One of Scariest Killer Spider Movies We’ve Seen in Years

Summary

• A humanist approach to horror shines through in Infested, which delves into layers of social commentary and fear beyond spiders.
• Arachnophobia and claustrophobia work hand in hand, creating a thrilling ride filled with terror-inducing elements.
• Infested not only presents spiders as monsters but also sheds light on a more sinister evil lurking within humanity itself.

One of the most common fears people have is arguably that of spiders, and Infested — the title alone is enough to make anyone’s skin crawl — takes full advantage of this. Indeed, Shudder‘s newest film deftly maintains throughout its runtime that all-too-familiar anxiety of feeling like something is crawling up your arm, thrumming with a steady paranoia as the characters duck around web-covered corners. In this way, it essentially operates as a great survival movie that skates into creature-feature territory, while also weaving in psychological and body horror elements. That said, Infested’s most remarkable trait is how, amid all this, it somehow still finds space to show us a more sinister evil than the eight-legged monsters.

Directed by Sébastien Vaniček (co-writing with Florent Bernard), Infested sees a French apartment building (that very clearly has seen better days) becoming ravaged by fast-growing and equally fast-breeding spiders. It all starts with Kaleb (Théo Christine) illegally purchasing a spider to add to, we later discover, his veritable zoo of reptiles, insects, and other creepy crawlies that he (safely and responsibly) keeps in his bedroom. Of course, in his rush to get to his elderly neighbor’s birthday party, Kaleb fails to secure his newly bought spider. It naturally escapes and lays eggs everywhere it goes. These eggs quickly hatch and terrorize the tenants, who are quarantined while officials try to figure out what to do.

Infested (2024)

5/5

Release Date April 26, 2024

Director Sébastien Vanicek

Cast Théo Christine , Sofia Lesaffre , Jérôme Niel , Lisa Nyarko , Finnegan Oldfield , Marie-Philomene , Nga

Runtime 106 Minutes

Writers Sébastien Vanicek , Florent Bernard

Pros

• A humanist approach to horror
• Doesn’t just rely on fear of spiders
• There are layers of social commentary that amplify the feeling of dread
• Great performances all-round

Arachnophobia and Claustrophobia Working in Tandem

Shudder

Even if you aren’t afraid of spiders, Infested will inevitably make you squirm in certain parts. This is partly because the film doesn’t just rely on its arachnids to elicit fear. Vaniček makes use of all the great horror tropes and conventions that are reminiscent of classic horror. From the grating strings of composers Xavier Caux and Douglas Cavanna to the high-contrast cinematography by Alexandre Jamin that makes the darkest corridors feel like an abyss, the movie effectively preys on our senses and primes us for a thrilling ride. As a result, the scurrying of the smallest spider in the corner of a frame is enough to fill us with dread.

In no way does this mean that the spiders themselves aren’t terrifying (one scene indirectly references Alien’s chest-burster scene). Perhaps not since 1990’s Arachnophobia has there been a horror movie that presents these eight-legged creatures as actual monsters. Throughout cinema history, and even Arachnophobia is guilty of this to a degree, horror movies about spiders have erred towards camp and/or comedy (think: Spider Baby and Eight Legged Freaks).

In Infested, however, Vaniček and Bernard grant this species of spider a certain grotesque mythology, allowing its exoticism to fuel our imagination. The opening sequence, in fact, shows a group of men traveling to a middle-of-nowhere desert to hunt it down. One of them succumbs to its bite in the most excruciating way possible, and only a merciful death is his salvation.

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It also helps that Infested triggers our collective trauma in that Kaleb and the rest of his neighbors — which includes his sister Manon (Lisa Nyarko), friend Mathys (Jérôme Niel), estranged best buddy Jordy (Finnegan Oldfield), and Jordy’s partner Lila (Sofia Lesaffre) — are forced to quarantine by city officials, who initially believe that the first victims of the spiders have died either by accidental drug overdose or some sort of viral infection. Immediately, the film recalls the isolation we all felt at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic when we were locked down and restless.

Something More Sinister Than Spiders

Shudder

What also propels Infested is its focus on humanity. The film takes its time, specifically in the first act, to allow us to get to know the main cast and the key tenants of the building. While some characters suffer from a lack of full development, which becomes especially glaring in the final, go-big-or-go-home action sequence, Vaniček does take great care in establishing Kaleb, in particular, as a complex protagonist. In this role, Christine is exciting to watch as he juggles the layers of his character: his complicated history, his struggle to find his stride in the world, and his guilt over bringing the spider to the apartment in the first place.

In a way, Infested’s equal prioritization of the individuals of this community unearths an even more evil threat than the spiders: the humans themselves. On one hand, there’s an argument to be made about the way in which the original spider was involuntarily ripped from its natural habitat, trafficked by illegal traders, and then forced to survive in less-than-ideal situations. As a matter of fact, the spiders largely attack in retaliation to the humans’ first strike. Elsewhere, they are only doing what they’re naturally meant to do: nest and breed.

Shudder

On the other hand, there’s the way Kaleb and his neighbors are treated by the authorities. Whether the social commentary in this horror film was intentional on Vaniček’s part, Infested is as compelling and believable as it is because the residents are predominantly Black, brown, and/or poor: no other demographic is disproportionately abandoned or misunderstood by the authorities. Between the authorities assuming drugs were initially involved in the tenants’ deaths, the lack of media coverage, and the fact that Kaleb and his friends are disregarded by the police, racism is as widespread and insidious as the spiders themselves.

In Infested’s final action sequence, amid the chaos of police officers shooting at spiders crawling in from everywhere, it’s important to note that a moment of compassion wins the day.

Infested is available for streaming on Shudder beginning April 26.

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