Venomous Vibes and Nine-Legged Nostalgia

So! “Venomous”—there’s a wild ride if there ever was one. You know when you’re sitting down with popcorn and you’re not quite sure what the night will bring? That’s how I felt facing this flick. With faces like Treat Williams, shaking things up, combined with direction from the ever-intriguing Fred Olen Ray, it’s bound to get chaotic. And not in that sleekly rehearsed way either; it’s more like stumbling in from Midsommar’s Eve with all the bonfires, wondering how you got there.

Talking about stumbles, I remember this one time when I was a kid in Skåne, and I had this unexplained obsession with spiders. So naturally, when a story blew in about how the “Venomous” critters could escape a lab and go berserk, I got a mixed feeling of nostalgia and utter dread. Sitting in my room with a poster of Jurassic Park and hearing my dad laugh at something silly on the radio—ah, simpler times.

The film itself? I’m kinda torn. Some scenes had me gripping my mittens in excitement, the arachnids not quite CGI wonders more like wobbly puppets, but that’s what gave it charm, no? There’s this certain rawness in the amateurish shine, like a school play where your kid’s the tree but you’re more captivated by the ant trying to steal the spotlight. I think Fred Olen Ray knew what he was doing there. Maybe.

Sure, it gets a bit messy. Sometimes it’s like an ABBA concert without the music—there’s a presence you should appreciate but it doesn’t always hit the right notes. Yet, isn’t something about the complete absurdity that makes it worth a watch? Maybe that’s just me, waxing nostalgic about those long summer nights with nothing but SvT and homemade lemonade.

Anyway, if you crave a bit of swaying between fascination and confusion, maybe it’s time to give “Venomous” a go. Just keep a shoe nearby… you know, just in case.

Check the trailer below