Arachnophobia (1990)

[bunniefuu]

(BIRDS CALLING)

(BOAT ENGINE WHIRRING)

- Welcome.

- Dr. Atherton, I presume.

(CHUCKLES)

- Wait a minute, not so fast.

- We're in a hurry, Mr. Manley.

Leave your personal things.

Just bring your equipment.

We depart immediately.

- Miguel Higueras, our field assistant.

- (MIGUEL SPEAKING SPANISH)

Sorry I'm late.

I've been held up in Caracas

for a while with a fever.

- (INSECT BUZZING)

- Tell the truth, I'm not over it yet.

Be sick on your own time, Mr. Manley.

I want close-ups of every specimen

and coverage of the surrounding

rain forests and tepuis.

The what?

Tepui. It's an Indian word for mountain.

A place where species have survived

in isolation for millions of years.

MANLEY:

Oh. Any man-eating dinosaurs?

MIGUEL: Atherton, you're in luck.

We're hitting a brand-new one today.

MANLEY: Oh, great.

Anybody ever get lost?

ATHERTON:

Legend says that men who climb

to the rain desert never return,

but don't worry, we small-game hunters

don't climb, we fly!

- He friendly?

- I hope so. He's our guide.

Stick close.

(SPEAKING SPANISH)

Twenty-four hour ant.

They bite?

They k*ll, Mr. Manley,

in sufficient numbers.

So do some of the frogs.

Don't touch any.

Great.

This is where we're going.

We land here, then walk down here.

This is a sinkhole.

A place where thousands of years

of streaming water

have torn away the rock.

ATHERTON: It's very deep. 2,000 feet.

And dark at the bottom.

We'll need flash equipment.

Stegolepis. Edible and nutritious

enough to survive on for weeks.

Thanks, I'll pass.

Plants your specialty?

Insects and spiders

and identifying new ones.

Great. Just what the world needs.

More bugs.

What's your specialty, Manley?

Football.

(MIGUEL SPEAKING SPANISH)

(SQUAWKING)

Let's forget the fact

that no one mentioned

poison ants and frogs,

but a 2,000-foot drop? Come on!

This is for the equipment.

Our guide will show us

another way down.

(SPEAKING SPANISH)

- Mr. Manley!

- Yeah, yeah, yeah.

(SPEAKING SPANISH)

- What's with him?

- This is as far as he'll go.

What?

Yeah.

(BEEPING)

It's amazing.

The air temp's dropped 10 degrees

in the last 100 meters.

Not far. Down there.

(CLICKING)

(CRIES OUT)

(EXCLAIMS IN DISGUST)

(SPITTING)

- You all right?

- Yeah.

I'm fine, I just...

(SPEAKING SPANISH)

What'd he say?

He says you should be careful.

You're too big for us to carry out.

(SPEAKING SPANISH)

(CLICKING)

Wait up! Wait up!

What does that thing do, anyway?

Did you ever throw a large firecracker

into a pond?

Maybe when I was a kid. Why?

What happened?

All sorts of stuff floated to the surface.

Exactly. Everybody ready?

(MOTOR WHIRRING)

Prepare yourselves, gentlemen.

For what?

For pictures, Manley, pictures.

MANLEY: What is it?

I think it's a new species of butterfly.

We could call it photius manlii.

(LOUD THUD IN FUNNEL)

Extraordinary. Look at these markings.

Don't just sit there.

- Are you sure it's dead?

- Yes, quite dead.

(THUD)

Two more.

ATHERTON: This is highly unusual.

So many spiders this size

in such a confined area.

- Look at the shape of the abdomen.

- We must try to find a live specimen.

(SCREAMING)

(HISSING)

What the devil

do you think you're doing?

- It was alive.

- Don't be ridiculous.

- It's just a spider. What's the big deal?

- It isn't just a spider.

It was potentially

a new species of spider.

Isolated and unchanged

for millions of years.

