Desert dwelling predators known as camel spiders (which aren't actual spiders, for the unaware) have been making life interesting for American armed forces in the Middle East. Then the beasts take a page out of the "Arachnophobia" script and find a way to get to the American Southwest. There, they multiply like you'll never believe and make life really miserable for a variety of expendable Arizonans. An Army officer (Brian Krause) and small town Sheriff (C. Thomas Howell) lead assorted citizens in a fight against the animals.
A few elements combined to make 'Camel Spiders' above average for this sort of entertainment. First, the camel spiders aren't made so large that we have time to focus on just how tacky they look. Second, co-writer / director Jim Wynorski (utilizing his "Jay Andrews" pseudonym) does have an excellent sense of pace, keeping the action going (albeit with the required number of "peaks" and "valleys"). Next, some of the acting may be purely of the cheese ball variety, but there are a surprisingly reasonable number of engaging characters, enough to make up for the expected insufferable types whom we pray will meet a glorious demise. Finally, the movie isn't *entirely* driven by its special effects, showing some humanity as well as bodily destruction.
Granted, it's still hard not to grimace at the onslaught of typical CGI gore. That kind of thing always just takes one out of a movie. And the cheapness of the budget shows in that "Middle East" and U.S. locations are virtually indistinguishable from one another.
That doesn't mean that this is all that *good*, necessarily, but it's far from the worst of its kind.
Six out of 10.
A few elements combined to make 'Camel Spiders' above average for this sort of entertainment. First, the camel spiders aren't made so large that we have time to focus on just how tacky they look. Second, co-writer / director Jim Wynorski (utilizing his "Jay Andrews" pseudonym) does have an excellent sense of pace, keeping the action going (albeit with the required number of "peaks" and "valleys"). Next, some of the acting may be purely of the cheese ball variety, but there are a surprisingly reasonable number of engaging characters, enough to make up for the expected insufferable types whom we pray will meet a glorious demise. Finally, the movie isn't *entirely* driven by its special effects, showing some humanity as well as bodily destruction.
Granted, it's still hard not to grimace at the onslaught of typical CGI gore. That kind of thing always just takes one out of a movie. And the cheapness of the budget shows in that "Middle East" and U.S. locations are virtually indistinguishable from one another.
That doesn't mean that this is all that *good*, necessarily, but it's far from the worst of its kind.
Six out of 10.