +0000

Another iconic and very effective spider encounter can be found in “The incredible shrinking man”. As in “The Fly” and other “altered scale”-films, the spider is of normal size and is acting “natural”. It becomes a threat because the protagonist is suddenly finding himself on the other end of the food-chain. In those films the spider is always a threat that has to be killed so that man can survive.

The scene in “shrinking man” is incredibly well done by Jack Arnold who also did Tarantula. Compare it to a very similar, but failing, scene in “Lord of the Rings”.

I also find it very frustrating that all spiders (and actually all other creatures) in any film are emitting the same, high-pitched, squeeling noise. Can´t sound designers find another menacing sound that was not generated out of a squeeling pig and lions roar?

By: RB

RB — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 13:49:08 +0000

I thought that the alien spinders in the “lost in space” film, where quite scary.

By: alek vidakovic

alek vidakovic — Sat, 02 Sep 2006 15:58:23 +0000

de spiderboyman
videogaems de best compuer speel
de best xbox 306 3d shows