Crawlers review – killer-spiders movie offers giant-arachnid action alongside anticapitalist commentary

A witty creature feature set in a multi-occupancy building in Los Angeles that takes aim at unscrupulous landlords and finance bros

This arachnid-themed horror is fairly traditional in terms of its structure, core monster threat and scares-to-laughs ratio, but there are a few winningly modern touches. For starters, there is a very contemporary anticapitalist undertow: it all takes place in a single multi-occupancy building (supposedly in Los Angeles, though the whole film was filmed in Portugal) owned by a slimy landlord (William Miller), who rails against the city’s “socialist” local council making it harder for him to rip off his tenants.