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​There's Going To Be An 'Arachnophobia' Remake To Freak Out A Whole New Generation

​There's Going To Be An 'Arachnophobia' Remake To Freak Out A Whole New Generation

The classic film is set to freak out an entirely new bunch of people, with a remake apparently on the cards

Jess Hardiman

Jess Hardiman

Anyone who grew up in the 90s will know what it was like to rent out a scary movie from the video shop for a good old sleepover with your mates. You'd get the popcorn in the microwave and kick back for two solid hours of shitting yourself over rubbish special effects and even dodgier plot holes. It was brilliant.

One that you'll all remember from those times is Arachnophobia, 1990's comedy-horror flick about deadly Venezuelan spiders.

Starring Jeff Daniels and John Goodman - two acting icons from that decade - the film scared a generation, because being frightened of spiders is just about as relateable as it can get.

Well, now the story is set to freak out an entirely new batch of people, with a remake apparently on the cards.

Deadline reports that James Wan - who most recently worked on Aquaman for DC and Warner Bros - is set to oversee the project as producer, via his Atomic Monster company. Amblin, the original production company, is also said to be involved in the new project.

Buena Vista Pictures

There's currently no word as to who's on board to write or direct, nor is there any news of a potential release date, but we're guessing at least the CGI will be pretty banging, given that we're now 28 years on from the technology of the original film.

We're also pretty certain that after almost three decades, the subject matter will remain pretty resonant, as arachnophobia (the condition, not the film) affects between 3.5 and 6.1 percent of the world's population (which is almost half a billion people).

The fear of arachnids can come from a variety of reasons. Obviously, watching too many spider related movies could well be one of them, but a recent study suggests that you might also freak out because it's hereditary.

Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences and the Uppsala University have delved into whether arachnophobia is a learned or inherited trait. The scientists found that children as young as six months old stressed out about a spider or snake, despite having little to no experience of them.

via GIPHY

Lead investigator Stefanie Hoehl says: "When we showed pictures of a snake or a spider to the babies instead of a flower or a fish of the same size and colour, they reacted with significantly bigger pupils.

"In constant light conditions, this change in size of the pupils is an important signal for the activation of the noradrenergic system in the brain, which is responsible for stress reactions.

"We conclude that fear of snakes and spiders is of evolutionary origin. Similar to primates, mechanisms in our brains enable us to identify objects as 'spider' or 'snake' and to react to them very fast.

"This obviously inherited stress reaction in turn predisposes us to learn these animals as dangerous or disgusting. When this accompanies further factors, it can develop into a real fear or even phobia."

Buena Vista Pictures

This theory is supported by Dr Ross Menzies from the University of Sydney, who has told the Independent: "It is a biological fear which can occur during normal development and doesn't go away.

"This 'fear' would have entered the gene pool because in certain areas of the world there are dangerous spiders and fear of them would be a good thing.

To put you at ease, there are about 43,000 species of spider in the world (hang on, here comes the calming statistic) but only about 30 are known to have killed humans - which is less than one-tenth of a percent.

Still, though, might be worth getting the LADs round to watch the Arachnophobia remake... Safety in numbers and all that. Don't forget the fizzy strawberry laces.

Featured Image Credit: Buena Vista Pictures

Topics: Entertainment News, Film, Entertainment, TV and Film, Horror, Spiders