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ON THIS DAY IN HORROR - July 18th

"ARACHNOPHOBIA" released in 1990

Arachnophobia tells the story of a newly discovered Venezuelan spider that is secretly transported in a coffin of one it's earlier victims from it's native South American jungle to the small American town of Canima, arriving the same time as the town's new doctor (and arachnophobe) Ross Jennings (Jeff Daniels). Once there, this General spider produces a new species of deadly spider offspring, which begin killing the town's residents one by one.

Watch the Arachnophobia trailer below!

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When Entomologist James Atherton (Julian Sands) leads his team into a an enormous sinkhole deep in Amazon rainforest, he discovers a new highly unusual, and highly agressive, arachnid species. Taking samples, Atherton does not notice a large Alpha male spider crawl amongst their equipment and is taken back to their camp, where the spider kills the photographer Jerry Manley (Mark L. Taylor). Unknowing sealing the spider in Manley's coffin, the body is shipped back to Manley's home town Canima for burial. Also arriving is Dr Ross Jennings, a family physician from San Francisco who has moved with his family to Canima to take over as the town doctor. Jennings is surprised however when the old doctor, Sam Metcalf (Henry Jones) decides to postpone his retirement, leaving Jennings with only a handful of patients, including his neighbour, the sweet elderly Margaret Hollins (Mary Carver). Meanwhile, the Venezuelan spider has taken up residence in Jennings' barn and mated with a domesticated house spider, producing a first generation of deadly spiders. Once hatched, the spiders first kill Margaret, and then a football player - both of whom had been patients of Jennings' and is the one the town hold responsible for their deaths, nicknaming him "Doctor Death". As the spiders spread throughout Canima, Metcalf is the next victim, which allows Jennings, as the town's sole physician, the authourity to investigate the previous deaths, assisted by county coroner Milton Briggs (James Handy). Concluding that a spider-bite is the common factor in all three deaths, Jennings makes contact with the recently returned Atherton, who dispatches his assistant Chris Collins (Brian McNamara) to help find the spider nest. Aided by the bumbling Sheriff Lloyd Parsons (Stuart Pankin) and local exterminator (aka, infestation management expert) Delbert McClintock (played brilliantly by John Goodman), Jennings must find the spider nest before the next lethal generation of spiders is born and destroys Canima, and the next town, and the next town!

[Delbert look's around Henry's bathroom, after Henry's daughter saw a spider]
Henry Beechwood: Delbert, there's a rumor going around that some kind of spider may have killed Sam Metcalf, maybe Margaret, maybe even my Bronco
Delbert McClintock: Doubtful, Henry. There was a case in Florida where one of my colleagues bumped into a nest of black widows, sustained over a dozen bites and lived. Of course, he permanently lost control of all of his bodily functions

Top:   Prof. Atherton (Julian Sands) discovers a new species of lethal spider;

Above:   Jeff Daniels plays Dr. Ross Jennings

The first film to be released under Disney's Hollywood Pictures label, created so the studio could release more adult-oriented films, Arachnophobia was the directorial debut of longtime Steven Speilberg/Amblin Entertainment producer Frank Marshall. Marshall meant for the film to be more like Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds, and added, "People like to be scared but laughing, like a roller coaster. No one wants to be terrified." The film then made use of 374 Avondale spiders, from New Zealand, which were picked for their large size, unusually social lifestyle, and because they are essentially harmless to humans. These eight-legged actors were guided to and from the set by adjusting the tempature from hot to cold. The large "general" and "queen" were articulated models created by future Mythbuster Jamie Hyneman, who later stated that he often relied on simple magnets for several of the effects. The General spider was nicknamed 'Big Bob' by Marshall, after his friend and director Robert Zemeckis.

Doctor James Atherton: In this first generation, the original male also produced a queen, and together they will construct a primary nest which the queen will guard. But eventually, she will create reproductive offspring of her own. And when that happens, this town is dead... and the next town... and the next town... and the next one, and so on.

Top:   Jennings and Atherton examine a spider they've found;

Above:   Infestation management expert, Delbert McClintock (John Goodman)

Marketed as a "thrill-omedy" debuted at the cinemas against such blockbusters as Die Hard 2 and Ghost. Despite the heavy competition, Arachnophobia grossed over $50 million in it's domestic run and recieved rave reviews from the critics.  Leonard Maltin called the film a "slick comic thriller" and approves of the acting, warning, "Not recommended for anyone who's ever covered their eyes during a movie." Roger Ebert gave the Arachnophobia three-out-of-four stars and said it made audiences "squirm out of enjoyment, not terror", and listed details in the film that he felt were typical of such films, including "the bright young doctor, whose warnings are ignored" and "the loyal wife and kids", as well as "the usual cats and dogs, necessary for the obligatory scene in which they can sense something even when the humans can't."

Arachnophobia has since joined the ranks of other natural horror films, among them Jaws, The Birds, Cujo and Lake Placid, and still remains as one of the best and earliest examples of blending comedy and horror together in one movie.

Sheriff Lloyd Parsons: [introducing Delbert to Doctor Atherton] Excuse me. Professor? This is our town exterminator.
Delbert McClintock: Delbert McClintock, infestation management. Always nice to meet a collegue.
Sheriff Lloyd Parsons: Now, he believes he came across one of the offending spiders a couple of hours ago.
Doctor James Atherton: Might you have brought it with you?
Delbert McClintock: Actually, he's probably still at the bottom of my shoe. Oh, kind of squished, you really can't tell what it is anymore.

Above:   Director Frank Marshall (left) on location in Venezuela

ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE:   91%