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Very well executed

Admirable film.

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

goofs-the 'factual error' on the original IMDb site page is wrong. Further along in the movie, as the lead character gets further in his transformation. Senses become heightened to the point that the ticking of the clock is overwhelming during insomnia. He picks up the clock which looks to be attached to a cord or plugged in. This is actually a better of the quote B,C or D movies...If some so called critics would bother to watch the full length of some of these screen gems. Well, you might just want to avoid listening to them all together. It is actually a fun little movie. And as with all in this genre, a little bit of lower expectations always helps the experience...Enjoy

"Earth vs. the Spider" is a sad, missed opportunity for a sleeper hit.**SPOILERS**Tired of constantly being picked up, Security Guard Quentin Kemmer, (Devon Gummersall) indulges in comic books to escape the torments of work, much to the chagrin of Nick Bezis, (Mario Roccuzzo) a fellow security guard. Following a robbery at the weapons research plant he works at, he begins to act strangely, which Stephanie Lewis, (Amelia Heinle) feels is different. As he starts to realize that he has super powers from the accident, Det. Insp. Jack Grillo, (Dan Aykroyd) begins to get involved in a series of murders that are believed to have been committed by Quentin, and he must race to stop the powers from taking over his whole persona.The Good News: There's a couple of really interesting moments in here. The final half-hour, when things really start to heat up and the action gets far more intense, are the best parts. From the beginning discovery of the body wrapped up in webbing inside a dank, grimy factory, it creates a nice atmosphere that really gets it down right. The ensuing chase scene is pretty nice, but the real kicker is the suspenseful walk-through of the building with no lights and just a flashlight. It's a long, incredibly drawn-out scene with all the clichés about a suspenseful scene played out to it's best potential, and is a really impressive sequence. This also has the final reveal of the monster, allowing for some nice cheesy moments in there with it's design and the final confrontation with it. The design is pretty cool, but it's basically apart of the really impressive ending that's the best part of the film.The Bad News: Outside of the final half hour, there isn't a whole lot to like in this one. It spends the middle part of it dealing with the discovery of the powers, but the fact that it really glosses over them with only a short amount of time devoted to them. Rather than simply being a long, drawn-out process of discovery, this has the full realization of the powers pretty quickly and easily. It really seems like a longer amount of time, as it's shown to be about a week, but it only shows snippets of that time, condensing it down considerably. It could've been a lot longer than that amount of time to what was shown, rather than just taking a highlight reel of it's best moments and make it seem a lot longer than it really was. The fact that it takes so long for him to receive his powers is also a missed opportunity. It occurs around the half-hour mark, far too long into the movie for this sort of revelation. It really could've been condensed far more and kept it rolling along much more. As it is, the beginning of the film is much to slow, as the main event is far too long coming and then a long, drawn-out realization of what's going on makes this a really long sit-through, especially in comparison to the rapid-fire and spectacular conclusion.The Final Verdict: Had it fixed a couple of problems in the first half, this might've been a good sleeper hit, but only the conclusion of the film is the only really good part. Won't make much of a dent to comic book fans or fans of the original, but it might be a possible view for the most accepting horror fans.Rated R: Graphic Language and Violence

Wow. Where to begin. First of all, when you call your movie "Earth vs. the Spider," you set people up for a giant spider stomp-a-thon. This movie is nothing of the sort. I don't see any evidence that people in New Zealand or Bolivia are shaking in their shoes because some goofy kid is on a homicidal rampage after injecting himself with spider serum. I don't even see anyone else in the city panicking. The movie is also painfully slow. I had already just about fallen asleep watching "Shapeshifter" with my friends, but at least that movie had a hot lead actress. This movie has a fat Dan Aykroyd playing a police detective investigating the spider-boy's trail of killings (including a serial killer Aykroyd hadn't been able to catch). I wavered on whether Aykroyd worked in this role, because it's a little different than his usual performance. Overall I thought he wasn't bad, but if he wants to play an active police detective in future movies he definitely needs to hit the gym. But the movie is just too slow for my taste, and the misleading title kind of ruins it for me. I think a 2 is even a little generous for this flick.

Earth vs. the Spider is set in New York where nice guy Quentin Gemmer (Devon Gummersall) works as a security guard in a science research lab called 'Biochemco', he is an avid comic book reader his favourite strip being the 'Arachnid Avenger' & he has a huge crush on one of his neighbours a student nurse named Stephanie Lewis (Amelia Heinle), I think I would too to be honest. One night while at work some masked men break in & in an ensuing gunfight his partner Nick (Mario Roccuzzo) is shot dead, at the same time he is accidentally injected with an experimental serum... Quentin starts to change, he starts to think he has superpowers like his comic book hero & after he manages to kill the notorious 'Midtown Murderer' (Randall Huber) & discovers he can shoot spider webs from a hole in his chest he is convinced of it (as you would). But Quentin soon begins to realise that his new found powers come at a high price as he continues to change & mutate beyond all recognition as he soon discovers he has other more unwanted spider characteristics, Detective Inspector Jack Grillo (Dan Aykroyd) is in charge of cleaning the mess Quentin leaves behind...Directed by Scott Ziehl Earth vs. the Spider was the first of five made for TV films produced by 'Creature Features' & isn't that impressive. The only connection this film shares with the original Earth vs the Spider (1958) is it's title. The script by Cary Solomon, Chuck Konzelman, Max Enscoe & Annie de Young can easily be split into to distinct sections. The first half of Earth vs. the Spider is basically a low-rent low-budget Spider-Man (2002), although I'm fully aware this was made before the Hollywood blockbuster it's just the two share remarkable similarities like shooting spider webs from bodily parts, superhuman powers, crime fighting after suffering an injustice, having a crush on a good looking bird but not being able to do anything about it because of what's happening to him & trying to keep his powers a secret &, of course, all the comic book references throughout. Then Earth vs. the Spider changes films to plagiarise & has a go at The Fly (1986), which was definitely made before this, as Quentin starts to transform & mutate into an insect & developing it's unwanted characteristics, again it bears striking similarities like the tragic relationship between himself & Stephanie which predictably ends in tears, unfortunately director Ziehl isn't a Cronenberg & you just don't care for the character's or what's happening to them, the only thing that really kept me watching Earth vs. the Spider was to see what Quentin would look like as a human spider mutant thing. I can't believe four people worked on the screenplay as it's rather disjointed, somewhat slow & predictable.Director Ziehl doesn't really add much to the film in the way he shoots things, there's no real style or imagination about it & is pretty forgettable overall. The film has a strange feel as some of the props used indicate a 40's or 50's period film like the old fashioned camera & Quentin's ancient looking TV set while the cars, clothes & scientific equipment would lead one to believe it's set in modern times, maybe Ziehl couldn't make his mind up. There isn't really any blood or gore to speak of although the special make-up effects on the spider creature are fairly impressive.Technically Earth vs. the Spider is bland & forgettable as most of these made-for-TV films are, having said that it's still well made with decent production values, music & photography. The acting is OK but nothing spectacular, Heinle is a very nice looking young lady & Aykroyd just looks embarrassed.I will stop short of call Earth vs. the Spider a bad film but at the same time I can't call it a particularly good one either as it steals it's best ideas from other much better films, as I was watching this I got the feeling I'd seen it before. The sort of film that can pass an hour and a half painlessly enough but you will probably have forgotten about it within a week, average at best. In my humble opinion Mermaid Chronicles Part 1: She Creature (2001) is by far the best 'Creature Feature' so track that down instead.