Buena Vista Pictures DistributionIf your film has something to do with an animal attempting to munch on people, it will inevitably be compared to Jaws. And why wouldn’t it? Jaws is a unique cinematic achievement, combining an effortlessly propulsive script with great performances, cinematography, music, and direction from Steven Spielberg that is at once tense and sweeping. Few “animal attack” films since have broken from that mold or established a reason for existing beyond “Jaws, but with a (insert animal here) this time.”Arachnophobia can be counted among the handful that have their own unique identity. That’s surprising, considering it was directed by Frank Marshall, longtime Spielberg producer and collaborator. Spielberg himself even played a part in its production. But it isn’t interested in recreating the effectiveness of Jaws, instead opting for a whole different kind of thrill.You can presumably guess from the title what the film’s “creature” is. And there aren’t just a few big spiders, but an army of them. Unknowingly transported from South America in the casket of a spider bite victim, a particularly vicious breed escapes and mates with a common spider in a small California town. That union produces a legion of venomous arachnids, and the man at the center of the new wave of fatal attacks is Dr. Ross Jennings (Jeff Daniels), who suffers from a crippling case of arachnophobia himself. With the help of some townsfolk, including local exterminator Delbert McClintock (John Goodman), Ross strives to put an end to the rush of unwelcome eight-legged residents.From the beginning, it’s clear that Marshall didn’t want to merely copy Jaws. Spielberg’s wide camera was boat-on-the-water graceful, framing us as helpless against the unknown of the open ocean. Marshall, with his array of creepy-crawlies, concocts his film with pure B-movie aplomb. He delights not in the unknown but in the “No! Don’t touch that!” waiting, putting the spiders in a shoe or hat or someone’s bowl of popcorn and, as we squirm in our seats, letting the characters hover closer and closer to the threat. It’s a time-honored “monster movie” tradition, one that recalls the ‘50s films Marshall grew up with, and he makes the most of it here.Although if this one still creeps you out, you should probably skip the full movie. | Buena Vista Pictures DistributionArachnophobia gets a lot of mileage out of sheer spider coverage, from a small one to a blanket of them, to a big animatronic that chases people even while set on fire. But the heavy lifting is done by the cast. Daniels supplies an everyman anxiety that goes hand in hand with his debilitating spider anxiety. Julian Sands shows up as a weird entomologist, supplying a self-serious eccentricity that would fit right in among those ‘50s horror flicks. But the standout is John Goodman, who not only gets the film’s most memorable dialogue, but easily shifts between aloof posturing and cartoon broadness as he hunts for spiders. There’s no equivalent of Jaws’ “USS Indianapolis” speech in Arachnophobia, but its players do right by the script’s tonal swings.Arachnophobia constantly toes the line with self-awareness. There are certainly a lot of “Oh no! He’s dead!” moments where people must come to terms with the obvious corpse in front of them, which have since become a staple of genre parodies. In a post-Sharknado world where we’re constantly waiting for directors to tip their hand and admit that they’re in on the gag, Arachnophobia might seem a little old-fashioned in how straight it tries to play its own lunacy. But the film’s climax, which involves Jeff Daniels facing down a spider in a basement while armed with a makeshift flamethrower, proves to be a wonderful set piece — provided you’re stuck in the film’s web.Moviegoers in 1990 certainly were, and Arachnophobia grossed a respectable $53 million. No sequel or remake ever came from it — Marshall wasn’t interested in an Arachnophobia 2, and any plans for a follow-up have seemingly fizzled out. And though Arachnophobia’s deadly spiders could’ve easily fueled a half dozen quick sequels, it’s probably for the best that it stopped with one. We all saw what happened when Jaws went 3D, or when Alligator underwent its “mutation,” or when Anaconda… got more anacondas. Leaving us with Jeff Daniels, a large spider, and a flamethrower let it go out on a high note.