View source for Arachnophobia (film)

{{short description|1990 film directed by Frank Marshall}}
{{distinguish|Arachnid (film)}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Arachnophobia
| image          = Arachnophobia (film) POSTER.jpg
| caption        = Theatrical release poster by [[John Alvin]]
| director       = [[Frank Marshall (filmmaker)|Frank Marshall]]
| producer       = {{Unbulleted list|[[Kathleen Kennedy (producer)|Kathleen Kennedy]]|Richard Vane}}
| screenplay     = {{Unbulleted list|Don Jakoby<br />[[Wesley Strick]]}}
| story          = {{Unbulleted list|Don Jakoby<br />Al Williams}}
| starring       = {{Unbulleted list|[[Jeff Daniels]]|[[Julian Sands]]|[[Harley Jane Kozak]]|[[John Goodman]]}}
| music          = [[Trevor Jones (composer)|Trevor Jones]]
| cinematography = [[Mikael Salomon]]
| editing        = [[Michael Kahn (film editor)|Michael Kahn]]
| studio         = {{Unbulleted list|[[Hollywood Pictures]]|[[Amblin Entertainment]]|Tangled Web Productions}}
| distributor    = [[Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures|Buena Vista Pictures Distribution]]
| released       = {{Film date|1990|07|18}}
| runtime        = 110 minutes
| country        = United States
| language       = English
| budget         = $22 million<ref>{{cite web|url=http://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/58398|title=AFI-Catalog|website=catalog.afi.com|access-date=15 June 2018}}</ref>
| gross          = $53.2 million
}}

'''''Arachnophobia''''' is a 1990 American [[horror film|horror]] [[comedy film]] directed by [[Frank Marshall (filmmaker)|Frank Marshall]] in his [[directorial debut]] from a screenplay by Don Jakoby and [[Wesley Strick]]. Starring [[Jeff Daniels]] and [[John Goodman]], the film follows a small California town that becomes invaded by a deadly spider species and the town's residents' struggles against them to avert an ecological crisis.

The film was the first produced by [[Hollywood Pictures]], a subsidiary of [[Walt Disney Studios (division)|Walt Disney Studios]]. ''Arachnophobia'' was released in the [[United States]] on July 18, 1990.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://retrocdn.net/images/b/b2/GamePro_US_013.pdf|title=Arachnophobia|language=en|magazine=[[GamePro]]|issue=13|page=15|access-date=2023-10-21|archive-date=2025-01-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250108183817/https://retrocdn.net/images/b/b2/GamePro_US_013.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> The film received positive critical reviews and grossed $53.2 million on a $22 million budget.

== Plot ==
<!-- Per WP:FILMPLOT, plot summaries for feature films should be 400-700 words. The plot summary does NOT intend to reproduce the experience of watching, nor is it meant to cover EVERY detail. It should serve as an overview of the major plot elements and events. PLOT SUMMARIES FOR FEATURE FILMS AND TELEVISION SERIES SHOULD BE BETWEEN 400 AND 700 WORDS. See "Wikipedia:How to write a plot summary" (WP:PLOTSUM) for general guidelines.-->
In a [[Venezuela]]n [[tepui]], British [[Entomology|entomologist]] James Atherton captures two members of an aggressive, newly discovered species of [[spider]] of prehistoric origin. The spiders lack [[sex organ]]s, indicating that they are laborers or soldiers, thereby existing as a [[Eusociality|hive]] (atypical of spiders). A [[Fertility|fertile]] male of the same species bites bedridden American [[Nature photography|nature photographer]] Jerry Manley, who has a severe [[Epileptic seizure|seizure]] from the [[venom]] and dies. The scientist sends Manley's body back to his hometown of Canaima, California, unaware that the spider has crawled into the coffin.

