Unfortunately, even among Sci-Fi Channel productions, Ice Spiders isn't the best selection. The premise is that a genetic lab on the top of a mountain has been altering the DNA of various types of spiders in order to use their various abilities for practical military purposes. When the six altered arachnids kill several lab techs and break out of the facility, the local ski resort is in trouble.
The group of 30 or so people are led by Dash Dashiell (Patrick Muldoon from The Second Arrival, Starship Troopers), a former Olympics hopeful (that is, until a leg injury a few years back) who is relegated to teaching rich people how to handle the bunny slope. Also among the people trying to survive is a young team of skiers who have come to the mountain for some training in hopes of joining the Olympics themselves. There are also the various resort guests, workers, scientists and of course, the military group that has been charged with containing the issue.
That's basically the plot of Ice Spiders. There aren't any real surprises in this film and the somewhat formulaic science fiction plot is pretty tedious. There is a good bit of romantic development between Dash and one of the scientists, but there isn't really a whole lot of chemistry there. Actually, I found myself really distracted every time Dash came on screen because his surfer accent just seemed really fake and it kept pulling me out of the film because it just didn't feel right. Now, I have to admit, I haven't met that many ski fanatics (it comes from living in the deep south), so I've never really listened to professionals. I've been reassured that the surfer attitude and accent carries over to snowboarders as well, but it just seems really out of place on top of a mountain.
There aren't any special features on the DVD, so I don't really see a reason to buy the disc. If you really have to see the film, then watch for it on Sci-Fi.
