When a horror film starts with horror clichés, one tends to roll their eyes, especially if it involves the key characters in the movie, such as struggling mother and her two children traveling to start a new life, however this film makes the proper adjustments to entertain the viewers, how does that happen, let’s begin there. Director Micah Gallo, makes his feature film debut, having completed short drama horror stories, and while he originated the story and help with script, he actually had screenwriters Jason Alvino and Bryan Dick (Sorority Murder [2015]) who created story of suspense and surprising thrilling moments that was found in Arachnophia (1990). Therefore with the help of Kickstarter fundraising for the sound production and visual effects earned $49,500 showing the modest effort shows it all clearly on the screen as the rest of the funding came other places, clearly earning distribution from Scream Factory and more avenues for worldwide coverage.
An interesting story involving Walter Clark (Bruce Davison (Willard [1971])) needs more of a personal nurse at his home now that his wife Maggie recently died they had toured the world to discover ancient cultures, and learning of the sinister retribution of others. Kara Spencer (Elizabeth Roberts) just took a job as a live-in nurse for Walter, meanwhile her pre-teen son Jesse (Arman Darbo) resists this new arrangement while is younger sister Cambria (Chloe Perrin (Mary [2019])) treats it all as a new adventure. Unbeknownst to either Walter and Kara that they are bringing their own secrets into this working relationship that Kara has a opioid addiction, which led to a car accident killing her youngest daughter and consequentially destroying her marriage, while Walter’s wife raised an orphan boy Ahkeeba (Treva Etienne (Voodoo Possession [2014])) like a son who believes her death was premature thinks it needs vengeance, against a tribe they all met once. As Kara begins setting up shop and working to rebuild her life, still with her addiction, Ahkeeba presents to Walter The Black Egg of Maa-Kalaratri, a sacred idol that he stole. However, Walter all too aware of the artifact’s power and curse, knowing the legend of how the tribe would slaughter babies as blood offerings to the spider god to protect them against wrong-doers, through an accident (or perhaps not) the egg breaks giving birth to the legend/curse, blood offerings to the vengeful spider-god and the broken relic releases a large sentient spider. Meanwhile the stress brings tempers to flare between Walter who doesn’t want intrusive people in his life, and Kara whose life is in tatters and at the center is Jesse who finds Walter’s life very curious. The story contains a mature focal point of that covers grief, anger, and how addiction and lies intertwine themselves, it all leads to the creepy crawling spiders, the terror they bring to the screen, as Sheriff Jane Dunne (Denise Crosby (Pet Sematary [1989]) thinks the spiders are a metaphor of something else far more dangerous.
The acting comes across with conviction and that provides for a better story and more engaging for the viewer, the film doesn’t include any silliness, rather playing it straightforward and the bare minimum of comedic lines. The only letdown in the acting category is role for Denise she’s used sparingly however the script needed more balance in the emotional anguish of Kara and anger of Jesse is unfocused at times. Marco Durian does a fine job with the cinematography to generate spider viewing angles and great tension moments to raise the suspense in the last act.
It’s truly been a while since the little bugs became bigger and prepare gnaw, cocoon and suck the sweet juices from our insides, when one thinks but spidery movies Kingdom of the Spiders (1977) and Eight Legged Freaks (2002) stealthy crawl into our minds, this now makes another impressable and well-designed slow-burn and atmospheric creation to terrorize some individual phobia.
TAGLINE:
Fear Spins Its Web
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6895284/
https://shoutstudios.shoutfactory.com/itsy-bitsy/
https://www.facebook.com/itsybitsythemovie/
IMDb Rating: 5.6/10
Baron’s Rating: 5.5/10