Tarantula
A determined Arizona doctor investigates a lethal experimental disease while a scientifically enlarged tarantula turns the desert into a hunting ground.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Mild
- tense
- eerie
- foreboding
- classic monster movie night
- 1950s double feature
What critics said
Critics broadly regard it as a fast-paced and unusually effective giant-insect film, praised for credible staging, practical effects, and sustained genre suspense.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The central threat is a tarantula enlarged to monstrous proportions, with destruction escalating across the Arizona countryside.
Professor Deemer's growth-hormone research, intended to improve food supplies, causes rapid disease and animal gigantism.
The laboratory and monster attacks are situated in the Arizona desert, where sparse communities face the creature with limited help.
The film repeatedly presents the tarantula against desert roads, buildings, and human figures to emphasize its impossible size.
Films like Tarantula, and why
The Creature from the Black Lagoon
shared 1950s science fiction horror, experimental science, and giant creature spectacle
Them!
shared giant monster premise, scientific experimentation, and mid-century genre suspense
The Fly
shared classic monster movie format, mutation anxiety, and escalating creature threat
The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms
shared giant animal menace, desert setting, and accessible science fiction horror tone
Movie Details
- Director
- Jack Arnold
- Release Date
- 1955-10-29
- Runtime
- 80 min
- Rating
- 6.5 / 10 (314)
Cast
- John Agar
- Mara Corday
- Leo G. Carroll
- Nestor Paiva
- Ross Elliott
- Hank Patterson
- Eddie Parker
- Bert Holland
- Raymond Bailey
- Steve Darrell
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Tarantula about?
- A determined Arizona doctor investigates a lethal experimental disease while a scientifically enlarged tarantula turns the desert into a hunting ground.
- What is Tarantula like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Tarantula as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Tarantula violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Tarantula as mild.
- What did critics think of Tarantula?
- Critics broadly regard it as a fast-paced and unusually effective giant-insect film, praised for credible staging, practical effects, and sustained genre suspense.
- Which films are like Tarantula?
- Films with a similar feel include The Creature from the Black Lagoon, Them!, The Fly, and The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms.
- How long is Tarantula?
- Tarantula runs 80 minutes.
- Where can I watch Tarantula?
- In United States, Tarantula is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home.
