Infested (France, 2023)

Infested was on my last October Horror Movie Challenge long list, but I bumped at the last minute because I kept being tempted by other films. The premise of a block of flats being overrun by predatory spiders sounded fun, however, and I decided to catch up with it this time around.

My interest was even more piqued when I read that the director, Sébastien Vanicek, is working on the next entry in the Evil Dead franchise. Having now seen Infested, I can imagine his dynamic style being a good fit.

Infested is currently streaming on Shudder in the UK.

Synopsis

We open in the desert, where a group of men hunt for spiders which prove to be unfortunately deadly. From there, we move on to Paris, where a wide boy named Kaleb buys one of these spiders from his friend Ali, an importer of questionable goods. The spider is moribund, but Ali promises it will recover. Tragically for everyone, it does.

Kaleb lives in a large block of flats that appears rough but has a strong sense of community. This community is imperilled when the revivified spider gets loose and lays hundreds of eggs. These hatch impossibly quickly, and before you can say “arachnophobia”, the entire block is overrun with fast-growing spiders.

When the spiders start biting people, the resulting deaths are mistaken for an outbreak some unidentified disease and the block is quarantined. As the spiders grow larger and hungrier, Kaleb and his friends have to find a way out before they end up as dinner.

General Thoughts

This is not a film for arachnophobes. You didn’t need me to tell you that, but I’m saying it anyway. If spiders freak you out, this film will not be a good time.

Nothing about the spiders in Infested makes sense. They breed and grow at a rate that would make a bacterium dizzy, with thousands of them reaching adulthood without anywhere near enough food to sustain them. And that’s before we see the giant spiders later in the film, which shouldn’t even be able to breathe. Oh, and they freeze in the light for some reason. But the thing is, none of this matters. We’re here to see big scary spiders eating people and that’s what we get. Reality has no business getting in the way.

The setting reminded me a lot of Attack the Block and The Horde, a French zombie film set in a similar block of flats. Once Kaleb and his friends start sneaking around, however, relying on light to hold the spiders back, it all turns into an earthbound version of Pitch Black.

While Infested is a big, dumb monster movie, it is a surprisingly well-written one. Much of the tension relies on the relationships between Kaleb and the people in his life, and these are handled deftly. They inform every decision, yet never bog down the action in coincidental drama.

The quarantine aspect of Infected is a perfect example of how calling the authorities in a horror film can be a terrible idea. While the police aren’t necessarily antagonistic, their every action just makes things worse and ramps up the tension.

Verdict

Infested is a hell of a lot of fun. It barely tries to engage our suspension of disbelief, and that’s fine. While this is a polished production with some great special effects and strong performances, it is unashamedly absurd. There is something delightfully old-fashioned about its willingness to throw ludicrously large spiders at the screen, challenging us to take this seriously. And, largely, we do.

While Infested is not precisely a comedy horror, it does have some great moments of black humour. The way it handles the building and release of tension invites laughter, and the quick pace means we don’t spend too long dwelling on the awfulness of the situation.

The spider effects are terrific. Even those created by CGI look horribly lifelike, and the sheer quantity of webbing in this film is skin-crawling. The speed and menacing appearance of the spiders convince us that they are a mortal danger even before they start growing to absurd sizes.

Infested is simply one of the most entertaining films I’ve seen this month. It’s perhaps a little too derivative to be a classic, but non-arachnophobes should still have a lot of fun with it. Perfect Halloween viewing if you’re looking for horrific but not too grim.

The October Horror Movie Challenge

Please do join in and share your own thoughts with us about this or any other films as the month goes on. You can usually find us on BlueSky, Reddit, Discord, or lurking in the dark corners of your home.

If you would like to play along at home, my provisional selections are:

Heretic (USA, 2024)
The Sadness (Taiwan, 2021)
The Uninvited (USA, 1944)
The Lodge (UK/USA, 2019)
WolfCop (Canada, 2014)
Valerie and Her Week of Wonders (Czechoslovakia, 1970)
The Monkey (USA, 2025)
Sister Midnight (India/UK, 2024)
Roadgames (Australia, 1981)
Nightmare City (Italy, 1985)
Dangerous Animals (Australia, 2025)
Dead Talents Society (Taiwan, 2024)
Winterbeast (USA, 1992)
Byzantium (UK/Ireland, 2013)
The Ugly Stepsister (Norway, 2025)
A Page of Madness (Japan, 1926)
Heart Eyes (USA, 2025)
Grafted (New Zealand, 2024)
Arrebato (Spain, 1979)
Hatching (Finland, 2022)
Abigail (USA, 2024)
Ganja & Hess (USA, 1973)
The Devil’s Bath (Austria, 2025)
Pieces (Spain, 1982)
Infested (France, 2023)
Best Wishes to All (Japan, 2022)
A Cat in the Brain (Italy, 1990)
Enys Men (UK, 2022)
Creature From the Black Lagoon (USA, 1954)
Perewangan (Indonesia, 2024)
Bring Her Back (Australia, 2025)

A Final Note

If you have been enticed here by these posts, please do look around at some of our other film reviews. We also have a podcast, called The Good Friends of Jackson Elias, which occasionally covers horror films. If this appeals, you might want to check out some of the following episodes.