Lavalantula

Lavalantula is a horror and science fiction film set in Los Angeles, where an earthquake triggers volcanic activity in the Santa Monica Mountains. Ancient creatures emerge from the rock: giant tarantulas with shells of volcanic glass that spit lava and burn their victims alive. As the city falls into panic, the fading 1990s action star Colton West finds himself at the center of the disaster. Once a bankable screen hero and now reduced to cheap monster productions, he tries to warn people about the swarm, though his reputation as a washed-up actor makes them slow to believe him. He attempts to stop the creatures before they destroy the city.

The film is directed by Mike Mendez from a screenplay he wrote with Neil Elman and Ashley O'Neil. It follows Mendez's Big Ass Spider! (2013) and Tales of Halloween (2015) in his filmography and was produced by Anthony Fankhauser for CineTel Films and Syfy. Steve Guttenberg leads the cast as Colton West, with Nia Peeples as Olivia West, Patrick Renna as Chris, Carlos Bernard as an interrogator, and Michael Winslow and Marion Ramsey among the supporting players. Thirty cast members and 48 crew members are credited.

Released in July 2015 and running 83 minutes, the film has an IMDb rating of 4.6 from around 3,900 votes and a TMDB rating of 4.8 from 172 votes. These figures indicate a modest reception from viewers, consistent with a low-budget television creature feature.