Spider (2002)

"As harrowing a portrait of one man's tormented isolation as the commercial cinema has produced."

"An artful, carefully regulated explosion of craft..."

"Cold as the film may seem, Cronenberg's nightmare talent has rarely been at such a high, terrifying boil."

"Austere yet remarkable..."

"The details of the film and of the performances are meticulously realised; there is a reward in seeing artists working so well. But the story has no entry or exit, and is cold, sad and hopeless."

"If you have the patience, its almost endless silences and extremely slow pacing eventually pay off."

"This is the kind of well-made movie you wish well but you don't particularly wish to see again."

"Sad, compelling and morbidly, tragically watchable."

"Spider is, in fact, a marvel, but it's also prickly, slow, withdrawn, and small enough to fit in the palm of your hand."

"A restrained and elegant piece of work from a director whose name is more readily associated with goo and gore."

"Relies too much on strong performances and grubby splashes of "atmosphere" rather than genuine emotion and plot."