Manley's desiccated body arrives at the mortuary of mortician Irv Kendall. The spider escapes from the coffin, is picked up by a [[crow]] and bites the bird. The crow falls dead outside the barn of Ross Jennings, a [[Family medicine|family physician]] who has moved from [[San Francisco]] to take over the practice of the retiring town doctor. Ross and his son both suffer from [[arachnophobia]].

He is short of patients after Sam Metcalf, the elderly town doctor, hesitates about retiring. The Venezuelan spider mates with a [[Tegenaria domestica|house spider]] in the Jennings' barn. The domestic spider produces hundreds of infertile, drone offspring with their father's lethal bite, and they leave the nest after [[Matriphagy|consuming their mother]].

Ross's first patient, Margaret Hollins, dies after being bitten by one of the new spiders, and he doubts Metcalf's diagnosis of a heart attack. Another arachnid kills high school football player Todd Miller just after Ross conducted a routine team checkup, earning him the nickname of "Dr. [[Personifications of death|Death]]". The next victim is Metcalf himself, who is bitten and dies in front of his wife.

With Metcalf dead, Ross becomes Canaima's town doctor. Knowing that Metcalf was bitten by a spider and an iota of an unknown toxin was detected in his body, he suspects that the town may be infested by deadly arachnids.

Ross calls Atherton and asks him to help his investigation. The skeptical entomologist sends Chris Collins, his assistant. Ross and county [[coroner]] Milt Briggs order that Margaret and Miller be exhumed. They perform autopsies, and Chris confirms Ross's suspicion after he identifies bite marks. Ross and Chris catch two of the spiders (one had died of a natural cause) in Metcalf's house the following day. When Chris mentions the new species discovered by Atherton, Ross realizes that the town's killer spiders and Atherton's discovery are related.

Atherton joins Ross, Chris, Milt, Sheriff Lloyd Parsons, and [[Pest control|exterminator]] Delbert McClintock in Canaima, and they discover the spiders have a short lifespan due to their crossbreeding. Atherton tells them that the spiders are soldiers sent to eliminate potential threats for the male spider leading the colony, which he calls "the general". He learns that the general produced a queen and [[inbreeding|inbred]] with her to produce a second nest (guarded by the queen) which could produce fertile offspring, culminating in the species' next stage of [[evolution]] and [[Ant colony#Supercolonies|worldwide dispersal]].

Ross, Chris, and Delbert discover that one nest is in Ross's barn. When he destroys the nest, Delbert finds Atherton dead. He had attempted to catch the general and purposely touched a strand of the web to coax the spider out, but was bitten by the male spider which then escaped. Chris gets the Jennings family out of their infested house, but Ross falls through the floor into his wine cellar: the spiders' second nest, guarded by both the queen ''and'' the general.

After he electrocutes the queen, Ross battles the general while he tries to burn the second [[Spider|egg sac]] (overcoming his fear of spiders by focusing on his need to stop them). Trapped by fallen debris as the general prepares to bite him, Ross stays perfectly still until the general is in position, then flings the spider into the fire. Despite being badly burnt, the general leaps out from the fire just as the egg sac hatches. Ross shoots the general with a [[nail gun]], sending the flaming spider into the egg sac and destroying the nest. Delbert rescues Ross: with the general, the queen and the nests destroyed and the soldiers dying, the spiders' threat is over. Deciding that they missed their old life, the Jennings family returns to San Francisco. Celebrating their safe return home, an earthquake hits, which they prefer over deadly spiders.