And all you could do is squash it.

(MIGUEL SPEAKING SPANISH)

That's impossible.

They should be dead.

(HISSING)

Very aggressive.

We'll take two back alive

and preserve two.

- Are you sure that'll do it?

- This stuff will k*ll an elephant.

Millions of years, then we come along.

How long's it gonna take us

to get back to camp?

ATHERTON: What's the matter?

You still worried about dinosaurs?

MANLEY:

This place just gives me the creeps.

Incredible.

What is?

These spiders

have no reproductive organs.

Almost like worker bees or soldier ants.

Yeah, well, if these are the soldiers,

I'd hate to see the general.

- How are you feeling?

- Oh! Like hell. This fever's k*lling me.

You don't look so good. Take a rest.

(SIGHS)

(GROANS)

(CHOKING)

(GRUNTING)

(GROANING)

Señor?

Profesor! Profesor! Profesor!

(SPEAKING SPANISH)

The fever.

ATHERTON: Make sure we've got

all his film, Higueras.

- Have we notified his family?

- I contacted the American consulate.

Okay, seal him up.

(SPEAKING SPANISH)

I really wish you wouldn't

complain about my driving.

- Ready?

- You're pushing it.

- That's all I got to say.

- Take it easy, wait a minute.

- All right.

- Watch out.

- Can you give me a hand here?

- Oh.

Oh!

I think I'll go move the hearse.

(MEOWING)

d*ck, I'm sorry to pester you

in this already difficult time.

I know that we already decided

on an open casket,

but we should maybe reconsider.

Because I'm not sure

how they work down in South America,

but let me say that their

preservation methods differ from ours.

No, you'd be welcome

to come down and decide,

but in this already difficult time,

I'm not sure I would do that.

No, you do have the option of...

We could put a photograph

on top of the casket.

Yeah.

No, the one that you had

in the newspaper.

(SPIDER HISSES)

(WHIMPERS)

(MEOWS)

(BIRD CAWING)

(SPIDER HISSES)

(SCREECHES)

(SPIDER HISSING)

Okay, kids, go stake out your rooms!

- Give me that!

- Shelley!

Oh, Ross, smell that air!

(INHALING DEEPLY)

(SNEEZES)

Oh, God!

(CHUCKLES)

Hey, let's just...

Before we discover what valuables

broke in the move,

and that the breakfront doesn't fit,

let's just chant twice,

"We did the right thing."

BOTH: We did the right thing.

- For the kids.

- For us. For all of us.

- ROSS: Goodbye crime, goodbye grime.

- Right.

Goodbye culture, goodbye friends.

TOMMY:

Dad, there's a dead bird over here!

Don't touch it.

Just go on into the house

and find your sister.

Ross, the entire town is yours.

You're the doctor.

Can there be a more respected figure?

Respect is fine, but actually

I've always wanted to be feared.

Easy with that. That's... Don't...

You don't want to agitate the sediments.

Château Margaux. $127 a bottle.

Tasty, huh?

At that price, who can afford to drink it?

Goes in the basement.

I mean the cellar.

The wine cellar.

I gotta get a big padlock.

Protect my investment.

TOMMY: Dad!

- What's wrong?

- Behind one of the boxes, a spider.

- A spider, okay.

- It came at me, it was ugly.

- Bigger than this.

- Okay, calm down.

You're in the country now, okay?

Come on, let's go find that spider.

And let's find your mom

to take care of that spider.

Honey, we're in the living room.

We need you to k*ll a spider.

- All right. Where is it?

- Over there, on the box.

k*lling a spider, cool!

It's bad luck to k*ll a spider

in a new house.

You just made that up, didn't you, dear?

MOLLY: Okay. Everything's okay.

(TISKS) Oh...

Poor thing.

It's more scared of us than we are of it.

Let's give it a home in the barn.

Good idea, Shell.

Mom, how come you're not

afraid of bugs like Dad is?

