What’s the weirdest movie you’ve ever watched?
The weirdest movie I remember watching was Arachnophobia, a 1990 horror comedy starring Jeff Daniels and John Goodman.
What can I say? It sounded weird. It was weird. And to this day, I have no idea why I thought it was worth watching. It wasn’t. With Jeff Daniels and John Goodman in the cast, what could possibly go wrong? Plenty, as it turned out.
The film follows a small Californian town invaded by a deadly species of spider. The residents spend most of their time trying to survive while the spiders turn up in increasingly alarming places. Apparently, this was supposed to be entertaining.
The problem is that I’m not afraid of spiders. When they wander into our home, I am the one who catches them and relocates them somewhere more suitable. I don’t regard them as a threat. They’re just little creatures going about their business, occasionally in the wrong place.
So I found it difficult to understand why anyone would want to make a film whose main purpose seemed to be frightening people who were already afraid of spiders.
Perhaps that’s the appeal of horror movies. People enjoy being frightened, provided they know they’re safe. I’ve never really understood that.
I’ve forgotten most of the plot, which is probably just as well. What I haven’t forgotten is the feeling that I’d wasted a perfectly good evening.
I’m still not afraid of spiders. I’m just a little more cautious about the movies I choose to watch..
What’s the weirdest movie you’ve ever watched?
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