Lavalantula debuted on the SyFy Channel on Saturday, July 25. It was the finale of the network’s Sharknado 3 week. It may not have had any sharks, but it did have a cameo in-character appearance by the star of the Sharknado movies tied to the other six movies that made their debuts during that wondrous week of “B” movie madness.
Lavalantula was directed by Michael Mendez, who also directed 2014's Big Ass Spider. It’s written by Neil Elman and Ashley O'Neil. Elman has produced or written a bunch of B horror/monster/sci-fi movies, including Mongolian Death Worm and The Sea Beast. The movie is the first writing credit for O’Neil, who has also worked as a story editor and stunt double.
Lifted from Lavalantula’s product description on Amazon, here’s the bare bones plot of the movie:
After a dormant volcano erupts miles outside of Los Angeles, something within the molten hot lava is awakened. Birthed from the bowels of the earth itself, arachnid-like creatures with an obsidian-black exoskeleton swarm out. One man, Colton West, a washed-up, former A-list action star, suddenly finds himself the real life hero as he's forced to use his onscreen characters' know-how to save the entire city from being victims to the most horrifying villains you couldn't write any better.
Steve Guttenberg plays West as a man who hasn’t quite figured out that he’s not the big star he once was. He’s not easy to work with, though he nails his scenes. The media makes him out to be a guy who frequently gets into trouble. However, when he gets into trouble, it’s usually because he was trying to help someone. He’s weary of the drama, but he’s still a capable and courageous tough guy who, like his characters, can think fast when necessary.
When the volcano blows and the flaming spiders attack, West wants only to get his wife [Nia Peeples] and son [Noah Hunt] to safety. Unfortunately, he’s separated from them by the deadly spiders and the hellish L.A. freeway system.
Here’s where I issue the traditional warning...
SPOILERS AHEAD
SPOILERS AHEAD
SPOILERS AHEAD
SPOILERS AHEAD
SPOILERS AHEAD
SPOILERS AHEAD
SPOILERS AHEAD
SPOILERS AHEAD
Trying to reach his family, West rescues a busload of tourists. Oh, sure, he has to hijack their bus to do so, but that’s the kind of thing action heroes do. He picks up a couple of quirky allies along the way. Especially good are Ralph Garman as former stuntman Pirate Jack and Patrick Renna as fanboy Chris.
Sidebar. The movie also features three of Guttenberg’s fellow cast members from the Police Academy movies. Michael Winslow and Marion Ramsey play movie crew members Marty and Teddie. Leslie Easterbrook plays a neighbor of the West family.
Lavalantula is an entertaining film. Each member of the West family must fight their way out of dangerous spider encounters and acquit themselves well. For the big finale, they team with the crew of the movie West had been working on to stop the spiders before all Los Angeles becomes a flaming field of death. It’s very exciting stuff, especially when West must embrace an old movie role to take on the queen of the lavalantulas.
SUPER SPOILERS AHEAD
SUPER SPOILERS AHEAD
SUPER SPOILERS AHEAD
SUPER SPOILERS AHEAD
SUPER SPOILERS AHEAD
SUPER SPOILERS AHEAD
SUPER SPOILERS AHEAD
SUPER SPOILERS AHEAD
My love for cheesy movies like Lavalantula can sometimes hamper my enjoyment of them. When it was determined that all the spiders were controlled by the queen, I immediately recognize this movie had the same basic ending as 2012's Arachnoquake. As in the earlier movie, the hero’s climatic battle with the big bad monster happens around and on skyscrapers. Kill the mama lavalantula and the others will die or scurry back to the depths of the earth. Despite a really fun performance by Guttenberg and other Lavalantula cast members, the “borrowing” from the earlier film diminished my overall enjoyment of the newer one. Sigh.
SPOILERS OVER
SPOILERS OVER
SPOILERS OVER
SPOILERS OVER
SPOILERS OVER
SPOILERS OVER
SPOILERS OVER
SPOILERS OVER
I enjoyed Lavalantula. I especially liked Guttenberg’s performance. So I’m delighted to hear that Lavalantula 2 will be coming our way in the future. I’m looking forward to that.
Will you enjoy Lavalantula? Yeah, if you’re into these big creature features, I think you will. It’s definitely worth watching at least once. When the DVD is released in November, I’ll likely buy it and watch the movie again.
Here’s how I rate the seven movies that made their debuts during Sharknado 3 week on the SyFy Channel.
1. Mega Shark Versus Kolossus
2. 3-Headed Shark Attack
Lavalantula was directed by Michael Mendez, who also directed 2014's Big Ass Spider. It’s written by Neil Elman and Ashley O'Neil. Elman has produced or written a bunch of B horror/monster/sci-fi movies, including Mongolian Death Worm and The Sea Beast. The movie is the first writing credit for O’Neil, who has also worked as a story editor and stunt double.
