Spider

I don't recommend newer movies that often, but tonight at 11:20 PM ET, IFC are showing the interesting short Spider. The tag-line is "It's all fun and games until somebody loses an eye." That's true, although how the movie gets there is something to be seen.

This being the latter-day equivalent of a one-reeler, there's not much of a plot of character development. What there is is simple: a man and woman are driving in a car together somewhere in the big city. She's driving, and he's trying to get her to smile. She's more focused on driving, so when she stops at a gas station, he gets an idea: he goes into the station's attached convenience store, and buys some flowers -- and, as a joke, puts in a plastic spider. The joke's on him, though, as that plastic spider doesn't have quite the effect he intended.

I can't say what that effect is, as it would be giving away the ending of the movie. Let's just say that it's not for everybody, as it's got some plot elements that might be disturbing to some people. But if you don't mind that possibility, Spider is quite a bit of fun. As a short, it hasn't made it to DVD, so you'll have to catch the IFC's showings.