Eating her curds and whey
And along came a spider
That sat down beside her
And frightened Miss Muffet...
If you girls don't settle down
then Shelley can't stay over any more.
- 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.
Son of a bitch.
Where are all the other crickets?
Where are all your buddies?
Atherton.
Yes, Dr Atherton.
I'm Ross Jennings.
I'm a general practitioner, and I...
I have a problem
that may be spider-related.
You seem to be the foremost authority
on the West Coast.
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's just 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.
You know it?
It's familiar.
Let me see what I can do.
Where are you exactly?
Collins?
- Sorry.
- Are you equally busy tomorrow?
Dr Atherton?
No, I'm Chris Collins, one of his assistants.
Hi, I'm Chris.
Atherton's really busy lately.
He's recently discovered a new species
of spider. Down in South America.
To us, it's a big deal.
I hope you'll be able to help us.
We're going to be examining some bodies.
It sounds like a blast.
We're looking for bites.
Like this. That's a spider, isn't it?
I'm not sure.
I think so.
But even at several times
the potency of latrodectus.
- Black widow, right?
- Right.
Even then it would take
more than one bite to kill,
so I figure this guy's death and the spider
bite, if it a spider bite, are coincidental.
Hey, guys, how's it going?
Poor Margaret.
She was a good wife, good teacher,
good neighbour.
Excellent cook.
Anything you want, just shout.
I want some fresh air.
Chris, come here.
Still think it's a coincidence?
That's a spider bite.
The tissue surrounding the bite
is macerated.
Found one.
A mark behind the left ear.
- Atherton.
- Dr Atherton, Chris Collins.
I think we've got a big problem
here in Canaima.
They've got three dead bodies.
The cause of death seems to be a spider
more deadly than any I've ever seen.
They want the okay
to quarantine the town.
- Are you sure?
- This is way out of my league.
I think you'd better come up here
right away.
I can be there tomorrow afternoon.
But Collins, try and find me a specimen.
Did you bring the keys?
Great.
Perk up, Lloyd.
If we find the spider that did this,
you can arrest him.
Milt, why don't you cover the living room?
Chris, why don't you check out back?
Lloyd, take the kitchen.
And I'll just... I'll oversee the...
I'll just coordinate the...
I'll just stay right here.
What is all that crap?
Leftovers.
Mostly cricket parts, wings, legs.
We haven't heard any crickets in Canaima
these past few weeks.
Ross, here!
Don't move!
- It's dead. Shit!
- What could have killed it?
The shock of seeing Lloyd?
There are other people in this house.
Dad, go away!
Use the one down here!
Never a moment's peace.
What happened? Are you all right?
Why don't we just take the dead spider
and get out of here?
You don't get off that easy. It's already
desiccated. It wouldn't be any use to us.
You mean macerated.
No, I mean desiccated.
Dried up, drained of all its blood.
Macerated is the...