The “Itsy Bitsy” movie was never going to be a polished film. But it’s a horror movie about spiders so how bad can it be? Seems there are a lot of people out there with phobias towards these crawly eight-legged creatures. I suppose I am one of them, however, I still really love it when filmmakers tackle this made-for-horror premise.
Micah Gallo’s first directorial feature film has a few things going for it. The story is interesting, the visuals aren’t awful and it’s definitely watchable. It achieves its targeted creep factor because I did contemplate the small space under my bed. It’s not scary perse but there is enough to like about this.
All the more bemusing when I discovered a video to compliment the film which includes Andy Dick. Bryan Dick co-wrote the screenplay for the Itst Bitsy movie alongside Jason Alvino and Gallo. Check out the video below and you’ll see what I mean.
Andy Dick as the Itsy Bitsy Spider
The above video says two things;
- The movie features motion capture technology which is easy to see in the opening scenes.
- It’s not entirely a serious, serious film.
Or it is and Andy Dick should’ve been in the movie?
What is the Itsy Bitsy Movie About?
The story for Itsy Bitsy movie has got more effort applied to it than you would expect. The family has a backstory a purpose and even a dynamic that is plausible.
You can’t have a spider movie without spiders and the backstory for the spiders used here is cool. The creation of a tribe of spider-worshipping people was a nice touch. The idea that the vessel used within the tribe was stolen is also pretty neat.
I’m not saying this is the perfect movie. I’ve been watching quite a lot of cinema where kid actors are really, really good. Without naming names, one of the kids in this film was not to my liking (how very cooking show of me.) The other was quite good indeed. I’ll leave it to your discretion to figure out who was what.
Elizabeth Roberts plays a solid trauma victim and goes through the paces of her journey. With just enough spider-filled necrosis injected into her, you almost forgive her unlikable character traits when her eyes puff up and make her almost unrecognizable.
Most people will recognize Bruce Davidson (X-Men 2000) as Walter who plays the collector of weird and wonderful things. Strangely he goes along the generic “I don’t believe in legends” gaff but I enjoyed his evenly-keeled performance nonetheless.
But is the Movie Scary?
And let’s not forget the spider. I’m totally unsure why there wasn’t more stop-motion technology used with the spider (or Andy Dick.) Some of the scenes opted to have the lighting all but turned off in what I’m guessing was probably an attempt to dilute how it looked. On the other hand, there were awesomely well-made sequences that would easily cause any arachnophobe to burn the house down just to get away from the television screen. This will be a bit of fun for some, but it definitely will set true scaredy cats on edge.
Denise Crosby is even in it, and any Pet Sematary (1989) fan will be sitting upright about now; with a character, I can only describe as a unicorn in horror movies. That’s right, she is a cop with a brain and actual investigative skills and even refers to Sherlock Holmes in her speech to young Jesse (Arman Darbo.) I could almost give it five stars just for that.
While it may not be the epitome of perfection, this film is a delightful treat for spider horror movie enthusiasts. It’s a fantastic addition to your Halloween watch list.
I give Itsy Bitsy
3 no overdoses on jump scares here either out of 5
Itsy Bitsy Spider Movie Trailer, Watch it & Remember You Have Arachnophobia
Watch the ITSY BITSY SPIDER movie on Vudu, Tubi TV, and Amazon Prime in the USA.
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Itsy Bitsy
Director: Micah Gallo
Date Created: 2019-12-30 19:12
3