I'm not afraid of all bugs. Just...

- Be careful of rusty nails.

- Chill out.

- MOLLY: How about right here?

- Yeah.

MOLLY: There.

Okay.

ROSS: You sure you won't miss

being in the thick of things?

With all those stars and those crickets

singing, we are in the thick of things.

I mean work. Strokes from the boss.

Christmas bonuses, office politics,

caffeine, adrenaline,

steady income...

We'll be fine.

Between my severance and all your

potential patients, we'll be fine.

Mmm.

When are you meeting

with Dr. Metcalf?

Thursday morning.

The old coot passes me the torch

at 10:00 sharp.

Wait.

We can unpack in the morning.

I have some Napoleon brandy

in the basement.

Sorry, cellar.

Ross, I'm exhausted.

It's bad luck not to make love

the first night in a new house.

You just made that up, didn't you, dear?

METCALF: I have terrific news.

At least, I think,

for my patients it's terrific.

Though my wife is less than thrilled.

What's that, Dr. Metcalf?

I've decided to postpone retirement.

I don't know for how long, but...

But?

But when I thought really hard about it,

I realized,

there's only one thing left

to do when you retire,

and I've seen too many friends

do that very thing

just six months, a year

after they gave up their professions.

But you...

When we spoke just four months ago,

you assured me that...

I'm not ready to retire, doctor.

And if my wife can't rush me into it,

you sure as hell can't either.

Excuse me.

You gotta feed the meter, partner.

(CHUCKLES)

Yeah, well, I was just leaving.

Mmm. A little late, though.

(SIGHS)

I do have medical plates.

Oh, right. You're that new doctor.

- Ross Jennings.

- Sheriff Lloyd Parsons.

- You're a Yale grad, I heard.

- That's right.

- Well, it's just a school, isn't it?

- That's enough, Lloyd Parsons.

A young doctor comes to Canaima

and you write him a parking ticket?

- What are you doing, Ms. Hollins?

- What the whole town ought to do.

Your ticker tape parade.

- Thank you.

- That's littering.

Lloyd's been a bully

since the 5th grade.

I ought to know, I held him back.

Walk me to my automobile.

Thank you for the swift intervention.

- How did you know who I was?

- We're neighbors.

I gave you a standing ovation

when you arrived.

Oh.

Between you and me, Sam Metcalf

only recently gave up leeches.

He also recently gave up retirement.

We moved from San Francisco

with the understanding

that I would inherit all of his patients,

but now I have none.

No, Dr. Jennings, you have one.

MOLLY: Honey, look at this light.

On the best day in the city,

we didn't get light like this.

Maybe they'll give me a show in town.

Don't they do that in little towns?

In the town hall?

"Molly Jennings, a retrospective."

Of course, I'll need to

take some pictures first.

There's good news

and there's bad news.

Should we go in reverse-alphabetical

order and start with the good?

Mmm-hmm.

I'm seeing my first patient

this afternoon.

She's a great old dame,

she lives just up the road.

Terrific. What's the bad news?

She's my only patient.

Today?

(SIGHS)

Metcalf changed his mind.

- What?

- Yeah.

He panicked, is what it is.

He decided that if he retires

he will lose his zest for life

and die within 48 hours or something.

But he told you.

We looked in 14 towns,

we bought a house,

you rented an office.

What are we going to do?

k*ll him?

I have my fax machine.

I can work part-time from here.

A phone and a fax, that's all I need.

I'll call my old clients.

- Even with half my commissions...

- We're gonna be fine.

- Just like you said.

- With one patient?

Maybe I'll get lucky and all of her

systems will be ravaged by disease.

Kind of like having

seven patients in one.

ROSS: Fit as a fiddle.

Not a damn thing wrong with you.

MARGARET: Dr. Jennings, I'm sorry.

What do you mean? Do you think I was

hoping you were ravaged by disease?

What about my high blood pressure?