== Cast ==
{{castlist|
* [[Jeff Daniels]] as Dr. Ross Jennings
* [[Harley Jane Kozak]] as Molly Jennings
* [[John Goodman]] as Delbert McClintock
* [[Julian Sands]] as Dr. James Atherton
* [[Brian McNamara]] as Chris Collins
* [[James Handy]] as Milt Briggs
* [[Peter Jason]] as Henry Beechwood
* [[Henry Jones (actor)|Henry Jones]] as Dr. Sam Metcalf
* [[Frances Bay]] as Evelyn Metcalf
* [[Mark L. Taylor]] as Jerry Manley
* [[Roy Brocksmith]] as Irv Kendall
* [[Kathy Kinney]] as Blaire Kendall
* [[Stuart Pankin]] as Sheriff Lloyd Parsons
* [[Mary Carver]] as Margaret Hollins
}}

== Production ==
[[Steven Spielberg]] was involved with ''Arachnophobia'', with Frank Marshall (one of his earlier producers, as well as a second unit director for a few Amblin films) directing for the first time. Spielberg and Marshall were the film's executive producers,<ref name="Maltin">Leonard Maltin, ed., ''Leonard Maltin's 2002 Movie & Video Guide''. A Signet Book, 2001, p. 58.</ref> and [[Amblin Entertainment]] received a production credit.<ref name="Province"/> Marshall intended that the film would be reminiscent of [[Alfred Hitchcock]]'s ''[[The Birds (film)|The Birds]]'': "People like to be scared but laughing, like a [[roller coaster]]. No one wants to be terrified".<ref>Kenneth Turan and New York Times, "The spiders are No. 1 on this set; Working with a herd of erratic arachnids poses special problems for human actors", ''[[Edmonton Journal]]'', April 15, 1990, pg. D5</ref> ''Arachnophobia'' also bears similarities to the 1977 film ''[[Kingdom of the Spiders]]''.<ref>[http://www.grindhousedatabase.com/index.php/Kingdom_of_the_Spiders/Fun_Facts Kingdom of the Spiders/Fun Facts] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120210112756/http://www.grindhousedatabase.com/index.php/Kingdom_of_the_Spiders/Fun_Facts |date=2012-02-10 }}. ''The Deuce: Grindhouse Cinema Database'', January 29, 2009; retrieved January 27, 2012.</ref>

[[Jamie Hyneman]] of ''[[MythBusters]]'' said in ''[[Popular Mechanics]]''<ref>Page 44, November 2006 issue</ref> that ''Arachnophobia'' was one of the first films on which he worked, and he often relied on simple magnets for effects. The film used over 300 [[Delena cancerides|Avondale spider]]s from [[New Zealand]], chosen for their large size, unusually social lifestyle, and harmlessness to humans; they were guided around the set by heat and cold.

''Arachnophobia'' was primarily filmed in [[Cambria, California]], which was the setting of the fictional Californian coastal town of Canaima; the introductory and jungle scenes were filmed in [[Canaima National Park]] in southern [[Venezuela]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Filming Locations for Arachnophobia (1990), in Cambria, Central California and Venezuela.|url=http://www.movie-locations.com/movies/a/Arachnophobia.php|access-date=2022-02-12|website=The Worldwide Guide to Movie Locations|archive-date=2022-02-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220212153624/http://www.movie-locations.com/movies/a/Arachnophobia.php|url-status=live}}</ref> The school scenes were filmed at Coast Union High School, with students and staff used in the football scenes and group events; players in the locker room were CUHS student athletes.<ref>[http://mentalfloss.com/article/66197/18-creepy-facts-about-arachnophobia 18 Creepy Facts about Arachnophobia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180810020401/http://mentalfloss.com/article/66197/18-creepy-facts-about-arachnophobia |date=2018-08-10 }}. ''Mental Floss''.</ref> For the [[sound effect]] of spiders being crushed, [[Foley artists]] stepped on [[Mustard (condiment)|mustard]] packages or [[potato chip]]s. For the sound effect of the spiders crawling through the heating ducts, long fingernails were used on pieces of tin to create the scurrying sound.<ref>Rick Gamble, "A stinging commentary", ''Expositor'', Brantford, Ontario: April 22, 2006, pg. D7.</ref>

