Directed by Micah Gallo (known for his visual effects work on films such as Frozen (2010) and the Hatchet trilogy) comes the 2019 horror/monster movie, Itsy Bitsy. When Kara (Elizabeth Roberts) moves across the country to work as a live in nurse for Walter (Bruce Davison), Kara’s children, Jesse and Cambria (Arman Darbo and Chloe Perrin) are not thrilled. Soon, however, they are stalked by an ancient evil, taking the form of a monstrous spider.
+ I enjoyed the acting work from Roberts, the mother, and Davison, as the secluded, gruff old man.
+ there was a bit more going on in the plot than just ‘big scary spider monster movie’ which was a refreshing surprise. Rumblings of cults, ancient goddesses and some good old fashioned tomb heists made the most of an otherwise thin plot
+ spiders are scary by default, so this movie was kind of already one up in that regard
– the spider itself looks best in shadow, in one of several parallels to Alien. The long legs and scuttering sound are great, but once it is shown in full light (complete with its own adorable/ridiculous little roar) it loses all effectiveness
– I could not stand the son, Jesse (Arman Darbo). If that was by design, Darbo is a great young actor, but otherwise he was responsible for some of my least favourite moments in a film that’s already B-movie
> This was essentially a full movie about an Alien facehugger. Make of that what you will.
Should you see this film: I was sold on this simply by one shot from the trailer (see above). In that regard, this delivered, as it was indeed a movie about a giant spider terrorising a small family. If that’s all you want from your B-movie horror flicks, this was fine, but just don’t expect anything grand.
MoshFish Reviews 