Residents of a rundown French apartment building battle against an army of deadly, rapidly reproducing spiders.
Courtesy of Shudder. A Shudder Release.
In his first feature film, director Sébastien Vanicek tells the story of Kaleb, a man about to turn thirty and who has never felt more alone. He has severed his friendship with his best friend and is at odds with his sister over an inheritance dispute. Driven by a love of strange creatures, he purchases a poisonous spider from a bazaar and brings it back to his apartment. The creature then predictably escapes and reproduces; converting the entire area into a terrifying web trap. Infested stars Lisa Nyarko, Jérôme Niel (Smoking Causes Coughing), Sofia Lesaffre (Les Misérables), Théo Christine (Suprêmes), and Finnegan Oldfield (Final Cut).
Courtesy of Shudder. A Shudder Release.
One of the first films to truly terrify me as a kid was Arachnophobia (1990). While having little in common with Infested, simply bringing back spiders as the big bad of a horror film gave me a tonne of flashbacks and fond memories. While our eight-legged friends may have been the star attraction of both films, Infested, surprisingly, has a lot more in common with Joe Cornish’s Attack the Block (2011). We have a band of misunderstood tenants disgruntled with their place in the world fighting nightmarish creatures while trying to save their home. It’s a tad formulaic but if it ain’t broken…
Courtesy of Shudder. A Shudder Release.
And that is why this film works well. I’m a sucker for creature features this one hits hard. The characters are well fleshed-out and are both likeable and believable. Their relationship dynamics add to the film in a positive way that seems really natural, like actual friends. While the “science” behind the spiders growing and reproducing at such a large rate is a total mess, you need just to suspend disbelief and enjoy the film for what it is–a quirky, edgy, action-packed monster flick. And monstrous those spiders definitely are.
Courtesy of Shudder. A Shudder Release.
Surprisingly, the special effects really held up, with nothing seeming cheap or amateurish. The sets, spiders, CG creatures, gun fights…all of it seems like it had come through a Hollywood production studio and not a debut film for an indie French director. The social commentary the film provides is also on point and the writing was far above what usually gets greenlit for a monster movie. In all honesty, there is very little I can critique as I enjoyed every aspect of the film.
Courtesy of Shudder. A Shudder Release.
Infested is coming to Shudder on April 26th, and I’m excited for you to see it–if you are into horrendous, giant spiders of course. Thanks for reading and as always, stay sordid. The trailer and artwork for the film are posted below.
INFESTED – Poster
