Moviefone Editorial

Tag: arachnophobia

  • Actor Julian Sands Dies at Age 65

    Julian Sands in 1989's 'Warlock.'
    Julian Sands in 1989’s ‘Warlock.’

    Julian Sands, a versatile actor adept at bringing both romantic heroes and terrifying villains to life, has died. He was 65.

    An outdoor sports enthusiast, Sands had been hiking in the Mount Baldy region of California was he was reported missing in mid-January. A search had to be abandoned due to freezing weather conditions, but hikers found human remains earlier this week, and the San Bernadino County Sheriff’s office confirmed that they were Sands.

    Early life and career

    Julian Sands as Jon Swain in 1984's 'The Killing Fields.'
    Julian Sands as Jon Swain in 1984’s ‘The Killing Fields.’

    Related Article: Veteran Character Actor Frederic Forrest Has Died at the Age of 86

    Born on January 4th, 1958, in West Yorkshire, England, Sands began his film career in 1984, appearing in ‘Oxford Blues’ and ‘The Killing Fields’, which went on to be nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars.

    Yet his big breakthrough was being cast as the romantic lead in 1985’s ‘A Room with a View’, playing the charming George Sands alongside Helena Bonham Carter. The performance launched him on a career trajectory that headed straight for Hollywood.

    Proving he could handle a variety of roles, Sands took on movies that required him to be both good and bad. He was the terrifying main character in 1989’s ‘Warlock’ and its 1993 sequel, ‘Warlock: The Armageddon’

    Other films included ‘Impromptu’, ‘Naked Lunch’, ‘Arachnophobia’, ‘Boxing Helena’, and ‘Leaving Las Vegas.’ And if anyone doubted his skills, he took the lead in 1998 horror version of ‘The Phantom of the Opera’, then starred opposite Jackie Chan in the 2003 action-comedy ‘The Medallion’.

    TV work

    His connection to Jackie Chan remained on the small screen, as one of his bigger TV roles was voicing Valmont in the ‘Jackie Chan Adventures’ animated series in its first two seasons. He also played Doci of the Ori in two episodes of ‘Stargate SG-1’ — (and reprised the role in the 2008 film ‘Stargate: The Ark of Truth’), was terrorist Vladimir Metternich in ‘24’ and Jor-El in ‘Smallville’.

    Paying tribute

    Actor Alessandro Nivola, who appeared with Sands in ‘Timecode’, paid tribute via Twitter:

    Filmmaker Erlingur Thoroddsen, who directed Sands recently in ‘The Piper’, said this:

    “I had the great honor of working with Julian Sands a little while ago and the even greater honor of knowing him as a friend off set and after the shoot, having wonderful conversations over dinner and drinks. He told me stories about working with Argento and Fincher and Cronenberg.”

    Sands’ family issued the following statement about his passing:

    “We continue to hold Julian in our hearts, with bright memories of him as a wonderful father, husband, explorer, lover of the natural world and the arts, and as an original and collaborative performer.”

    He’s survived by his wife, journalist Evgenia Citkowitz, whom he married in 1990; their daughters Imogen Morley Sands and Natalya Morley Sands; and a son, Henry Sands, with his ex-wife journalist Sarah Sands.

    Julian Sands in 1990's 'Arachnophobia' directed by Frank Marshall.
    Julian Sands in 1990’s ‘Arachnophobia’ directed by Frank Marshall.

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  • ‘Freaky’ Director Christopher Landon Remaking ‘Arachnophobia’

    Julian Sands in 1990's 'Arachnophobia' directed by Frank Marshall.
    Julian Sands in 1990’s ‘Arachnophobia’ directed by Frank Marshall.

    Do you hate spiders? Does the very idea of the wriggling creepy crawlies fill you with an endless feeling of dread? Are you concerned that one is walking up behind you EVEN AS YOU READ THIS? Then you might not be thrilled to learn that a new version of 1990 horror comedy ‘Arachnophobia’ is in the works.

