#638 – Big Ass Spider! (2013)

Big Ass Spider! (2013)

Film review #638

Director: Mike Mendez

SYNOPSIS: A lowly insect exterminator gets in over his head, as a giant spider that escaped from a military research facility starts to wreak havoc on a hospital. It’s a race against time to destroy the spider before it grows ever larger and begins to reproduce…

THOUGHTS/ANALYSIS: Big Ass Spider! is a 2013 sci-fi film. Starring Greg Grunberg as cash-strapped pest controller Alex Mathis, he gets caught up in the usual sci-fi shenanigans of a mutant experiment gone wrong, and escaping from a military research lab to wreak havoc. Slipping into the role of a film that recognises that is cheap schlock and a homage to the b-movie monster film in equal measure. It doesn’t try to be anything else, and it feels fairly comfortable in it’s role, as the cast try to stop the spider before it continues to grow and eventually reproduce. The film does have some highlights though: the gore is well done, with faces being ripped off and the like, and adds a bit of excitement to the film. On the other side, the film keeps a sense of fun, so you’re never bogged down too much in the film trying to take itself seriously. maybe these two things don’t mix too well, but in keeping with it being cheap shlock that knows what it is, it isn’t too much of a problem.

I thin the best way I can sum up this film is that it feels like a cartoon: the characters are seriously one-dimensional, and every scene with them in is so predictable with regards to what they are going to say. The prime example of this is the security guard whose only role is being the comedy relief and being Mexican: every joke revolves around him being Mexican, and eventually you do get tired of it. The film also follows the old b-movie trope of having a solitary female character, who of course serves as the main characters love interest. I know it’s meant to play on these typical tropes, but the film really clings to them so closely that it doesn’t give itself room to do anything else. I think the best way to describe this film is that it feels like a cartoon: while there may be some serious stuff happening, the characters are playing very strict and flat roles, and never stretch out beyond them. That’s not necessarily a bad thing though. Sure, Big Ass Spider! is predictable nonsense that won’t surprise you or change your life, but it does focus on having a bit of fun, and it genuinely shines through. Sometimes it feels like it’s trying too hard to stick to that one-dimensionality in the characters and setup, but it’s honestly more fun and entertaining than a lot of similar movies out there. The effects are cheap, the characters are predictable, but still manages to hold itself together for the runtime to at least make it entertaining.