== Release and reception ==
''Arachnophobia'' was the first film released by [[Hollywood Pictures]].<ref name="Province">Michael Walsh, "Less-than-terrific tension in this failed spider's web", ''The Province'', Vancouver, British Columbia: July 22, 1990, pg. 85.</ref> Advertisers were uncertain if they should market it as a thriller or a comedy, and television commercials for the film called it a "thrill-omedy".<ref>Bill Provick, "Arachnophobia fun- for those who can stand it", ''[[The Ottawa Citizen]]'', March 16, 1991, pg. G7.</ref>

=== Box office ===
''Arachnophobia'' debuted at number three (behind ''[[Ghost (1990 film)|Ghost]]'' and ''[[Die Hard 2]]''), earning $8 million over its first weekend. The film was a financial success,<ref name="Top 40">"Here are the top 40 money-making entertainers; Bill Cosby No. 1 at $60M a year", ''[[The Ottawa Citizen]]'', September 18, 1990, pg. D7.</ref> grossing $53,208,180 domestically<ref>"[https://boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?yr=1990&p=.htm 1990 "Domestic Grosses"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607033402/http://www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?yr=1990&p=.htm |date=2011-06-07 }}, ''[[Box Office Mojo]]''; accessed May 19, 2006.</ref> and an additional $30 million in video rentals.

=== Critical response ===
In ''[[Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide]]'', film critic [[Leonard Maltin]] calls ''Arachnophobia'' a "slick comic thriller", praising the acting with a caveat: "Not recommended for anyone who's ''ever'' covered their eyes during a movie".<ref name="Maltin"/> Writing for ''[[Newsweek]]'', David Ansen compared the film to [[B movie]]s "about the small town threatened by [[extraterrestrials in fiction|alien invaders]]", calling it well-made but "oddly unresonant".<ref>D. Ansen, "A choice of chuckles", ''[[Newsweek]]'', 23 July 1990, vol. 116, issue 4, p. 64.</ref> [[Roger Ebert]] of the ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'' said that the film made audiences "squirm out of enjoyment, not terror", and gave it three out of four stars.<ref>Roger Ebert, "Arachnophobia", ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'', July 18, 1990.</ref>

''Arachnophobia'' has a 93% rating based on 44 reviews at [[Rotten Tomatoes]], with an average rating of 7/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "''Arachnophobia'' may not deliver genuine chills, but it's an affectionate, solidly built tribute to Hollywood's classic creature features."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://rottentomatoes.com/m/arachnophobia|title=Arachnophobia (1990)|publisher=[[Fandango Media]] |work=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|access-date=June 23, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220612124459/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/arachnophobia|archive-date=June 12, 2022}}</ref> On [[Metacritic]], the film has a score of 67 based on 22 reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/arachnophobia|title=Arachnophobia (1990)|website=[[Metacritic]]|access-date=23 June 2022|archive-date=23 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220623085551/https://www.metacritic.com/movie/arachnophobia|url-status=live}}</ref> Audiences polled by [[CinemaScore]] gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Home |url=https://www.cinemascore.com/ |access-date=2022-10-08 |website=CinemaScore |language=en-US |archive-date=2022-04-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220413083139/https://www.cinemascore.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Some people interested in spiders protested against the film, believing that it tarnished the public's view of spiders.<ref name="Punter">Jennie Punter, "Hope 'Thrill-Omedies' Disappear as Fast as This Film", ''The Whig-Standard'', July 27, 1990, pg. 1.</ref>

