Infested Is the Best Spider Horror Since Arachnophobia
Arachnophobes beware: Infested is the best spider-centric horror movie since Arachnophobia. Sébastien Vaniček’s feature debut is a no-bullshit tour de force about eight-legged assassins that nearly perfects the subgenre. Imagine [REC] and Attack the Block but with spiders. Lots of spiders. Giant-ass spiders—but not to be confused with the comedic tone of Big Ass Spider! Kiah Roache-Turner’s Sting is the arachnid horror flick to watch this month if you’re looking for something more lighthearted, but Infested is a paralyzing nightmare caked in webbing that’ll have your skin crawling for weeks.
Kaleb (Théo Christine) is your average 30-year-old with an exotic personal zoo set up in his apartment’s private bedroom. Scorpions, amphibians and other creepy crawlies get a new roommate when Kaleb brings home a venomous spider that immediately punches through its cardboard Nike box habitat. Kaleb has no idea about the overseas spider’s species, but it becomes evident that it reproduces with haste and kills without remorse. Unfortunately, the infestation grows out of control, and Kaleb’s locked inside under quarantine regulations with his neighbors—along with a multiplying spider army of both count and size.
Vaniček’s debut for the ages hits all the hallmarks of exemplary horror cinema, which is shockingly accomplished for a first-time credit. Vaniček and co-writer Florent Bernard use low-income housing to sneak commentary underneath the nerve-shredding experience, especially since the film was once titled Vermin (a reference to how Kaleb’s community is treated). It’s very Attack the Block in its gentrification undertones and classist experiences, but visually ruthless and atmospherically ferocious like the claustrophobic [REC]. An overfilled grab bag of fears about spiders is exploited on repeat, from being hidden inside shoes to nesting within air vents—and that’s just the beginning. Infested is an arachnophobic smorgasbord of “absolutely ‘effing not” imagery, from body horror grossness to animal attack violence, as Vaniček reels us in the more his characters struggle to escape.
The arachnid designs are next-level freaky due to their icky-all-over realism—plenty of the nasty buggers are trained professionals, but the animated ones impress too. I’ll admit, I’m no hero when it comes to spider encounters in real life, and Infested is handily one of the more anxiety-inducing horror films I’ve endured in quite a while. Vaniček utilizes nothing more than primal instincts and female arachnid defense mechanisms to instigate white-knuckle sequences where spiders scramble in assault formation. Even Kaleb, whose amateur zookeeper mentality wants to protect these otherwise beautiful children of Mother Nature, conveys appropriate amounts of fear when the egg-laying body horror commences (BIGGEST OF NOPES). Between the clicky-clacky sound design (communication, perhaps), vile birthing sequences and the supremely suspenseful “flashlight tag” escape through stairwell corridors, Vaniček achieves punishing levels of immersion.