    But stick with us, because the news would seem to be on the positive side of things – and spiders will be staying on the screen. Christopher Landon, the writer and director behind the likes of ‘Freaky’ and ‘Happy Death Day’ is developing the new movie.

    The original was directed by Frank Marshall (who still makes movies himself, but is these days better known as a producer on the giant likes of the ‘Indiana Jones’ and ‘Jurassic World’ franchises. He’ll be an executive producer here).

    ‘Arachnophobia’ focused on a small town terrorized by a colony of deadly South American spiders accidentally brought into the U.S. Jeff Daniels starred as a doctor who moves his family from the big city for the calm bucolic small-town life with John Goodman playing a know-it-all exterminator. Julian Sands, Harley Jane Kozak, Mark L. Taylor, Henry Jones, Brian McNamara, and Stuart Pankin were also all in the cast.

    1990's 'Arachnophobia' directed by Frank Marshall.
    1990’s ‘Arachnophobia’ directed by Frank Marshall.

    It was a hit on its release, but while it certainly has its fans, it isn’t an untouchable masterpiece that resists any attempt to remake it. James Wan, who along with his own directorial career is a prolific producer via his Atomic Monster company, is among the backers here.

    And Landon certainly has the horror credentials – he wrote a couple of ‘Paranormal Activity’ entries before stepping up to also direct ‘Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones’ in 2014. He’s also directed films such as ‘Burning Palms’ and ‘Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse’.

    Yet it was with the two ‘Happy Death Day’ movies that he really made the leap into more public awareness, the time loop comedy thrillers featuring Jessica Rothe’s snark-tastic Tree Gellman caught in a repeating nightmare of stalk-slashing (and the sequel going even further into the genre) proving to be popular.

    Landon followed that up with 2020’s ‘Freaky’ which, while it became a box office victim of the pandemic, still managed to entertain with the story of a serial killer (played by Vince Vaughn) who swaps bodies with a cheerleader (Kathryn Newton) and all the violent, funny chaos unleashed along the way.

    Given his body of work, we’re confident that Landon will be able to walk the line between terrifying and funny. And with the advances in effects technology, we can only imagine the spidery set-pieces he can dream up.

    He’s most recently headed in a more family friendly direction with his next film, ‘We Have a Ghost’ for Netflix. That one stars Anthony Mackie, David Harbour, Jennifer Coolidge and Tig Notaro in the story of a man who becomes internet famous after befriending a ghost who resembles actor Ernest Borgnine. Can’t wait to see that one…

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  • More Creepy ‘Crawl’-ies: 16 Creature Features to Watch After ‘Crawl’

    More Creepy ‘Crawl’-ies: 16 Creature Features to Watch After ‘Crawl’

    “Monsters” take many forms, especially in movies. Sometimes they’re otherworldly; frequently they seem to be superhuman. But movies like “Crawl” remind us that there are plenty of very real threats to our safety and security, even if the likelihood of an alligator getting trapped inside your own flooding living room isn’t very high. Of course, Alexandre Aja’s film is far from the first to pit man against beast in a battle for survival; but to commemorate the release of “Crawl,” we’ve assembled a shortlist of other entries in this venerated horror sub-genre (limited to creatures that either do, or at least plausibly could exist) to keep you frightened long after you’ve left the theater.

    “The Birds” (1963)

    Universal

    Alfred Hitchcock was hardly the first filmmaker to explore “evil” animals, but his 1963 film starring Tippi Hedren elevated the menace precisely by never bothering to explain why they started attacking in the first place. Meanwhile there’s plenty of really traumatic action involving Hedren and some unhappy crows, which somehow only enhances the unsettling psychological drama unfolding between the human characters.

    “Jaws” (1975)

    Universal

    Steven Spielberg’s blockbuster building block changed movies forever with this tale of a local police chief (Roy Scheider) who discovers that a New England 4th of July celebration is about to serve as a buffet for a great white that only a marine biologist (Richard Dreyfuss) and professional shark hunter (Robert Shaw) know how to stop.