=== Accolades ===
{| class="wikitable"
! Award
! Category
! Subject
! Result
|-
|rowspan=6|[[17th Saturn Awards|Saturn Awards]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.saturnawards.org/past.html |title=Past Saturn Awards |work=saturnawards.org |access-date=8 June 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070601200624/http://www.saturnawards.org/past.html |archive-date=1 June 2007}}</ref>
|[[Saturn Award for Best Horror Film|Best Horror Film]]
|
|{{won}}
|-
|[[Saturn Award for Best Director#1980s|Best Director]]
|[[Frank Marshall (filmmaker)|Frank Marshall]]
|{{nom}}
|-
|rowspan=2|[[Saturn Award for Best Writing#1980s|Best Writing]]
|Don Jakoby
|{{nom}}
|-
|[[Wesley Strick]]
|{{nom}}
|-
|[[Saturn Award for Best Actor#1980s|Best Actor]]
|[[Jeff Daniels]]
|{{won}}
|-
|[[Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor#1980s|Best Supporting Actor]]
|[[John Goodman]]
|{{nom}}
|-
|rowspan=2|12th [[Young Artist Awards]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://youngartistawards.org/pastnoms12.htm |work=[[Young Artist Awards]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160423050251/http://youngartistawards.org/pastnoms12.htm |title=Twelfth Annual Youth in Film Awards |archive-date=23 April 2016 |url-status = dead}}</ref>
|[[12th Youth in Film Awards#Best Family Motion Picture Entertainment|Most Entertaining Family Youth Motion Picture - Comedy/Horror]]
|
|{{nom}}
|-
|[[12th Youth in Film Awards#Best Young Performer in a Motion Picture|Best Young Supporting Actress]]
|Marlene Katz
|{{nom}}
|}

== Legacy ==
Researchers at the [[University of California, Riverside]] named a newly discovered worm species after Jeff Daniels' role in this movie. The worm, ''[[Tarantobelus jeffdanielsi]]'', is one of only two known worms known to infect tarantulas.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last1=Schurkman|first1=Jacob|last2=Anesko|first2=Kyle|last3=Abolafia|first3=Joaquín|last4=De Ley|first4=Irma Tandingan|last5=Dillman|first5=Adler R.|title=''Tarantobelus jeffdanielsi'' n. sp. (Panagrolaimomorpha; Panagrolaimidae), a Nematode Parasite of Tarantulas|date=2022-01-17|url=https://doi.org/10.1645/21-42|journal=Journal of Parasitology|volume=108|issue=1|pages=30–43|doi=10.1645/21-42|pmid=35038325|s2cid=246352651|issn=0022-3395|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|last=Brandon Specktor published|date=2022-01-20|title=Parasitic worm forces tarantulas to tiptoe, then starves them to death|url=https://www.livescience.com/tarantula-killing-nematode-jeff-daniels|access-date=2022-01-29|website=livescience.com|language=en|archive-date=2022-04-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220422141252/https://www.livescience.com/tarantula-killing-nematode-jeff-daniels|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Merchandising ==
The [[Arachnophobia (video game)|video-game version]] of ''[[Arachnophobia (video game)|Arachnophobia]]'' was released in May 1991 for [[Amiga]], [[Amstrad CPC]], [[Commodore 64]], and [[MS-DOS]].<ref>"[http://www.mobygames.com/game/arachnophobia/ "Arachnophobia"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071025095940/http://www.mobygames.com/game/arachnophobia |date=2007-10-25 }}. ''MobyGames''. Accessed 6 April 2007.</ref> Nicholas Edwards wrote a novelization of the film.<ref>[https://openlibrary.org/books/OL24980847M/Arachnophobia ''Arachnophobia''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230307034120/https://openlibrary.org/books/OL24980847M/Arachnophobia |date=2023-03-07 }}, OpenLibrary.org; accessed February 11, 2012.</ref> Hollywood Comics (an imprint of [[Disney Comics (publishing)|Disney Comics]]) released a comic-book adaptation of the film, written by [[William Rotsler]] with art by [[Dan Spiegle]]. The characters in the comic adaptation bear little resemblance to those in the film.

