Fear of oneself is, in my opinion, the worst phobia. When we are immune to fear, it is often by self-control or simply by courage. However, these stories derived of lycanthrope tales possess what is need to make anyone shiver. The Fly achieved perfection on this plan and Earth vs the Spider tried its best to do the same.
The first half hour of the movie strangely reminds us of Spiderman, due to many aspects.
A loser, in love with his neighbour, is injected with blood of a genetically modified spider to gain physical powers and improve his perception skills. He takes advantage of the situation to beat up his enemies by throwing them thirty-or-so feet further. Then, he learns how to shoot webs, nets and how to climb on walls (I was surprised to note that these webs are more realistic than those in Spiderman!). You have probably assumed, possibly because of the childish title and at least up to this point, that the film has nothing to offer, especially when compared to such a Hollywood giant. However, it is just when we are fed up with this ridiculous comparison that the film becomes interesting.
Because Earth vs the Spider is part of a collection of four horror films, we doubt that it won’t stop here. Our hero’s glory is very vague and not very appreciated. He becomes violent, changes rapidly and, because of his ugliness, he no longer wants to see the woman who is the same to him as Mary Jane is to Spiderman. From this point on, we witness an imitation of The Fly. There is not much to add other than a detective’s investigation gives life to a problematic situation, causing the intrigue to lose itself out of context.
The ending is brief, very predictable and not very spectacular. The film itself is amusing because it follows a tangent that is divided in two in the middle of the movie: a rarely seen characteristic. From Dusk Till Dawn had marvellously succeeded in doing the same by combining western and vampires.
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