So for those of you that have been following this page for a while, you may have noticed that I have a propensity to enjoy movies. I find it really, really easy to look past structural, narrative, performance, and especially budget limitations and find the nugget of good in almost any film. Every single story put to film starts with good intentions, and I can generally root those out. That said... sometimes a movie just doesn’t work for you. Arachnophobia is one of those for me. I can see what they tried to do with this one, and I applaud them for the attempt. Jeff Daniels is always a blast to watch, and he has that special something as an actor that makes it very easy to identify and resonate with his characters. That was just about the best part of this one. The story was kind of bland, the pacing was pretty languid, slow, and at times just straight up boring. The special effects were surprisingly muted and lacking much personality, which is a bit surprising given the genre. This isn’t even your great grandfather’s creature feature, as most of those were brimming with self awareness and style. This one kind of just... exists. It’s okay. Maybe worth a watch if you’re really, really itching for some spiders. Just don’t expect a horror film, as this is more of a small town drama with a few thrills and some spiders. Meh. Thoughts?