Lifted from Lavalantula’s product description on Amazon, here’s the bare bones plot of the movie:
After a dormant volcano erupts miles outside of Los Angeles, something within the molten hot lava is awakened. Birthed from the bowels of the earth itself, arachnid-like creatures with an obsidian-black exoskeleton swarm out. One man, Colton West, a washed-up, former A-list action star, suddenly finds himself the real life hero as he's forced to use his onscreen characters' know-how to save the entire city from being victims to the most horrifying villains you couldn't write any better.
Steve Guttenberg plays West as a man who hasn’t quite figured out that he’s not the big star he once was. He’s not easy to work with, though he nails his scenes. The media makes him out to be a guy who frequently gets into trouble. However, when he gets into trouble, it’s usually because he was trying to help someone. He’s weary of the drama, but he’s still a capable and courageous tough guy who, like his characters, can think fast when necessary.
When the volcano blows and the flaming spiders attack, West wants only to get his wife [Nia Peeples] and son [Noah Hunt] to safety. Unfortunately, he’s separated from them by the deadly spiders and the hellish L.A. freeway system.
Here’s where I issue the traditional warning...
SPOILERS AHEAD
SPOILERS AHEAD
SPOILERS AHEAD
SPOILERS AHEAD
SPOILERS AHEAD
SPOILERS AHEAD
SPOILERS AHEAD
SPOILERS AHEAD
Trying to reach his family, West rescues a busload of tourists. Oh, sure, he has to hijack their bus to do so, but that’s the kind of thing action heroes do. He picks up a couple of quirky allies along the way. Especially good are Ralph Garman as former stuntman Pirate Jack and Patrick Renna as fanboy Chris.
Sidebar. The movie also features three of Guttenberg’s fellow cast members from the Police Academy movies. Michael Winslow and Marion Ramsey play movie crew members Marty and Teddie. Leslie Easterbrook plays a neighbor of the West family.
Lavalantula is an entertaining film. Each member of the West family must fight their way out of dangerous spider encounters and acquit themselves well. For the big finale, they team with the crew of the movie West had been working on to stop the spiders before all Los Angeles becomes a flaming field of death. It’s very exciting stuff, especially when West must embrace an old movie role to take on the queen of the lavalantulas.
SUPER SPOILERS AHEAD
SUPER SPOILERS AHEAD
SUPER SPOILERS AHEAD
SUPER SPOILERS AHEAD
SUPER SPOILERS AHEAD
SUPER SPOILERS AHEAD
SUPER SPOILERS AHEAD
SUPER SPOILERS AHEAD
My love for cheesy movies like Lavalantula can sometimes hamper my enjoyment of them. When it was determined that all the spiders were controlled by the queen, I immediately recognize this movie had the same basic ending as 2012's Arachnoquake. As in the earlier movie, the hero’s climatic battle with the big bad monster happens around and on skyscrapers. Kill the mama lavalantula and the others will die or scurry back to the depths of the earth. Despite a really fun performance by Guttenberg and other Lavalantula cast members, the “borrowing” from the earlier film diminished my overall enjoyment of the newer one. Sigh.
SPOILERS OVER
SPOILERS OVER
SPOILERS OVER
SPOILERS OVER
SPOILERS OVER
SPOILERS OVER
SPOILERS OVER
SPOILERS OVER
I enjoyed Lavalantula. I especially liked Guttenberg’s performance. So I’m delighted to hear that Lavalantula 2 will be coming our way in the future. I’m looking forward to that.
Will you enjoy Lavalantula? Yeah, if you’re into these big creature features, I think you will. It’s definitely worth watching at least once. When the DVD is released in November, I’ll likely buy it and watch the movie again.
Here’s how I rate the seven movies that made their debuts during Sharknado 3 week on the SyFy Channel.
1. Mega Shark Versus Kolossus
2. 3-Headed Shark Attack
3. Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!
4. Lavalantula
5. Zombie Shark
6. Sharktopus Versus Whale Wolf
7. Roboshark
Feel free to post your own ratings in our comments section. I love to hear from my readers.
I’ll be back tomorrow with my PulpFest 2015 preview and some other cool stuff. See you then.
© 2015 Tony Isabella
4. Lavalantula
5. Zombie Shark
6. Sharktopus Versus Whale Wolf
7. Roboshark
Feel free to post your own ratings in our comments section. I love to hear from my readers.
I’ll be back tomorrow with my PulpFest 2015 preview and some other cool stuff. See you then.
© 2015 Tony Isabella
I'd put Lavalantula at the top of the list, ahead of Mega-Shark vs. Kolossus, as the former had a decided sense of humor that the latter lacked. Guttenburg and Peeples were great, embracing their cheesy roles for what they were and playing them to the hilt. As well, the special effects seemed to be a cut above the rest, which was a plus. Like you, I thought that the "queen" ending was weak, but for a different reason: spiders don't have queens, ants do. But that resolution just contributed to the goofy fun of the film for me. But when it comes right down to it, these are all winners, even such mundane entries as Malibu Shark Attack and Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus. I've always been a fan of Grade Z films, and these are a welcome treat.
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