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Spider is a film of complex and thought-provoking depth, yet it ultimately made with an almost effortless cinematic approach by David Cronenberg. As a director, Spider may be Cronenberg’s finest achievement. Cronenberg's films are rather difficult to describe. It's strange and perhaps that is what makes his films so likeable. It's as if he creates his own genre. Cronenberg uses cliches of other genres and well as his source material (generally novels) and revision them into something unquie. Through Cronenberg’s vision the film becomes one of tone and atmosphere. The visuals are stunning and flawlessly capture the dark and cold world of it’s subject, a mentally-disturbed man named Spider (who is played to absolute perfection by Ralph Finnes). Cronenberg masterfully handles the non-linear structure which ensembles together memories of the past in what plays out like a cinematic hallucinogen or dream. Really the film is structured in a narrative like a spider’s web, as Spider must deal with distinguishing the past and present as well as his own hallucinations and reality. Cronenberg is a filmmaker that explores for meanings in his films but never finds the definitive answers to his questions, rather relying on the viewer to ponder what they see and make their own interpretations. Because he is associated with making horror genre films, Cronenberg often gets overlooked among the great filmmakers of today. However, time will prove he is a true artistic visionary and his complex and thought-provoking films with be observed and studied for years afterward. Spider is a difficult and dark film that is impossible to forget and demands repeat viewings.
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