You have above-normal

systolic pressure,

which is less dangerous

than a diastolic elevation.

And yours is well below a level

that requires treatment.

Do I need these?

No.

See, there's a difference between

the two types of hypertension.

And in my opinion...

In my opinion, Dr. Metcalf doesn't know

his a*s from a hole in the ground.

(LAUGHS)

But Canaima folks,

they're comfortable with him.

They weren't always, though.

When he first hit town just after the w*r,

everyone was terribly standoffish.

How'd he overcome that?

He threw a party,

invited the whole town.

If Sam Metcalf were half as good

at medicine

as he is at public relations,

he could run

for the next surgeon general.

(ROSS LAUGHS)

That's it. Next month,

when the afternoons are cooler

we'll throw you a party.

Thanks.

(GASPS)

(CAMERA CLICKING)

MOLLY: So, your one patient,

is she a walking health hazard?

I couldn't even find a wart on her.

Great, so what do we do?

Enjoy the fact that since we

no longer live in San Francisco,

we no longer

have to refer to this as pasta.

- Skinny spaghetti.

- Daddy's not done.

On the bright side,

Margaret, my tragically healthy patient,

has offered to throw us

a "Get to know Dr. Jennings" party.

Daddy's not done.

- Daddy's not done.

- Thank you.

One cup of punch

with the handsome new GP

and the good people of Canaima

will see the light

and abandon old Doc Metcalf.

- MOLLY: Oh, it's a nice gesture.

- Yeah.

Can we go play with Bunny?

Yeah, I want you both in

before dark, though.

Bunny Beechwood.

She popped over this morning.

A neighbor. Seems nice.

Hmm.

What do you bet they're gonna

go chase fireflies or something?

(CHUCKLES)

- Wanna blow up a bullfrog?

- Okay!

I got some great shots in the barn today.

- Oh, yeah?

- Yeah.

If the camera picks up the web

with half the detail my eyes do...

The web?

Yeah, our little spider

made himself a hell of a home.

I think even you would appreciate it.

Molly, how can I make this more clear?

- I have...

- A terrible fear of spiders.

I'm aware, I've seen what happens.

Which is why I think you should force

yourself to come and look at the web.

Look at the web?

Yes, and see it for the extraordinary

and beautiful thing it is.

Therapy, Ross.

We live in the country now.

It's time to work through

this irrational, paralyzing terror.

- It's not irrational.

- I know.

The incident.

It's like it happened yesterday.

Nobody remembers anything

from when they were two.

It's my first memory.

I can envision the crib,

all around me, clear as day.

I can still feel the feeling of waking up.

Just drowsy, peaceful, secure,

then there it was.

- Probably just a Daddy Long Legs.

- It seemed huge.

It just came relentlessly,

crawling through the bars of the crib.

- As it touched my bare leg...

- I know, you were just wearing a diaper.

All my limbs involuntarily froze.

You were probably still half-asleep.

I was paralyzed, Molly.

I still get paralyzed.

Try to understand

how this makes me feel.

I was physically unable to stop it

from crawling along my naked skin.

I can still feel its hairy little legs just...

Then up to my face.

It's the feeling of utter helplessness.

Being explored by an alien thing,

that's all.

Can you blame me

for being a spider-phobe?

Arachnophobe.

Whatever.

You see it up there,

right beyond the ladder.

Impressive, huh?

(BREATHES DEEPLY)

- Therapy, right?

- Right.

Yeah.

(EXHALES)

(GROANS)

(PANTING) Oh, God.

There, you see?

You still have full use of all your limbs.

Have you seen it up here?

I think you spared the eight-legged

Frank Lloyd Wright.

Ross!

(YELLS)

(SCREAMING)

Are you okay? Honey, it's okay!

What the hell was that?

MOLLY: It's...

(SCREAMING)

MOLLY: Come on.

(MOLLY SCREAMS)

ROSS: Oh, God!

