Paper Spiders

PG

Released May 7, 2021

1 hr. 50 min.

Drama

Comedy

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List

100%

43 Reviews

Tomatometer

92%

100+ Ratings

Audience Score

Dawn (Lili Taylor) recently lost her husband and experiences growing anxiety as her daughter Melanie (Stefania Owen) plans to move away for college. An argument with a hostile new neighbor aggravates Dawn's mental condition, and she begins to show signs of paranoid delusions. Melanie attempts a series of interventions, but challenging Dawn's reality of persecution threatens to destroy their loving relationship. Melanie is forced to make the toughest of choices as she struggles to support her mother on the path toward recovery and healing. A bittersweet story about coming of age in the shadow of mental illness.

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Critics Consensus

A coming-of-age drama that thoughtfully handles hard-hitting themes, Paper Spiders is anchored by heartbreaking performances from its leads.

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Paris J

ALL I HAVE TO SAY IS WOW. INCREDIBLE ACTING, THOUGHT PROVOKING STORY. JUST A BEAUTIFUL AND EMOTIONAL DRAMA. A FANTASTIC WATCH!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/29/24

Full Review

Kevin L

Stefania Owen is very good here. Lily Taylor was in and out with the melodrama for me. 3 stars

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

09/10/23

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Daniel G

A bit too melodramatic and the secondary characters were really quite secondary (some faces weren't even shown, like the maid Maria's at Daniel's house), yet shone light on a complicated and very frustrating mental condition, which is that of persecutory paranoia, and how it disrupts the lives of all involved more closely. I was going to rate slightly less (3,5), but I was influenced by the critics' 100% on RT.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/23/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Incredibly well done film. If you are into pscychological plots and the coming of age genre, this is definetly for you.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/27/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Paper Spiders is a coming of age movie that doesn´t go for the easy answers, mainly due to its complicated subject of delusional paranoia. Lily Taylor probably gives one of her best performances in her career, and should be considered for awards consideration.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/31/23

Full Review

len s

I really enjoyed this movie and thought it had a good storyline and good acting. At times I thought it might have been too fast paced but then it is difficult trying to tell the story of someone having a mental meltdown from beginning to end in just a couple of hours. It dealt with a very touchy subject but I felt they did it very well.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

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Inon Shampanier

Director

Lili Taylor

Dawn

Stefania Owen

Melanie

Peyton List

Lacy

Ian Nelson

Daniel

Max Casella

Gary

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Randy Myers

San Jose Mercury News

The screenplay from Natalie Shampanier is astute and purposeful. "Paper Spiders" doesn't put a happy face on any of this, but it does instill hope and understanding.

Rated: 3.5/4

May 27, 2021

Full Review

Guy Lodge

Variety

If the film's flirtations with full-tilt melodrama occasionally strain credibility, a pair of intuitive, thoughtfully inhabited performances pull proceedings back from the edge every time.

May 25, 2021

Full Review

Katie Walsh

Los Angeles Times

Personal experience brings a rare honesty and authenticity to this film about mental illness.

May 7, 2021

Full Review

Ezequiel Boetti

Otroscines.com

A film that avoids at all cost to fall into cheesiness. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 3/5

May 12, 2022

Full Review

Jackie K. Cooper

jackiekcooper.com

Outstanding acting and a script that takes a sober look at mental illness.

Rated: 6/10

Dec 20, 2021

Full Review

Danielle Solzman

Solzy at the Movies

Drawing upon personal experiences, Paper Spiders benefits from Lili Taylor and Stefania LaVie Owen's performances.

Nov 1, 2021

Full Review

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Synopsis

Dawn (Lili Taylor) recently lost her husband and experiences growing anxiety as her daughter Melanie (Stefania Owen) plans to move away for college. An argument with a hostile new neighbor aggravates Dawn's mental condition, and she begins to show signs of paranoid delusions. Melanie attempts a series of interventions, but challenging Dawn's reality of persecution threatens to destroy their loving relationship. Melanie is forced to make the toughest of choices as she struggles to support her mother on the path toward recovery and healing. A bittersweet story about coming of age in the shadow of mental illness.

Director: Inon Shampanier
Screenwriter: Natalie Shampanier
Distributor: Entertainment Squad
Production Co: Cranium Entertainment, Idiot Savant Pictures
Rating: PG
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): May 7, 2021, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): May 7, 2021

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