
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, July 20, 1990                   TAG: 9007200058
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: E1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: CHRIS GLADDEN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

'ARACHNOPHOBIA' IS LOST IN ITS WEB OF HUMOR

It's no surprise that "Arachnophobia" begins like a Steven Spielberg adventure, with great aerial shots of the South American rain forest and a sense of breathless excitement as a band of scientists closes in on a new species of spider.

Director Frank Marshall is a long-time Spielberg producer, and Spielberg himself is sitting in the executive producer's chair on this picture.

If "Jaws" made us afraid to go near the water, this comedy-thriller about marauding spiders wants to make us afraid to go near the basement.

Unfortunately, after its grandiose beginnings, it only serves as a slight reminder to put a can of Raid on the grocery list.

Marshall and screenwriters Don Jakoby and Wesley Strick have concocted a half-hearted blend of comedy and horror that's neither particularly scary nor particularly funny. A fine cast is reduced to stock characters and broad humor. The slick photography only underscores the feeling that this is essentially a compilation of B-grade elements all dressed up with nowhere to go.

Julian Sands plays the chief entomologist who discovers a particularly vicious spider in South America, one that hitches a ride to an offensively quaint California town named Canaima.

The other new arrivals in town are Dr. Ross Jennings (Jeff Daniels) and his family. Jennings just happens to suffer from a paralyzing fear of spiders. The bad-boy arachnid from south of the border sets up housekeeping in the Jennings' barn, no doubt sensing that opposites attract.

The spider finds a little California number to his liking and they begin to crossbreed, unleashing an infestation of poisonous critters on the town. There's some nonsense in the script that tries to explain the spiders' malicious motivations. The scientists say this breed of spider wants to be on top of the food chain, but it's hard to visualize it muscling into the express lane at the local supermarket.

We may be able to accept a kind of human cunning in a 40-foot shark, but not in something you can turn to goo with a tap of your toe.

Marshall's good intentions work against him here. He's tried for a mild horror movie, one that doesn't pander to our thirst for more extreme, stomach-churning special effects. But is there such a thing as a successful, tasteful horror movie these days?

To the movie's credit, there are a couple of imaginative and suspenseful moments, such as the one in which Daniels stalks a clothes hook thinking it's a spider. And John Goodman is amusing as a gung-ho exterminator.

But as far as movies about small towns threatened by nature run amok are concerned, "Jaws" and Hitchcock's "The Birds" still set the pace.

VIEWER GUIDE `Arachnophobia' A Hollywood Pictures-Amblin' Entertainment release at Salem Valley 8 (389-0444) and Valley View Mall 6 (362-8219). 110 minutes. Rated PG-13 for strong language and some scenes that may be frightening to the very young.

by CNB