Arachnophobia (Film Review)

1990 Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
Directed by: Frank Marshall; Written by: Don Jakoby and Wesley Strick
Starring: Jeff Daniels, Julian Sands, Harley Jane Kozak, and John Goodman
MPAA Rating: PG-13; Running Time: 110 Minutes
The Nicsperiment Score: 7/10

Ross Jennings has moved his family from the big city to the country, so that he can take over a retiring small town doctor's practice. Well, there's a bad moon arising, because not only does that old doctor suddenly decide not to retire, but the town gets infested by South American spiders that can kill a human in under ten seconds with just one bite. And what is Jennings more scared of than anything? That's right. Someone's got...Arachnophobia.
Director, Frank Marshall, once said that viewers don't actually want to be terrified, and would rather be able to laugh when they're frightened. He can speak for himself, as I love being terrified, but he does make a solid argument for his cause with his 1990 flick, Arachnophobia. Despite the fact that people are getting murdered by spiders left and right, generally in the comfort of their own homes, the overall tone of the film is pretty light and airy. Jeff Daniels, proven in comedic roles, does fish-out-of-water mildness just fine, and every other actor brings a pretty mild energy here as well, except for John Goodman, as a wacky, gung-ho exterminator, and Bunny Beechwood, as a neighborhood girl who likes to blow up frogs. 
Really, there's nothing here that's outright terrifying, there's nothing that's outright hilarious, but the movie finds a solid groove in a hybrid of creepy and silly for most of its runtime. Arachnophobia even takes a page from Poltergeist in its last act, as like that film, it's content to relax through most of its runtime, then go amiably nuts in the final 20 minutes, with Daniels' family being attacked by an army of spiders, and the mild-mannered, but snarky doctor having to face off with a crafty arachnid general as big as his head. Hey, better to build up to a climax, than peak early...even if getting thrilled ain't the same as getting terrified.