“10 stories high and very hungry.” Synopsis: A giant alien spider escapes from a military lab and rampage the city of Los Angeles. When a massive military strike fails, it is up to a team of scientists and one clever exterminator to kill the creature before the city is destroyed.

Watch now on Amazon

Calamity Brains:

Big Ass Spider! never quite hits “good,” but it has more than enough amusing moments to be worthwhile as a background or party movie. The plot is fairly generic – the Army accidentally creates giant arachnid that will destroy the world; a guy wants to get with a girl. But the bromance factor and frequent cameos keep things moving along. And, while the CGI spider is never really believable, for the most part the movie and effects are quite slick, which keeps things far more watchable than they otherwise might be.

Most of the action is moved along by duo Alex (Greg Grunberg) and Jose (Lombardo Boyar). Their improbable friendship ranges from fun to inexplicable, but I mostly enjoyed it. Some of the running gags between them felt more like plot holes to me than jokes… but again, I mostly enjoyed it. They’re also a lot more entertaining than the rather restrained and dull Army segments of the movie (starring Ray Wise, Clare Kramer, and Patrick Bauchau).

Honestly, I found the production quality more noteworthy than anything else in this movie. Creature features that come out of smaller studios tend to phone a lot of things in – Big Ass Spider! breaks the mold when it comes to thoughtful music and effects. And while I never found the spider believable, its interactions with the environment were definitely a step above your average CGI-focused CF flick.

I’m not sure Big Ass Spider! rates top billing in your movie night, but it’s not a bad choice to throw on while talking with friends. (You may even be distracted into watching fully once or twice.) Otherwise, we recommend our drinking game.

Calamity Brains’ Rating: C+
Watch now on Amazon