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Tarantula

Tarantula

Science Fiction · Horror · 1955

A rogue scientist near a small desert town arouses the suspicion of the town's doctor when his lab assistant is found dead from a case of acromegaly, which took only four days to develop. As the doctor investigates, aided by the scientist's new female assistant, they discover that something is devouring local cattle and humans in increasingly large quantities.

Movie details

Tarantula

“More terrifying than any horror known to man comes a creeping crawling monster whose towering fury no one can escape!”

1955 Science Fiction · Horror 1h 20m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.5 / 10

Community rating

A rogue scientist near a small desert town arouses the suspicion of the town's doctor when his lab assistant is found dead from a case of acromegaly, which took only four days to develop. As the doctor investigates, aided by the scientist's new female assistant, they discover that something is devouring local cattle and humans in increasingly large quantities.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Tarantula?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

The Monolith Monsters

The Monolith Monsters

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Godzilla, King of the Monsters!

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Sci-fi · 1956

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Quatermass 2

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The Tingler

The Tingler

Horror · 1959

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It Came from Outer Space

It Came from Outer Space

Sci-fi · 1953

Author and amateur astronomer John Putnam and schoolteacher Ellen Fields witness an enormous meteorite come down near a small town in Arizona. Putnam becomes a local object of scorn when, after examining the object up close, he announces that it is a spacecraft, and that it is inhabited...

Phase IV

Phase IV

Horror · 1974

Arizona ants mock the food chain on their way to a desert lab to get two scientists and a woman.

The Blob

The Blob

Horror · 1958

A drive-in favorite, this sci-fi classic follows teenagers Steve and his best girl, Jane, as they try to protect their hometown from a gelatinous alien life form that engulfs everything it touches. The first to discover the substance and live to tell about it, Steve and Jane witness the blob destroying an elderly man, then it growing to a terrifying size. But no one else has seen the goo, and policeman Dave refuses to believe the kids without proof.

Return of the Fly

Return of the Fly

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Fifteen years after his father's experiments with matter transmission fail, Philippe Delambre and his uncle François attempt to create a matter transmission device on their own. However, their experiments have disastrous results, turning Philippe into a horrible half-man, half-fly creature.

Island of Lost Souls

Island of Lost Souls

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An obsessed scientist conducts profane experiments in evolution, eventually establishing himself as the self-styled demigod to a race of mutated, half-human abominations.

Mark of the Vampire

Mark of the Vampire

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Sir Borotyn, a prominent Prague resident, is discovered murdered in his home, with all indications pointing to a vampire assault. The victim's friend, Baron Otto, and the physician who analyzes the body, are certain that the vampire is the mysterious Count Mora or his daughter. Receiving little help from the law, Professor Zelen, an expert in the occult, is called in to assist with their investigation.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Jack Arnold

Written by

Martin Berkeley · Robert M. Fresco

John Agar

John Agar

Dr. Matt Hastings

Mara Corday

Mara Corday

Stephanie 'Steve' Clayton

Leo G. Carroll

Leo G. Carroll

Prof. Gerald Deemer

Nestor Paiva

Nestor Paiva

Sheriff Jack Andrews

Ross Elliott

Ross Elliott

Joe Burch

Hank Patterson

Hank Patterson

Josh

Eddie Parker

Eddie Parker

Paul Lund / Eric Jacobs / Airport Workman

Court is in session

Put Tarantula on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Arthouse Gremlin

“Its refusal to behave is the point.”

The strange choices create the kind of friction that follows you out of the theatre and into the argument.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Oddness is not depth.”

A film can break every rule and still leave nothing behind but the memory of how hard it tried to be singular.