Infested

In the history cinema dating back more than a century, we can count the number of high-quality arachnocentric horror movies on the fingers of one hand, or maybe both hands if we squint our eyes. And I am pleased that their ranks newly include this French spider spectacular.  However, the experience that it provides depends heavily on the extent of your arachnophobia, because it’s not about likable characters or nice landscapes. It rather takes place in an apartment block on a French social housing estate and its protagonists are rebellious odd-jobbers and adolescents whose survival will be of no concern to you until the final quarter of the film. But the apartment building has a brilliant circular design patterned on a spider web, the spiders multiply rapidly and actually look like real, live spiders (in a French genre film by young enthusiasts!), and more than one scene is so intensely scary that you’ll get goosebumps and hold your breath. The fourth star is for the cinema experience with good sound. [Sitges Film Festival] (10/12/2023)

Objectively a strong 4*, but I can't help but go for a full score, as we haven’t seen a quality movie with spiders for 20 years, this is such a terribly intense, yet underrated and (for some reason??) forgotten genre that every addition is welcomed with open arms by all fans. And Sebastien Vaniček has done a truly incredible job of it, because Infested is top shit in every way, from the expensive visuals to the never-ending suspense to the excellent five leads, who can act and can be scared, I fully bought their emotions. The looks of the spiders is disgusting and arachnophobes can forget about the film as this is really quite unpleasant and can terrify even the most hardened. I also have to praise the certain "overkill" of the whole concept of evolving spiders as it opens the door to endless variety in terms of spider evolution in a few hours, so we get all the different sized creatures at once, which is a big plus. The film has momentum, a solid pace, and expensive visuals – what more could you ask for? Not to just praise, I also have to critically say that the film has quite a few flaws: sometimes people act stupid, I'm a bit disappointed that we didn't get more heart-attack inducing scenes, where, for example, the spiders would have crawled more on the characters and we as viewers could have enjoyed more physical disgust on ourselves and felt them behind the screen, and it's also a great pity that the finale doesn't actually explain the whole thing and showing us how the situation was resolved. However, due to the absolute drought in this (sub)genre, this is a full five out of the park and I absolutely cannot understand why more films with spiders aren't made, as when a solid budget is added to the mix, half the battle is won and there's always a fanbase for this type of movies. Anyone who doesn't see spiders everywhere they go for a few days after this film probably didn't watch it right and should repeat the process with headphones and a darkened room. Great. (04/29/2024)

Sebastien Vaniček, an unknown filmmaker, has delivered an interesting debut. Making an "animal" horror film isn’t easy, especially for an inexperienced beginner, but I can say he did quite well. The film benefits greatly from its setting. The grimy apartment building on the outskirts of Paris adds a significant touch of authenticity. The casting also deserves praise, as the actors delivered convincing performances, especially during the most adrenaline-pumping sequences. The action was stylishly filmed. At first, I found myself smiling, but as it built up, it became increasingly unsettling, which I appreciate. So why only three stars? The ending felt incredibly rushed and poorly executed, and it really affects the overall impression. Still, it was a great movie theater experience. I give it 6.5/10. (06/13/2024)

The only thing worse than finding a spider in your apartment is losing a spider in your apartment. Just such an event in the film results in the infestation of a whole apartment building with venomous fiddlebacks (or whatever they were) from the basement to the attic, where the spiders multiply at a startling rate, each time growing significantly larger than their antecedents, in which case the film flirts a bit with science fiction at the end. The realistic setting of an apartment building in a social housing estate and the fresh, energetic approach of the young filmmaker are exactly what the arachno-horror genre need. After the long exposition with the introduction of the characters, the action gains proper intensity, which it constantly escalates so that some scenes border on being unbearable, especially for people who are repelled by spiders. Absolutely everyone will squirm in their seats. Vermin is the best spider horror movie since Arachnophobia from 1990. (10/14/2023)

What an intense ride. I haven't squirmed in my seat like that in a long time. Vermines is an instant classic, right up there with Arachnophobia in the spider horror subgenre. The filmmakers nailed the perfect blend of practical effects, CGI, and live spiders, making it incredibly effective. If you have a severe fear of spiders, this film will leave you physically unsettled. I never expected something like this to come out of France, and even more surprising, it's a debut. I'm looking forward to seeing more from Vaniček in the future. (10/12/2023)