(BOTH LAUGHING)

ROSS: Jesus!

Hold me!

(LAUGHING)

Oh, my God!

(MEOWING)

(COUNTRY SONG PLAYING)

The summer wind came blowing in

From across the sea

(SONG CONTINUES PLAYING)

- I wonder if this is catered.

- Probably.

(INDISTINCT CONVERSATION)

- No. Thank you.

- How are you finding life here?

After a few initial shocks,

we're slowly adjusting, I think.

I've been checking on you, Ross.

Henry, when I'm finally ready

to throw in the towel,

Dr. Jennings is your man.

- Henry Beechwood.

- Ross Jennings.

- By all accounts, a fine physician.

- I'll remember that.

METCALF:

Oh, this brings back memories.

Right after the w*r,

when I moved to Canaima,

the whole town threw me a party.

- You threw yourself a party.

- METCALF: Now that was a party!

Now that is a jerk!

- Canaima welcomes you.

- Thank you.

Listen, I was interested in something.

I wonder if you could

give me a little help.

Do you think

that I should have this removed?

MOLLY: What's Bunny

showing them over there?

HENRY: Hand-to-hand

combat techniques.

So, Becky, have you thought about

what you'll major in at college?

Gym.

It's in the genes.

Bobby here,

he's the Broncos' star quarterback.

- Hi.

- Hi.

I taught him to throw a football

before he could walk.

Hmm.

I coach the team.

Nepotism, huh?

Actually, we're Baptists.

Nobody comes up to a mortician

at a party and says,

"Irv, you think I might be dead?"

(LAUGHING)

Must drive you nuts

trying to dip your Dorito

while somebody's

showing you his growth.

How do you handle it?

I just mention that until quite recently

my wife was a successful stockbroker.

Say, what do you think about that...

- Why shouldn't I have another?

- Because you've had too much already.

- Let's go.

- No, I'm thirsty.

That's the Manleys.

- Their son recently passed away.

- Oh, that's awful. How?

- I'm not sure. He was a scientist.

- Photographer.

He was on a scientific expedition

down in...

Venezuela.

MRS. MANLEY: Nobody'd tell me how.

Or even let me see him to say goodbye.

Let's go.

Why wouldn't anybody let me see him?

I don't understand.

I had to recommend a closed coffin.

His body looked all chewed up.

Drained.

Like some vampire had had a go at him.

It was terrible.

- Excuse us.

- Oh...

I'll be you made enough friends today

to break Sam Metcalf's death-grip.

It was wonderful.

We can't thank you enough.

Nor I you.

Freeing me from those damn pills.

I feel I could compete in a triathlon.

On the basis of your check-up,

I tend to agree.

- Bye-bye, Margaret.

- Bye, Molly.

Irv, Claire. Would you like a doggy bag?

We're fine, thank you.

Great party, Margaret!

(MEOWS)

Come on, honey. Party's over.

Happy hunting, Felix.

See you in the morning.

You'd have had too much punch

and been the life of the party.

I missed you.

(GROANS)

(SIGHS)

(NAIL g*n FIRING)

Ross!

- Ross!

- ROSS: Molly!

Ross!

I could have k*lled one of you.

The nails came straight... Oh, God.

(SIGHS)

It's all rotten down there.

My wine cellar is...

It's probably crawling with termites.

I'm surprised

we haven't fallen through the floor.

I'll call the exterminator.

(SIGHS)

You're rather casual

about the death of my dream.

I've been trying to reach Margaret

to thank her

and her line's been busy all morning.

She's probably gabbing.

- You want me to...

- Would you?

I'll go over and check on her.

(CAT MEOWING)

ROSS: Here, kitty, kitty, kitty.

Margaret?

(DOOR OPENS)

(DOOR CLOSES)

LLOYD: So what do you think, doc?

Heart attack.

Bound to happen,

rather sooner than later.

She had a history

of high blood pressure.

- Even with the pills I put her on...

