Forgotten Sequels: Spiders 2- Breeding Ground

 All of the unanswered questions from Spiders...will stay that way.  This is Spiders 2: Breeding Ground, a 2001 Sequel to the Film that you all love and remember.  Is this really a Sequel though?  Same Director?  Nope.  Same Cast?  Nope.  Same Setting?  Nope.  What is the common link?  Boaz Davidson.  Yes, the same Writer- not the only Writer, mind you- is back for more tales of big ass spiders (not to be confused with Big Ass Spider).  If you want more than that, you ain't getting it!  This time, Sam Firstenberg (the Director of American Ninja, Cyborg Cop and Ninja III: The Domination) is behind the camera and he's got a handful of B-Movie Regulars backing him up.  His Co-Writer Stephen Brooks is back (he wrote the Screenplay for Spiders) and he's got a Cult Classic on his Resume- The Mangler.  As the villainous Lead, you have Daniel Quinn, the Star of the Scanner Cop Films (and later Rubber).  Lastly, we have a towering B-Movie Staple as the evil Scientist- Richard Moll.  He's played a villain working for Satan (Night Train to Terror) and Joseph Smith (Savage Journey)- who else can make that claim?!?  What other Film gives you the Director of Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo and the Star of Ghost Shark?!?  Why am I spending so much time building this up and not talking about the Plot?  To find out, read on...

Giant Spiders running around on a ship killing everyone!  This should be good.

Now just bear in mind that you don't get to see ANY OF THIS for about an Hour.  Nothing.

The actual Plot involves masked men killing some people on a boat and kidnapping others.  A couple find the boat, but soon lose *theirs* in a storm (of unconvincing CGI).

They end up a suspicious Cargo Freighter (with Quinn as the Captain).

The Husband is suspicious of everything, while his wife (who just beat Cancer) is less so.

Of course, he's right to be as we see that the people kidnapped in the first Scene are being experimented upon by Moll.

It all has something to do with yadda yadda Giant Spiders yadda yadda immortality.

He gets a series of shots to test him for the experiments, which causes him to see visions of the Spider.
I hope that is enough for you...

They finally take him to their Lab which seems to be full of leftover props from stuff like Sliders and Quantum Leap.

When all of the experiments don't seem  to be working, will things get worse?

Hey look- the damn Spider shows up and we finally get the Title of the Film in action.

They get loose due to...

Female Empowerment, apparently.

Yes, the Wife finally does something more than second-guess her Husband and takes out the bad guys to save the day.

Oh and Spiders kill all of the bad guys.  I mean, of course they do.  

The End.

A real mixed-bag of a Film.  The first 2/3 of the Film aren't bad...but they aren't what you'd hope for.  You can't promise me Giant Spiders and then give me this.  It is a slow, ponderous Second Act that does nothing but build up suspense at a glacial pace.  If this wasn't a Film about Giant Spiders, it would be good.  As it is, it is a decent idea that belongs in the wrong Film.  If this was about something else, I'm there!  Actors like Quinn and Moll do their parts to keep things interesting- kudos to them.  They both act more like a B-Movie, in contrast to our Leads who treat this very seriously.  Once we get to the real meat of the Film, things definitely pick up.  Seeing a nice tweaking of the formula with the Wife as the Action Hero is nice.  The finale is a big, fun silly adventure.  If you make it through to Act 3, the Film delivers.  The CGI is a mix of good to decent.  I will say that they do cut corners in one Scene where they clearly re-use a shot from the last Film.  It's a quick one, but pretty silly to think that nobody would notice it.  Spiders 2 is arguably an improvement and a downgrade.  As far as overall quality goes, it is better.  As far as pacing and a reliance on Practical Effects, it's a downgrade.  See it for the silly aspects, the B-Movie appeal and the finale- just don't expect the world.  Speaking of expectations, a spiritual follow-up to this just came out in China.  Will it deliver after 19 years?

Next time, I wrap up the Spiders Trilogy with the 3-D finale!  Will Boaz deliver a Film worth its weight in webbing?