    “Eaten Alive” (1976)

    Arrow Video

    Tobe Hooper followed up his benchmark horror film “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” with this creepy film about a Louisiana hotelier whose guests check in but don’t check out, especially with a hungry pet alligator lurking in the swamp out front.

    “The Food of the Gods” (1976)

    American International

    Notorious schlockmeister Samuel Z. Arkoff produced this decidedly reductive adaptation of H.G. Wells’ novel about a food product that bubbles up out of the ground on a remote island, transforming all of the local animals that feed upon it into giant monstrosities.

    “Grizzly” (1976)

    Columbia Pictures

    Pretty transparently inspired by “Jaws,” this film transplants not only its concept but many of Spielberg’s techniques into a national forest where an 18-foot-tall grizzly bear terrorizes campers.

    “Squirm” (1976)

    American International

    In the fourth but far from last “deadly animal” movie of 1976, a surge of electricity drives legions of bloodthirsty worms out of their soil and towards the remote fishing village nearby.

    “Alligator” (1980)

    Group 1

    Lewis Teague (“The Jewel of the Nile”) directed this movie written by John Sayles (“Lone Star”) that is more or less literally an urban legend come to life, about an alligator flushed from a toilet into the sewers of New York, where it grows to a monstrous size and starts preying on locals. Come for the alligator, stay for Robert Forster talking about his hair plugs.

    “Cujo” (1983)

    Warner Bros.

    “Alligator” director Lewis Teague also directed this Stephen King adaptation about a friendly Saint Bernard who gets bitten by a rabid bat and becomes a bloodthirsty threat to an unlucky family that, like in “The Birds,” is also dealing with some complex interpersonal issues.

    “Of Unknown Origin” (1983)

    Warner Bros.

    Peter Weller (“Robocop”) stars in this oddball film from George P. Cosmatos (“Tombstone”) about a husband who sticks around to work on a business proposal after his wife and child go on vacation, only to find his life disrupted (and endangered) by an oversized rodent he becomes obsessed with destroying.

    “Razorback” (1984)

    Warner Bros.

    Australian auteur Russell Mulcahy (“Highlander”) made his directorial debut with this flashy, stylish thriller about a giant wild boar that terrorizes the Australian outback.

    “Arachnophobia” (1990)

    Buena Vista

    Frank Marshall (“Jurassic Park III”) directed this creepily relatable film about a small town doctor (Jeff Daniels) who’s forced to confront his fear of spiders after an entomologist discovers a new, deadly species of Amazonian arachnid and accidentally brings it back to the US.

    “Anaconda” (1997)

    Columbia Pictures

    Jennifer Lopez, Ice Cube and scenery-chewing Jon Voight star in this pulpy thriller about a documentary crew that encounters more than they bargained for after the skipper hijacks their boat in order to hunt down a super-sized Amazonian snake.

    “Lake Placid” (1999)

    20th Century Fox

    Steve Miner (“Friday the 13th, Part 2“) directed this script from David E. Kelley (“Big Little Lies”) about a salt water crocodile terrorizing a sleepy Maine community. It’s as funny as it is scary.

    “Snakes on a Plane” (2006)

    New Line Cinema

    David R. Ellis directed this film that seemed like a meme before the internet knew what those were, about an FBI agent (Samuel L. Jackson) trapped on a flight from Hawaii to Los Angeles with hundreds of deadly snakes slithering around.

    “Primeval” (2007)

    Buena Vista

    Writers John Brancato and Michael Ferris (“The Game”) adapted the true story of a giant, man-eating crocodile named Gustave into this taught, bloody thriller starring Dominic Purcell, Orlando Jones, Brooke Langton and Jurgen Prochnow.

    “Piranha 3D” (2010)

    Dimension

    “Crawl” director Alexandre Aja delivered his first dose of animal-themed terror with this brutal, way-the-hell-over-the-top horror comedy about a group of bloodthirsty piranha that are accidentally unleashed into a lake during Spring Break, endangering co-eds by the hundreds.