------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Overall Rating : 3.5/10
Directed By : Terry Winsor
Lance Henriksen (Pumpkinhead )
Cian Barry
Emma Catherwood (Spirit Trap)
Lisa Livingstone
Supplied By : Genius Products
Film Reviewed By : Rick L. Blalock
Date Reviewed : November 6, 2007
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| PLOT When a team of backpackers sets out to explore the Indian jungles, one of them is bitten by a poisonous spider. Forced to seek the help of Dr. Lecorpus, an American physician living in a local village, the group quickly discovers that the village has several secrets. As they learn of a venomous ritual in which a crawling army of spiders feasts on dead corpses, they unravel Dr. Lecorpus' involvement in the ritual and his plans which are beyond anything any of them could have imagined. | ||||
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ||||
| THE REVIEW A group of touring backpackers are hiking, when one of them is suddenly bitten by a lethally venomous spider. Seeking a cure for their friend, they take her into a local village in which a specializing Doctor resides. Dr. Lecorpus, an expert in the field, initially looks as if he will help save the poisoned backpacker, but soon it's apparent that something just isn't right, and that the backpackers have just been lured into an evil operation - head of course, by Dr. Lecorpus himself. The spiders are seemingly something of worship to the tribe people of the village, and Lecorpus, the ringleader, uses the species to reel in unsuspecting victims in which the spider's venom is used to paralyze the victims, so that Dr. Lecorpus can later make use of their remaining body parts IN THE SPIDER'S WEB, is a film that is being released simultaneously along with BLOOD MONKEY for Genius Products and RHI's Maneater Series. I wasn't quite sure as to how these films would relate, other than the Creature Feature aspect, because IN THE SPIDER'S WEB'S plot put even less emphasis on the spider's and on it's story, while BLOOD MONKEY did just the opposite. Truth be told I didn't really like BLOOD MONKEY that much, due to the fact that most of that film concentrated on the killer Chimp angle, but we really didn't get to see all of the action due to it in most part only being performed off screen. The one thing that is structurally in common with the two films is that both involve backpackers in the jungle. IN THE SPIDER'S WEB has a fairly decent story even if it couldn't be believed entirely. This film is a little be more serious than a killer spider film like this should be, the feel of the movie is all around serious, yet the effects were often so poor that the film's seriousness loses all the credibility it believes it has. Unlike most Creature Features to come out these does, IN THE SPIDER'S WEB combines, CGI'd spiders, rubber/plastic spiders, and even the occasional use of real live spiders - unfortunately you can tell which is used, and when. While the previously reviewed BLOOD MONKEY, was in my opinion too slow moving, I was at least pleased to see that, IN THE SPIDER'S WEB moves in at a much quicker pace - not entirely fast, but at least more smoothly. With this said I found the story just passable and OK, it's nothing too fascinating but it's at least a little enjoyable. When the backpackers head into the village to seek help from Dr. Lecorpus, not to much is done in an effort to conceal that something would happen to them and that Lecorpus would be a part of it - we aren't to sure how or why, but it's obvious he has some kind of involvement from the beginning. The acting is mixed once again but this time the characters are much easier and interesting to watch than BLOOD MONKEY. The obvious is inevitable as veteran Actor Lance Henriksen has the best performance here. I am always impressed with this guy. Always versatile in every role he plays, I wouldn't be surprised to see him play just about anyone. Here he plays Dr. Lecorpus the at first, seemingly helpful and knowledgeable Doctor, but in the latter he is vile and darkly evil. Henriksen seamlessly switches emotions with ease, further showing his versatility as a seasoned actor. I was actually surprised how old they had him looking in the film, not sure id it was the makeup or what, but he looked much older than i'm used to seeing him. Overall, IN THE SPIDER'S WEB, as I said is an ok film, but perhaps it's serious plot is a bit thrown off by its inconsistent use of fake web-like material, various spiders, whether it be CGI, prop, or authentic spiders. |
||||
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ||||
| GORE
METER 1/10 all I remember really are spider bites and people cocooned within spider webs- gory? I wouldn't call it that... |
||||
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ||||
| MUSICAL
SCORE 1.5/10 Honestly I don't remember much of the score, I suppose had it made more of a impact I would have. | ||||
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ||||
| OVERALL
IMPRESSION OF THE FILM I have seen better spider flicks than this one(like ICE SPIDERS), but i'm not saying that this is one of the worst - there's bound to be one out there that's far worse than this. The story isn't all that great, but I didn't find myself bored by it. I suppose IN THE SPIDER'S WEB would be something to watch when you have some time to waste. |
||||
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ||||
| STILLS | ||||
|