- I took her off those.

What right did you have to do that?

She came to me. As a patient.

You didn't notice

she was hypertensive?

Her diastolic reading was normal.

Her systolic elevation was below 160.

If you'd stayed current...

This is a very serious matter,

young man.

- You may well have k*lled this woman.

- I don't think so. She was in fine shape.

- I want an autopsy.

- Never.

Oh, look, she was my patient.

And mine for 40 years.

Margaret wouldn't want

to be butchered.

And nobody here would want

that for her.

Give it to me, Irv.

I'm satisfied if you're satisfied, doc.

METCALF: You come from a big city

where people don't care

about each other.

I don't expect you'd understand.

A little advice.

If you're ever going to fit in in Canaima,

learn to be sensitive to

the feelings of the people here.

I'm sorry I'm more interested

in medicine than public relations!

You know, cardiac victims

don't usually bite their tongues off.

It's as though she went

into titanic convulsions.

Until I know why, this case isn't closed.

You're damn right it's not.

I believe you may be guilty

of medical malpractice.

And I intend to pursue the matter

to its conclusion.

Ross, I understand she was

your patient. Your only patient.

Why don't you come by the gym

tomorrow at 3:00?

It's a mile up the road from you.

I'll throw some business your way.

Thank you, Henry. I appreciate that.

That was nice of him.

Think he could have said it

a little louder?

ROSS: A little young, isn't it?

MOLLY: The wine?

No, Margaret. To die at 68.

That's ten years below the life

expectancy of a Caucasian female.

Did you know that?

(SIGHS)

Ross, you're a fine doctor.

I'm sure you knew exactly

what you were doing

when you took her off those pills.

Like I knew what I was doing

when I chose this town?

With the country doctor from hell.

Or this fine house,

which is rotting from the ground up.

I'm gonna take care of that

in the morning.

Well, Margaret's still

gonna be dead in the morning.

I still want to know what k*lled her.

(SPITS)

He was nailing something in the cellar

and the wood just disintegrated.

- Termites, huh?

- That's what my husband thought.

- And he's an expert in these matters?

- Well, no.

Didn't think so. I'm glad you called me.

No room for amateurs in this game.

Oh. Oh.

(SWITCH CLICKS)

Ah! Thank you.

Hah.

- What is it?

- It's hard to say.

Would anybody object

if I tore this floor out?

- I would.

- False alarm, then. Lead on.

How bad is it?

(SHUSHES)

I didn't find a thing. Go figure.

Then why is all the wood rotting?

I'll tell you why.

Bad wood.

So, what do we do?

Tear out bad wood. Put in good wood.

My husband thought

this would make a good wine cellar.

I collect beer cans myself.

I got a rare '74 of Miller Lite

with a misprint on the label.

Only a hundred or so cans

in circulation.

The husband just might want to

take a gander.

No hard shoes on the court.

Sorry.

Look, I know what a blow

losing Margaret was for you.

People keep score.

You're only as good as your last game.

- Hell, I ought to know.

- I appreciate your concern, Henry.

I want you to enjoy Canaima.

Clean water, fresh air.

Got no police sirens wailing all night.

(LAUGHS)

Just crickets.

We have crickets up the wazoo.

Actually, I haven't heard any crickets

lately now that you mention it.

Actually, I haven't either.

Okay, Broncos, the doc's here!

Get ready to drop 'em.

The doc wants to hear you cough.

(COUGHS)

(PLAYERS CONTINUE COUGHING)

(WHISTLE BLOWING)

You call yourself Broncos?

You look like a bunch of babies.

Come on!

Line it up. Come on, snap to it.

On the ball. Hut! Hike!

(PLAYERS GRUNTING)

(HENRY CONTINUES

TO DIRECT GAME)

You're moving in slow motion here.

Move it!

(WHISTLE BLOWING)

Hike.

That's supposed to be a banana out.

Looks like a banana split!

