A group of men carrying large knives and other equipment are exploring a mysterious desert, hoping to discover riches or perhaps a rare species. When one of the men lifts a large rock and finds a strange hole in the sand, he’s curious to see what’s inside. Instead of climbing in, he injects gas into the hole to force out what’s inside. But what swarms out of the hole is a cluster of deadly spiders that attack the men. While many of the attacked men die, screaming in pain, others manage to capture some of the spiders, putting them into containers.
After the film’s opening, we are introduced to Kaleb (Théo Christine), who is in France shopping for a gift at a local market. The market owner is known for secretly dealing with exclusive goods, including high-end jewellery from Dubai. Kaleb is intrigued when he discovers a unique, live spider and declares that it ‘looks dope’. After some negotiation, Kaleb buys the spider and takes it home after being warned to be careful as it may be poisonous.
Returning home to his old apartment building where he lives with his sister, Manon (Lisa Nyarko), we discover that his home is being renovated to sell it. Despite his sister’s desire to sell, Kaleb would prefer not to sell due to all the memories attached to his home. Once inside Kaleb’s room, we discover something quite surprising: Kaleb is a proud owner of many small animals, which he keeps as a hobby. His collection includes bugs, centipedes, grasshoppers, and even a scorpion. Kaleb adds his mysterious spider to his menagerie in a temporary shoe box. The other creatures in the room are distant and fearful of Kaleb’s latest addition.
Aside from his hobby of collecting bugs, Kaleb has a side hustle as a passionate shoe salesperson operating from his apartment building. He takes pride in offering quality products and services. However, when his most recent shoe sale unexpectedly goes wrong, the entire building and its residents are put into chaos and at high risk of death. Can Kaleb and the other residents find a way to escape the enormous herd of killer spiders?
Infested is a horror film directed by Sébastien Vaniček, who has previously worked on several short features and is scheduled to direct an upcoming Evil Dead instalment. Interestingly, the basic plot of Infested is quite similar to that of Evil Dead Rise, which was released in 2023- a group struggle to survive in an old and rundown apartment building. Unlike Evil Dead Rise, where the threat comes from demons and possessed individuals, the danger arises from the spiders, which can bite and kill quickly.
Regarding the visual effects in the film, I am thrilled to announce that the spiders look incredibly realistic. If you’re scared of spiders in real life, you may struggle with this film for the entire duration. Right from the opening scene, I tensed up because of how lifelike the spiders looked, moved, and attacked. The overall appearance of the rundown apartment building is also impressive, especially as the movie progresses and the spiders start to take over and cause more damage.
While the main characters in the movie are likeable and compelling, making the audience cheer for them to survive against the creepy crawlies, the majority of the side characters are less interesting and less engaging. The movie’s pacing is excellent, especially the opening sequence, which instantly sets up a simple premise and killer threat. As the film progresses, the plot builds up a larger story where more and more issues arise.
Overall, it has been a while since we had an excellent spider movie crawl onto our screens. You’re in luck if you enjoy titles like Arachnophobia or Evil Dead Rise. Infested combines aspects from both titles and delivers a fun movie with successful jump scares, creepiness, nasty kills, and lots of spiders. The old rundown apartment building is an excellent setting on display that changes as the film progresses. The film’s leads are pretty enjoyable and robust enough that viewers will cheer them on, hoping for their survival; however, the side characters are a weaker aspect. While the spiders here look real in every way possible, the movie has limited repeat viewings, and some moments are bound to be forgettable. Nonetheless, it’s a great time and fun concept, and horror buffs will undoubtedly be pleased with the results.
Infested (2023) is Now Available exclusively via Shudder!
7.2/10
28th April 2024
Written by Peter Walkden
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