Crawlers (2026)
Directed by: Ángel Gómez Hernández
Premise: The manager and tenants of an apartment complex must escape when the building is swarmed by deadly spiders.
What Works: There seems to be a formula for contemporary spider movies. Sting and Infested and now Crawlers are all about arachnids set loose in an apartment building. That setting seems to work and Crawlers is a very good example of this genre. The filmmakers understand what makes spiders scary and they play on that effectively. Crawlers includes closeups of the arachnids walking and pouncing and several sequences exploit common fears such as spiders crawling in the mouth or laying eggs in the skin. The film features some striking images and Crawlers includes creative and stylistic use of lighting. The sound is also effective. We can hear the sounds of spiders scampering on surfaces or hissing at their prey. The sound effects are not realistic but they work for the movie. The filmmakers approach the material with a sense of humor. The comedy does not undermine the scares or the drama but it does allow for moments of levity and humanity which keeps the movie upbeat and fun. The characters are not deep or complex but they are distinct. Everyone is given a specific identity that defines their character. The building supervisor played by Matilda Anna Ingrid Lutz is a likable protagonist, balancing toughness and vulnerability. Most of the other characters are victims but their deaths occur in circumstances that are consistent with their personality flaws. Crawlers is generally well plotted. A number of props and story developments are set up and paid off in satisfying fashion.
What Doesn’t: In some respects, Crawlers is structured like a slasher film. The movie opens by introducing a lot of victims, many of them comical or unlikable, and the filmmakers devise grisly ways of killing them. A lot of the death scenes are disconnected from the rest of the story; they are independent set pieces that have been interspersed into the film more as a matter of timing than narrative cause and effect. Given the screaming and other noise, it’s incredible that no one ever investigates what’s happening on the other floors. We’re told there are nineteen occupied units in the building but we only ever see a handful of people. The size of the arachnids is inconsistent. Any given spider shifts in size from one shot to the next.
Bottom Line: Crawlers is an effective killer spider movie. A few specific caveats notwithstanding, this is a good, fun, and scary flick.
Episode: #1121 (October 18, 2026)