I Spyders (2012)
Directed by: William Allinson
Written by: William Allinson
Starring: Gabriel Dumas, Jeff Yung, Kevin Jake Walker, Michelle Harris
I SPYDERS
Written and directed by William Allinson
Edited by Kyle Edward Wilson
Starring Kevin Jake Walker, Gabriel Dumas, Michelle Harris and Jeff Yung
[vimeo]https://vimeo.com/39050112[/vimeo]
John is a young man working at a dead end company under a selfish, slavedriver boss named Dave. With his contract ending in just a few days, John looks forward to his payday bonus but is astonished to be informed that he’ll no longer be getting the much-needed money. Aggravated and yearning for a better occupation, John decides to print out his resume to find other work. During a meeting with his boss and co-worker Marta, he is given Dave’s grapes as a goodwill gesture which he takes home and then eats whilst dwelling on the days events. Unbeknownst to John, hiding in the bunch of grapes is a spider and as John falls asleep the spider crawls up his shirt and scurries inside his ear, laying eggs inside. The next morning John goes to work as usual but starts to feel strange… Voices are slurred and echo through his brain and it’s not long before he starts seeing hundreds of the eight-legged critters running in front of his eyes. John struggles to cope with his boss, his hellishly dull job and the sudden nightmare he has found himself in.
William Allinson’s I Spyders is a clever 20 minute horror drama that has a dry sense of humour running throughout. The character we are first introduced to is Dave who owns Specialty Services and we can just tell he’s one of those annoying bosses who like to hear the sound of their own voice and does not appreciate their staff, especially in the financial despartment. Chomping on the juicy green grapes with his mouth wide open, Dave makes you cringe, not mentioning the fact he peels the grape before eating it. Watching the clock ticking, Marta (Michelle Harris), the first out of only two employees, walks through the door before work starts at 9am. She is smartly dressed, punctual and greets Dave but he’s pretending to be holding a conversation with a client on the phone. After switching on the radio, he then gives her a talk on ‘efficiency’ and ‘due diligence’, two phrases which you will cause you to rip your hair out each time you hear them during the film. 9.05am and John arrives to work, not really keen to be there and is comfortable doing his own thing.It’s a surprise later on that Dave fires Marta for being too complacent, especially as she is the only one in the office who seems capable of doing her job. This delivered a major kick in the groin to John, who now must do the job of Marta’s in the sales department, with the promise of that prized bonus should he get a sale before the end of the week.
Gabriel Dumas plays Dave and full marks to him. His deadpan look and the way he delivers the lines makes me irritable and makes my skin crawl. This guy is the worst possible person to work for and it proves it’s not necessarily the spiders causing John to crack up. John slowly decends into a nervous breakdown due to financial insecurity and the yearning to have a well paid, thrilling occupation. When he finally makes a big sale selling the firm’s ‘speciality’ items, he’s pleased to finally get a kick out of his work. However, this is shortlived as his promised bonus is withdrawn again, which leads to dire consequences…
John is played with ease by a fabulous Kevin Jake Walker. He’s convincing and likeable as we sympathise with his predicament of working at Speciality Services. After succumbing to the spider and her eggs, John struggles to maintain a grip on reality and Kevin expertly portrays this. With help from make-up and effects artist Kenji Sato, John’s decline and arachnid torment is one you most certainly will not want to miss!
I mustn’t forget about the spiders. These little babies aren’t CGI but real life arachnids! Myself an arachnophobe, I postively squirmed in my seat each time they appeared on screen though I must stress that their screen time isn’t as much as you may think so don’t be put off from watching this great short film. Though unnerved, I appreciate the talent of said creatures and they sure could make their big break in Hollywood! Who said spiders can’t act?! Big up the spider wrangler, Jim Lovisek, who made the live spiders on film a reality.
I SPYDERS is a fresh, professionally shot dramatic horror that will leave you squirming with insanity. A creepy crawly flick who’s explosive ending will put you off grapes for a lifetime!
For more info on I Spyders, visit the official website www.ispyders.com
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