A mentally disturbed man takes residence in a halfway house. His mind gradually slips back into the realm created by his illness, where he replays a key part of his childhood.A mentally disturbed man takes residence in a halfway house. His mind gradually slips back into the realm created by his illness, where he replays a key part of his childhood.A mentally disturbed man takes residence in a halfway house. His mind gradually slips back into the realm created by his illness, where he replays a key part of his childhood.
- Awards
- 13 wins & 25 nominations
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaDavid Cronenberg received the screenplay from Patrick McGrath out of the blue, with a note attached saying that Ralph Fiennes was interested in playing the part of Spider. After about four pages, Cronenberg had decided that he wanted to do the film.
- GoofsCamera is reflected in broken window of asylum.
- ConnectionsFeatured in SexTV: Dark Desires: Sexuality in the Horror Film (2003)
Featured review
My failed, boring and patronising attempt to help reveal the cinematic brilliance in this film
I've read a few of the other user comments about this film and often words and phrases like pretentious, dull, boring, lacking in entertainment are used. All fair comments, it is definitely not a film for a fantastical exciting escapist experience - however, I would suggest that a little effort on the part of the viewer will pay big dividends.
The first thing to say is that the actual plot of the film is not the main focus of the film. This is all about the madness, and subtle questions that are raised and need to be held in your mind throughout.
Every scene provides vital information, but do not forget we are seeing inside the 30 or 40 year old memories of a man who has spent most of his life in a mental asylum. I would not advise taking any scene at face value, particularly the flashbacks.
It is a challenging film and may at first seem to lack coherence, or be artsy for the sake of it. However, like the jigsaws that appear in the film in various forms it is the final pieces that are the hardest to deal with and potentially the most dangerous.
And at the end we are left with a question - is Spider's trauma the cause of his insanity, or is his insanity the cause of the trauma.
The first thing to say is that the actual plot of the film is not the main focus of the film. This is all about the madness, and subtle questions that are raised and need to be held in your mind throughout.
Every scene provides vital information, but do not forget we are seeing inside the 30 or 40 year old memories of a man who has spent most of his life in a mental asylum. I would not advise taking any scene at face value, particularly the flashbacks.
It is a challenging film and may at first seem to lack coherence, or be artsy for the sake of it. However, like the jigsaws that appear in the film in various forms it is the final pieces that are the hardest to deal with and potentially the most dangerous.
And at the end we are left with a question - is Spider's trauma the cause of his insanity, or is his insanity the cause of the trauma.
- PsychicDante
- Dec 14, 2004
- Permalink
- How long is Spider?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $10,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $1,642,483
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $5,575
- Dec 22, 2002
- Gross worldwide
- $5,808,941
- Runtime1 hour 38 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
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