{{Infobox album
| name       = Arachnophobia
| type       = film
| artist     = [[Trevor Jones (composer)|Trevor Jones]]
| cover      = 
| caption    = 
| alt        =
| released   = July 20, 1990 (original release)<br />March 19, 1996 (re-release)
| recorded   =
| venue      =
| studio     = Evergreen Recording Studios
| genre      =
| length     =
| label      = [[Hollywood Records|Hollywood]]
| producer   =
| prev_title =
| prev_year  =
| next_title =
| next_year  =
}}

An ''Arachnophobia'' [[soundtrack album]] was released on July 18, 1990. It included [[Trevor Jones (composer)|Trevor Jones]]'s instrumental music from the film, dialogue excerpts, and songs such as "Blue Eyes Are Sensitive to the Light" by [[Sara Hickman]], "[[Caught in Your Web (Swear to Your Heart)]]" by [[Russell Hitchcock]], and "[[I Left My Heart in San Francisco]]" by [[Tony Bennett]].

== Future ==
In June 2022, it was announced that [[Atomic Monster]] and [[Amblin Partners]] would produce a remake of the film. [[James Wan]] and Michael Clear will serve as producers, while [[Frank Marshall (filmmaker)|Frank Marshall]] who directed the original film will serve as executive producer; while [[Christopher Landon (filmmaker)|Christopher Landon]] was hired to write and direct the movie.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kit |first=Borys |date=2022-06-02 |title=Christopher Landon to Write, Direct 'Arachnophobia' Remake for Amblin Partners (Exclusive) |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/christopher-landon-write-direct-arachnophobia-remake-amblin-partners-1235158091/ |access-date=2022-06-03 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US |archive-date=2022-06-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220602235534/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/christopher-landon-write-direct-arachnophobia-remake-amblin-partners-1235158091/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In April 2025, Landon announced that he had left the project due to creative differences; explaining that his draft of the script would have included the return of John Goodman's character Delbert McClintock from the original in the story, and incorporated the use of [[body horror]] elements as well. Though he was no longer involved, the filmmaker confirmed that the project is in active development through its production studios.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/story/christopher-landon-drop-scream-arachnophobia|title=Why Christopher Landon Really Left Scream VII—Then Got His "Best Revenge" by Making Drop|magazine=Vanity Fair|last=Chi|first=Paul|date=April 8, 2025|access-date=April 9, 2025|archive-date=April 8, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250408215552/https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/story/christopher-landon-drop-scream-arachnophobia|url-status=live}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[List of American films of 1990]]
* [[Cultural depictions of spiders]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|2}}

== External links ==
{{Wikiquote}}
* {{IMDb title|0099052}}
* {{DisneyAtoZ|title=''Arachnopobia''}}
* {{TCMDb title|19472}}
* {{mojo title|arachnophobia}}
* {{rotten-tomatoes|arachnophobia}}

{{Frank Marshall}}
{{Saturn Award for Best Horror Film 1972–1990}}

[[Category:1990s American films]]
[[Category:1990 comedy horror films]] <!-- https://allmovie.com/movie/v2749 -->
[[Category:1990s English-language films]]
[[Category:1990 films]]
[[Category:1990 directorial debut films]]
[[Category:Amblin Entertainment films]]
[[Category:American comedy horror films]] <!-- https://allmovie.com/movie/v2749 -->
[[Category:American natural horror films]]
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[[Category:Films about fear]]
[[Category:Films about spiders]]
[[Category:Films directed by Frank Marshall]]
[[Category:Films produced by Kathleen Kennedy]]
[[Category:Films scored by Trevor Jones]]
[[Category:Films set in the San Francisco Bay Area]]
[[Category:Films set in San Francisco]]
[[Category:Films set in Venezuela]]
[[Category:Films shot in California]]
[[Category:Films shot in San Francisco]]
[[Category:Films shot in Venezuela]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Wesley Strick]]
[[Category:Hollywood Pictures films]]
[[Category:Films about prehistoric life]]
[[Category:Films set in 1990]]
[[Category:Films about physicians]]
[[Category:English-language comedy horror films]]
[[Category:Saturn Award–winning films]]