Wow.
I was not expecting such a crazy ride of a film when I sat down to watch Spidarlings, one of the latest offering from TROMA Films. The trailer does not do this one justice at all. Spidarlings describes itself as “[A] queer punk rock horror musical— and while that certainly summarizes this modern success of cinematography, it really is an oversimplified disservice of a synopsis. Spidarlings was easily one of the most enjoyable films I have seen all year.
Now, I need to first make it clear that the film is very far from what the word “horror— conjures up in your imagination. While there definitely are a few scenes that constitute the word “horror,— a horror movie is not what Spidarlings is. It is a very dark comedy that mated with a queer musical and a pornographic cartoon. It's Hedwig and the Angry Inch, but in the UK and with even more questionable content.
I suppose it takes a very special kind of person to enjoy a film such as this, but I can honestly say that it tickled my fancy in all the right places. Rahel Kapsaski and Sophia Disgrace make an amazing couple with very believable chemistry. Lee Mark Jones is wonderfully insane and a pleasure to watch on screen. Lloyd Kaufman himself even gets some screen time. There wasn't one character I failed to enjoy.
Spidarlings isn't afraid to go there. It pushes the envelope and explores themes often marginalized in other films. We get a chance to delve into the life of what it means to be a foreign sex-worker in the UK. We see a lesbian relationship portrayed as so refreshingly conventional rather than something scandalous and taboo. We see how so many people are one paycheck away from homelessness. The film is a window into a very real, and sometimes very relatable existence often forgotten by more mainstream films. It's as intelligent as it is funny.
If we are talking technically, we need to address the score and the animation. Jeff Kristian did something magical with the music in the film. All the songs are clever, catchy and captivating, adding a lot to what makes Spidarlings such a pleasure to watch. The animation was also absolutely amazing, with vibrant colours and excellent caricatures — and the infamous spider scene was so wonderfully done that I watched it two or three times.
This film totally has the potential to be a cult classic. Hell, I'll start the cult. Like I mentioned already, this is something completely different and probably one of the best TROMA titles in a long time. It's punk, it's crazy, it's manic, it's sexy, and it's dirty — and while being several different things all webbed up into one film, it knows exactly what it wants to be; a spunky little film without boundaries — one that will kick you in the nuts if you so much as look at it the wrong way.
The film is not yet released on Blu Ray, but the release date is set to be announced soon. In the meantime, you can watch the film on TROMA's streaming service. http://watch.troma.com/
Catch the trailer below (although it doesn’t do the film justice) and thanks for reading. Stay Sordid!