PLAYER: Shitty pass.

HENRY: I heard that!

What are you, a garbage mouth?

Hit the showers.

- Wash that mouth out. Miller!

- Yo!

- You know the patterns?

- Like the back of my hand.

HENRY: Get in here.

Run the same thing again. Hurry up.

Come on, Miller.

We're waiting on you, let's go!

Come on! Move it! You wanna play?

Come on, run. Let's go.

Thanks.

(WHISTLE BLOWING)

Run it.

Set. Hut. Hike.

(PLAYERS GRUNTING)

(GROANS)

(WHISTLE BLOWING)

HENRY: Up, up, up. Let's go, easy up.

Get up. Pass back. Let's go.

Miller, you all right?

- Coach!

- What's wrong with Miller?

Back up, let him breathe.

What's wrong? What is it?

Come on, give us some air.

Okay, all right. Let's get his helmet off.

Real easy. Support his head, coach.

Real gentle.

Look out.

METCALF: From what I hear,

it wasn't a very hard tackle.

I only wish I knew, you see,

Dr. Jennings examined him last.

Hey.

Why so gloomy?

Bunny Beechwood says that

everybody's calling you Dr. Death.

That's just silly, Shelley.

And they say you want to

cut people up into little pieces.

Tom, look...

It's called an autopsy.

It's not a very pleasant thing,

but sometimes

it's the only way to find out

what really happened to a person.

But some doctors, who should

know better, won't accept that.

But some doctors who should

know better, just won't accept

that their big-city methods

don't sit well in a small town.

Both Margaret and that poor boy

did seem to be quite healthy.

It's a bit odd, don't you think, Sam?

If I autopsied everyone

whoever died of a heart attack

I'd be run out of Canaima so fast...

(CHUCKLING) Poor Sam.

You still think life is a popularity contest.

You're not jealous of

our new young doctor, are you?

What?

Now you made me lose my timing.

You're yelling, Sam.

Come on to bed. Come on.

I need a shower.

I'd love to start taking walks

around the neighborhood with you.

It's not the same thing, Evelyn.

I need to know exactly how far I've gone

and exactly how long it took me.

Floor's cold, Sam.

You're right. You're always right.

Damn!

- What's wrong?

- Some damn thing bit me.

It's just a spider.

Spider? Felt like a damn cougar.

Damn!

I'm having a seizure.

Sam, what should I do?

Ambulance. Call Jennings.

I'll be right there.

- What's going on?

- Metcalf. He's having a seizure.

Thank God you didn't

examine him this morning.

MAN 1: What's the coroner doing here?

MAN 2: I don't know.

Milt! This isn't necessary.

I'll be the judge of that, Lloyd.

Wait out here.

Guard the house or something.

Guard the house?

MILTON: Was he alive

when you got here?

He'd been dead maybe five minutes.

Whatever it was,

it was abrupt and acute.

What's your guess? Massive coronary?

Cerebral hemorrhage?

His wife says he was bitten by a spider

just before he seized.

Oh, right.

Sam told me about you.

You're the hot shot who won't accept

anyone else's diagnosis.

I'll accept it if I agree with it.

Good.

Let me show you something.

Down here.

I believe that's a spider bite.

I'll buy that.

But I rather doubt that's what k*lled him.

In twenty years,

I've seen only one spider-bite fatality.

And that involved a black widow

and a one-year-old child.

No. My guess is that

Sam overexerted himself.

His wife said he was using the treadmill

just before he keeled over.

You may be right.

ROSS: I want a full autopsy.

Tissue samples, blood toxicology,

the whole nine yards.

- Wait just one second.

- Shut up, Lloyd.

You'll get Evelyn's permission,

of course.

Of course.

- You need a ride home?

- No, I'm all right, thanks.

You better take care of yourself now.

You're the town doctor.

Say, "Aah."

Aah.

Okay, I think we're gonna

treat this inflammation with antibiotics.

