Arachnophobia (movie)
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Arachnophobia was an American horror and comedy film released in 1990 directed by Frank Marshall and starring John Goodman and Jeff Daniels. The film is about a small California town invaded by the cross breed of local spiders and a deadly South American spider that was brought into the United States through the inside of the coffin of a dead nature photographer.
The film won a Saturn Award from The American Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror films for Best Horror Film and Best Actor (Daniels.) Young actress Marlene Katz was nominated for a best actress award from the Young Artist Awards. The film was a phenomenal success in America alone, grossing $55,000,000 in theaters and going on to gross an additional $30,000,000 in video rentals.
The film's biggest critical success was very roundabout. The song "Blue Eyes are Sensitive to the Light" was used in the soundtrack and performed by Sara Hickman. The song was actually written by 1980s songstress Martika and inspired by a set of very Aryan looking male supermodel twins with pale blonde hair and sky blue eyes. Martika's own recording of the song went on to win a Grammy.
The film made use of 374 Avondale spiders, which were picked for their large size, lack of actual venom, and unusually social lifestyle. They were guided around the set by the use of heat and cold, but the large "queen" was an articulated model.