Parents' Guide to Crawlers

Even though it's similar to other killer-spider movies, this taut horror-thriller still delivers on its arachnid creep quality, and Lutz anchors things with an appealing performance. Crawlers might seem like a sequel to Sting or a remake of Infested, but it's its own thing. After reading some informative, unsettling opening text, viewers enter the apartment building. The set is highly effective, a perhaps once-charming relic that's now a crumbling eyesore in glamorous L.A., a place for the also-rans and never-weres. Lutz's Serena is likely to instantly earn viewers' sympathy with her prize possession (a guitar given to her by her absent single mom) and her sweet little songs, as well as her ingenuity in finding ways to patch the building's leaks and fix the cracks.

Most of the rest of the tenants are one-dimensional caricatures, obnoxious people specifically created as spider fodder. (One is a self-proclaimed artist who paints with a paintball gun and livestreams with a "Yo yo! What up?!") But the movie also gives viewers friendly tenants for Serena to commiserate with, including a new father (Paul Tracey), who just wants a little break for a quiet smoke, and Lady Lash (Melina Matthews), a dominatrix who enjoys a stiff drink at all hours of the day. The spider stuff is squirmingly effective, even though many people will have seen most of it before. The movie does find a few fresh takes, such as a special spider-cam inside a potato chip bag as a hand reaches in again and again for fresh chips. At a tight 81 minutes, Crawlers feels like a sturdy B movie, a good time for viewers with either two or eight legs.