Search - Earth vs. the Spider on DVD

The Path Spiderman Could Have Stumbled Upon

TastyBabySyndrome | "Daddy Dagon's Daycare" - Proud Sponsor of the Lit | 05/09/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Ever want to be a superhero? Well, Quentin certainly did, dreaming about being a hero like his idol, the "Arachnid Avenger." He found himself very inadequate in real life, however, with his job as a lowly security guard at a biotech company not allowing him to live his dreams. He couldn't stop local crime in his neighborhood, get the dream girl living in the apartment next door, or even feel good about himself. Still, all of this changes when the company he works for is infiltrated and things go terribly wrong, leaving him with a dead partner, a former occupation, and the chance to inject himself with a secret weapons research project involving extracts from spiders. That's when things go wonderfully wrong.
To me, this movie felt like a classical superhero story at first, with the challenges of life inflicting someone who found themselves in a position of inferiority. Then, out of the blue, a chance to become more presents itself and Quentin, being obsessed with the idea of having superpowers, can't pass it up. With them comes instant gratification, and he finds himself becoming something he never dreamed of, a man with strength, speed, and other, stranger (spider-like) abilities. Still, the bubble bursts soon enough when he finds that Stan Winston isn't interested in a superhero at all, and that Creature Features are just that.
Having seen all the hype behind Spiderman's impending release, I found this movie a bit too fun to pass up. I know how Winston gets with his monsters, and I knew that the "boy wonder" wouldn't have that happy ending he had been longing for. Despite being a bit predictable, the movie still had a lot to offer, and you can actually taste everything going wrong at first and began to wonder when everything would stop going wrong by the end. I really wasn't disappointed in the least, except in one small regard, the fact that I could have used a bit more of that wonderful finished monster product. Still, its a worthy "remake" and definitely worth buying."

WHACKED OUT SPIDER MAN

Michael Butts | Martinsburg, WV USA | 03/08/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The CREATURE FEATURES series created for Cinemax was originated to remake classic films of the 50s. This one is based on a little known 1957 film, and director Scott Ziehl leads his cast though the motions quite convincingly.
We meet Quentin (Devon Gummersall), a timid security clerk at a chemical laboratory, whose dream is to be a "superhero." He is falling for his next door neighbor, the glamorous nursing student, Stephanie (Amelia Heinle), but he doesn't have the confidence to ask her out. Meanwhile, back at the lab, someone breaks in and tries to steal something, which results in the death of Quentin's buddy, and he loses his job. Before he goes, however, he injects himself with spider DNA because his dead friend said that the serum would make spiders invincible. Of course, the serum does that---and more.
The movie has some funny scenes (a cop steps on an escaped spider and it bounces right back), and it also has some gruesome ones involving the metamorphosis of Quentin into a disgusting spider man.
The effects are well done, and the pacing of the movie is good. Gummersall and Heinle are excellent; Theresa Russell as Dan Ackyroyd's cheating wife is sleazy. I think Dan Ackroyd, however, was seriously miscast. Granted, the actor is talented, but it's hard to see him as a tough NY Detective, and the poor guy is ballooning out, too---which adds to the improper casting. But, it's a decent remake, better than the original, and let's hope Creature Features continues to redo some of those great b movies of our time! How about TARANTULA guys?"

Nerds, spiders, and noir setting! Oh My!

SereneNight | California, USA | 07/05/2004

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I'm a fan of B-style movies. So when I heard of the new Creature Feature series, I thought this series would be fun! Well, I found "Earth Versus the Spider" to be merely average, with occasional touches of greatness.When nerdy security guard Quentin's partner is killed by thugs, Quentin takes matters into his own hands by injecting himself with a mysterious 'spider' juice, which temporarily gives him really cool powers. Unfortunately, the side affects are monstrous- quite literally, thus begins a "Jekyll and Hyde" story for the modern age.Pro's: I liked the film 'noir' setting. The cool costumes, and the acting. Cons: I just didn't like the Quentin character. Perhaps if he'd been a more likeable guy, I would've felt sorry for him. As it was, he was just a little too weird and a little too nerdy for me to care what happened to him. Plus, despite the comic book interest he wasn't nerdy enough.I much prefer "She Creature" another title in this series.."

Old-Fashioned Styling Worthy of a Good Horror Collection

Lonnie E. Holder | Columbus, Indiana, United States | 07/08/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The B-horror movie seems to be in vogue. For a long time we were inundated with huge, expensive blockbusters, of which I need provide no examples as there are so many. However, a number of recent releases proves that the B-movie, the staple of the drive-in theater, is not dead.In a variation on the "Spiderman" theme, nerdy Quentin Kemmer (David Summersall) dreams of being a superhero. Working at a biotech facility, Quentin has an opportunity to inject himself with a serum that gives Quentin the powers of a spider. Quentin almost immediately saves Stephanie Lewis (Amelia Heinle) from a rapist/murderer. As the movie progresses, it turns out that beautiful Stephanie likes Quentin, and may even be interested in him.Unfortunately for Quentin, his new spider powers come with the terrible side effect of turning him into a real spider, with the hunger of a real spider. Soon Quentin has all sorts of interesting physical changes that make him unsuitable for lovely Stephanie. In the best tradition of the B-movie, Stephanie doesn't give up on Quentin even when he's threatening to make her his next meal.Dan Ackroyd also has a lead role in this movie as the appropriately named Detective Jack Grillo. Dan never quite puts his finger on the situation until near the end of the movie, when he realizes that just maybe a really big spider is killing everyone. Unfortunately, he also loses his lovely, but unfaithful and apparently alcoholic, wife Trixie (Theresa Russell). In one of those wonderful coincidences so common to the B-movie, Trixie's lover Officer Williams (Christopher Cousins) also meets his fate at the fangs of the spider. Interestingly, the normally humorous Dan Ackroyd plays a serious character, but is just over the top enough to be a caricature of an old-style gumshoe.The special effects of Sam Winston are good and valuable in this movie, yet the success of the movie hinges not on the special effects, but on the plot. The characters provide a nearly believable innocence found in the monster movies of yore. We want Quentin to be good and to recover. We fall in love with the innocent, naïve Stephanie, and want Quentin and her to be together. We feel sorry for hard-working Detective Grillo, whose wife does not understand his commitment to his job. An old-fashioned monster movie pulls us in and allows us to relive the days of "I Was a Teenage Werewolf."This movie is worthy of a horror fan's collection, and certainly worth at least one watch. This movie is most particularly worthy of a Saturday night in the fall, with someone by your side to pull in close when the spider strikes."