Spider

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Spider

R,

2003,

1h 38m,

Mystery & Thriller/

Drama

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Watchlist

84%

140 Reviews

Tomatometer

68%

10,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

84%

Tomatometer

140 Reviews

68%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

Released after decades in a sanitarium, schizophrenic Dennis Spider Cleg (Ralph Fiennes) moves into Mrs. Wilkinson's (Lynn Redgrave) halfway house and befriends a fellow resident, Terrence (John Neville), before retreating into personal writing and the darkness of his own haunted mind. Spider struggles to decipher murky memories of a childhood trauma involving his abusive father (Gabriel Byrne), his murdered mother (Miranda Richardson), and a prostitute who may have replaced her.

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Critics Consensus

Ralph Fiennes is brilliant in this accomplished and haunting David Cronenberg film.

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Barbara Ellen

The Times (UK)

Jan 3, 2018

The film's slow, plodding pace relies too much on strong performances and grubby splashes of "atmosphere" rather than genuine emotion and plot.

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Eric Harrison

Houston Chronicle

Apr 26, 2003

A

This is one of the director's most accomplished films.

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Chris Vognar

Dallas Morning News

Apr 24, 2003

B+

It's a pleasure to watch such an understated treatment of potentially sensational subject matter.

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Diana Tuova

Loud and Clear Reviews

Nov 12, 2024

4/5

Cronenberg’s controlled direction and Fiennes’s mesmerizing performance make Spider a riveting portrayal of one fractured mind haunted by a painful past.

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Joe Lipsett

Anatomy of a Scream Podcast Network

Nov 7, 2024

A film built around a predictable twist that Cronenberg seems ill-suited for. Fiennes delivers a decent performance, but most of the present-day scenes feel inconsequential compared to the past. Richardson's dual roles are the film's greatest asset

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Bill Bria

Vague Visages

Jun 15, 2023

Cronenberg’s more internalized era doesn’t skimp on the devastating effects of self-destruction — in fact, it arguably finds them even more pronounced.

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Anakin M

Mar 6, 2019

Really tedious and sluggish plot that feels boring for most of the film. The main character just mumbles stupidly from start to finish. In the end .....well that just proves what we already pretty much knew.

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Draco R

Sep 20, 2018

Probably one of the most boring film, I have ever seen. I was hoping it would end within 10 minutes starting. The themes and ideas of the story may have been interesting if I had been interested in the story at that point. The movie never grabbed me into this world or into the story. So for this being one of the worst films that I have seen, and for the trailer being better than the movie, thats why the 2 star rating for the trailer, for the movie itself is simply a 1 star rating, that being said I give " Spider " a D.

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George S

Sep 18, 2018

this is the film where cronenburg changed his style from the body horror to the bland and normal. while this movie is not normal, it is boring

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Finn R

May 29, 2011

There is something about Ralph Fiennes that embodies this sort of role so well, his face, like Harrison Fords, has such Tortured Depth & Seriousness, that in the right role he can really make you feel his Internal Conflict.That is the case here, you can see & feel that he is not quite right & he is SPOOKYYYYYY

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George S

Feb 17, 2010

Painfully unwatchable. It was not what I was expecting at all. A lousy film that was made very poorly. (First and only viewing - 6/10/2018)

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David Cronenberg

Director

Ralph Fiennes

Spider

Miranda Richardson

Mrs. Cleg

Gabriel Byrne

Bill Cleg

Bradley Hall

Boy Spider

Lynn Redgrave

Mrs. Wilkinson

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Synopsis

Released after decades in a sanitarium, schizophrenic Dennis Spider Cleg (Ralph Fiennes) moves into Mrs. Wilkinson's (Lynn Redgrave) halfway house and befriends a fellow resident, Terrence (John Neville), before retreating into personal writing and the darkness of his own haunted mind. Spider struggles to decipher murky memories of a childhood trauma involving his abusive father (Gabriel Byrne), his murdered mother (Miranda Richardson), and a prostitute who may have replaced her.

Director: David Cronenberg
Producer: Catherine Bailey
Screenwriter: Patrick McGrath, Patrick McGrath, David Cronenberg
Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
Production Co: CBL, Artists Independent Network
Rating: R (Language|Brief Violence|Sexuality)
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 28, 2003, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 1, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $1.6M
Runtime: 1h 38m
Sound Mix: Dolby Stereo, Dolby Digital, Dolby A, Surround, Dolby SR
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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