Does this mean

I don't get any ice cream?

WOMAN: I'll buy you a double scoop

on the way home.

ROSS: Who's next?

I'll take that. Thank you very much.

Step right this way.

Just have a seat. I'll be right with you.

Okay, hot shot. Are you sitting down?

According to preliminary data,

Sam Metcalf died as the result of

a minute amount

of an as yet unidentified

toxic substance in his bloodstream.

My office isn't ruling out accidental

poisoning, deliberate poisoning,

or even k*ller spiders.

At the moment,

it looks like a heart attack to me.

But I'll support

whateveryou'd like to do.

I gotta have those bodies exhumed.

I just... I gotta be sure.

Okay.

Whatever you think is necessary.

Thanks.

LLOYD: Are you out of your mind?

Slowly and once more, Lloyd,

I want Margaret Hollins'

and Todd Miller's bodies exhumed.

- Dug up.

- Hey.

You start pulling citizens

out of the ground

that should be enjoying eternal rest

and that roomful of patients

will disappear...

I'll just get a court order.

Milt Briggs is on my side.

This is a very bad business,

Mr. Yale-graduate-big-city doctor!

A very bad business!

No sh*t!

- Hi, Dad.

- Hi, honey.

What's going on?

I promised Shelley

she could spend the night with Bunny.

We'll take good care of her.

Wait.

There may be some spiders around

here that are very dangerous.

Okay? I just want you girls

to be aware of this.

If you should see one,

don't try to capture it or k*ll it.

Just run, you understand?

- Run!

- We'll do that, Dr. Jennings.

(STARTS ENGINE)

You don't have to worry about anything.

(GIRLS LAUGHING)

Dr. Death!

- Are you all right?

- No.

All clear.

SHELLEY: The spider didn't answer.

She had fallen asleep.

It had been a very, very busy day.

Okay, your turn, Bunny.

(SINGING)

The itsy bitsy spider

(SCREAMS)

Crawled up the water spout

Down came the rain

And washed the spider out

Out came the sun

And dried up all the rain

- And the itsy bitsy spider

- (SHELLEY SCREAMS)

Crawled up the spout again

SHELLEY: It's my turn now.

"Little Miss Muffet sat on a tuffet

"Eating her curds and whey

- "And along came a spider

- (BUNNY SCREAMS)

"That sat down beside her

- "And frightened Miss Muffet..."

- (BOTH SCREAM)

If you girls don't settle down

then Shelley can't stay over anymore.

- We can't sleep.

- We keep scaring each other.

Why don't you two

go sleep in my room for a while?

Okay. Nah, we don't need this.

(GASPS) Oh, God!

(SIGHS)

(CRICKET CHIRPING)

(LAUGHS)

(BREATHING HEAVILY)

Son of a b*tch.

Where are all the other crickets, huh?

Where are all your buddies?

(PHONE RINGING)

Atherton.

Yes, Dr. Atherton.

I'm Ross Jennings.

I'm a general practitioner, and I...

(CLEARS THROAT)

I have a problem

that may be spider-related.

You seem to be the foremost authority

on the West Coast.

(LAUGHING)

Or any coast, for that matter.

Dr. Jennings, let me tell you that

every so often in a little town

somewhere there is a health scare,

some unexplained outbreak,

and spiders make convenient culprits.

Did you know

that on every suburban acre

there are at least 50 to 60,000 spiders?

And that each spider

eats about 100 insects per year?

That means at least 5 million insects

are consumed per acre annually.

Think about it, doctor.

Perhaps man might find the planet

uninhabitable without spiders.

Dr. Atherton,

I have nothing against spiders.

It'sjust we have had three deaths

in my town

and I'm afraid

there's going to be some more.

If you could lend me your expertise,

forjust an afternoon...

We're really not that far from you.

It's a town called Canaima.

Canaima?

- You know it?

- It's familiar.

Let me see what I can do.

Where are you exactly?