Arachnophobes might want to close the article now, but for everyone else who doesn’t mind some eight-legged menace in their creature features, keep reading. Arachnophobia, the creepy-crawly horror comedy hit of 1990, is spinning its web on streaming. It’s currently #7 on the free, ad-supported streamer Tubi.

The film was directed by Frank Marshall; a longtime collaborator with Steven Spielberg as a producer, Arachnophobia was his directorial debut. It was also the first film from Disney offshoot Hollywood Pictures. It was originally intended as a straightforward horror film, but Marshall and star Jeff Daniels decided to make the tone more tongue-in-cheek, akin to Alfred Hitchcock‘s The Birds; the resulting picture was dubbed a “thrillomedy.” The film featured extensive special effects; one of the effects artists working on the film was future Mythbuster Jamie Hyneman. And while some of the on-screen arachnids were puppets, the film also used 300 living Avondale spiders, an Australian species noted for its large size, unusually social nature, and timidity around humans. The film was a hit with critics and audiences, bringing in $53.2 million USD on a $22 million budget, and had further success on home video.

What Is ‘Arachnophobia’ About?

In the jungles of Venezuela, entomologist James Atherton (the late Julian Sands) has made the discovery of a lifetime; a new species of spider that behaves like a social insect. Unfortunately, his photographer gets bitten and dies during the expedition; even more unfortunately, a spider hitches a ride with his body when it’s shipped to his hometown of Canaima, California. That’s especially unfortunate for physician Ross Jennings (Daniels), who’s just moved there with his family to replace the town’s retiring doctor. His patients keep dying, and while the town suspects he’s at fault, the actual cause is much more frightening; the Venezuelan spider mated with a local arachnid, and now the whole town is crawling with deadly hybrids. It’s up to Dr. Jennings, Dr. Atherton, and oddball exterminator Delbert McClintock (John Goodman) to save the town from becoming spider chow. Jennings will have to overcome his own arachnophobia as he descends into the queen spider’s hive…which just happens to be in his barn.

A remake of Arachnophobia is in development from Amblin and James Wan‘s Atomic Monster. Initially, Christopher Landon (Happy Death Day) was to write and direct, but he left the project over creative differences.

Arachnophobia is now streaming on Tubi. Stay tuned to Collider for future updates.

Release Date

July 20, 1990

Runtime

109 minutes

Writers

Don Jakoby, Al Williams, Wesley Strick