ICE SPIDERS
(R)
MOVIE: *** (out of 5)
DVD EXPERIENCE: * (out of 5)
STARRING
Patrick Muldoon as DASH DASHIELL
Vanessa Williams as DR. APRIL SUMMERS
Thomas Calabaro as SARGE
David Millbern as DR. BARNES
Noah Bastian as CHAD BROWN
Directed by: Tibor Takacs
Studio: Sony Pictures
BY KEVIN CARR
Like many people, I feel that Halloween is the best time for horror movies. And while the studios are given us scant choices in the theaters (headlined primarily by “30 Days of Night” and “Saw IV”), there’s always a chance for some good scares on home video.
SciFi Channel and Sony Pictures have released the low-budget arachno-thriller “Ice Spiders” on DVD to get into the Halloween spirit. The last giant spider movie I remember was the overly sarcastic and quite dreadful “Eight Legged Freaks,” so as far as killer spider movies go, “Ice Spiders” is starting out pretty close to the top.
The film takes place at a remote mountain ski lodge, which is down the road from a genetic research lab. One of the experiments in the lab – a study that produced six massive and aggressive killer spiders – has escaped, and now the eight-legged baddies are feasting upon the skiers for the season.
I doubt that anyone is going to check out this film looking for brilliant acting, expert plotting or any hopes of a prestigious award. They’ll check it out for the Roger Corman-level low-budget fun. For this, it works. While it has its violent moments, there’s nothing too extreme, giving me a chance to watch it with my kids who were dying to see the giant spiders.
Sure, the special effects are pretty lame, and it’s pretty clear that the spiders exist almost completely in a substandard CGI program, but I remember seeing giant bug movies from the 50s that were equally as cheesy but just as fun. After all, some of the director’s other films include “Rats,” “Mansquito” and the upcoming “Mega Snake.”
At 86 minutes, “Ice Spiders” doesn’t overstay its welcome, and it doesn’t waste any time getting into the creepy crawliness. I know this film isn’t for most people, but I had a lot of fun watching it.