**Jessica Cameron is featured in Camel Spiders in the role of “Ashley.” Apparently, Jessica will be facing giant bugs in another film, one that was featured on the hit SyFy show Monster Man. Jessica appears on episode three of the series, which you can watch On Demand and on SyFy.com.
But, I am here to review Camel Spiders, which is also available On Demand and on DVD. So let’s get to it…
In Camel Spiders, The United States Military is fighting with a group in The Middle East, which I can only guess are some sort of terrorist organization. There are losses on both sides, and while transporting one of their own back home, the US soldiers accidently transport a large Camel Spider back to the States. Once there, the “spider” rapidly reproduces causing an outbreak of huge camel spiders to attack the town. It’s up to some military personel, the town sherriff, and the surviving townsfolk to fight off the creatures before they spread to other towns.
Camel Spiders is written and directed by Jim Wynorski, the man behind films like Chopping Mall, Cheerleader Massacre, and The Witches of Breastwick. J. Brad Wilke also helped write the film. Andrea V. Rossotto is credited as cinematographer, Tony Randel as editor, R. J. Reld on special effects, and Glen David Miller as 3D supervisor. Iconic producer and director Roger Corman (Attack of the Crab Monsters and Sharktopus) is cited as executive producer. In terms of cast, the lead is played by Brian Krause. Brian is still the man and I’m glad that he’s been doing tons of indie horror films recently. C. Thomas Howell (E.T. and The Hitcher) is a lead, too. Interestlingly enough, my obsessive yet sad addiction to reality TV tipped me off that a VH1 “celebreality” is in the film – Melissa Brasselle. Melissa was in a bunch of B movies in the 90s and early 2000s, but kind of dropped off to do VH1’s I Know My Kids A Star, and Tough Love. Melissa’s daughter, Hayley, who was on I Know My Kids A Star also appears here. Scream queen and all around lovable actress Jessica Cameron rounds out the cast of Camel Spiders.
In terms of “creatures attacking the masses” types of film, Camel Spiders has its pros and cons when it comes to rationality. First of all, camel spiders are not actually spiders – they are scorpions, and thus do not create webs. But, can they run fast and take down human beings? Camel spiders’ bodies can grow up to 5 inches in length, with their leg spans growing anywhere up to one foot in length. This makes them pretty fast, and the fasted on record was able to run 10 miles an hour. When it comes to prey, they can eat anything from bettles, to lizards, to rodents. In real life, camel spiders do have a painful, yet non-lethal defensive bite when nibbling on humans. So, all things considered – and realizing the “spiders” in this film are larger then normal – it is pretty believable that an infestation of larger than life camel spiders could wreck a town in the Midwest. Hey, I’d rather watch a semibelievable creature feature about giant camel spiders than a movie about a giant half shark/half octopus…no offense to Mr. Corman, of course.
I can’t say with great certainty whether or not I would recommend Camel Spiders to someone. I am really on the fence. I have seen a lot of worse films, trust me, but I’ve also seen a lot better. Let’s do it this way. The acting is by far the best trait this film has, followed by editing. The script is decent and I got a particular kick out of the line, “If we’re not all going to die, can you and Daddy get back together?” The CGI spiders are better than average and actually interact with the cast instead of just being in the background, behind them. The film is pretty gorey and has a lot of guns and action. It has no nudity whatsoever. Some scenes look perfect cinematically, others seem too bright.
It’s hard… The movie is far from great, but it’s far from bad too. I enjoyed watching it, but I don’t know if others will. Camel Spiders will really appeal to creature feature audiences, especially those who enjoy SyFy Channel movies. I’m just not sure which way to go with my review here. I think you guys will have to take a leap of faith and watch it for yourselfs and form your own opinions.
