We don’t often have a reason to write about Spider-Man here at FANGORIA, but today is apparently our lucky day thanks to The Spider Within, a just-released animated short from Sony Pictures Animation, Sony Pictures Imageworks, and the Kevin Love Fund. These three entities joined forces (with director Jarelle Dampier) to create the short as part of the KLF’s mental health curriculum, which seeks to teach kids about the importance of mental health and managing one’s own anxieties (read more about that here).
And, boy, does Miles Morales have plenty to be anxious about in The Spider Within. Here’s a brief synopsis:
“In the genre-bending thriller The Spider Within: A Spider-Verse Story, Miles Morales struggles to balance his responsibilities as a teenager, friend, and student while acting as Brooklyn’s friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. After a particularly challenging day living with these pressures, Miles experiences a panic attack that forces him to confront the manifestations of his anxiety and learn that reaching out for help can be just as brave an act as protecting his city from evil.”
Alright. Let’s take a look…
As you can see, The Spider Within is just as beautifully rendered as Sony’s recent animated Spider-Man features, only this time the studio’s brought its talents to bear on an honest-to-God horror short (is it too late to post a content warning for arachnophobes? Sorry about that). This is a great piece of work, with the added bonus of it serving a valuable purpose.
Says Kevin Love of the Kevin Love Fund:
“My hope for the short film would be for everyone, especially young people, to understand that your feelings are valid and that you are not alone in this. You see it with Spider-Man in the short film, where Miles has a trusted confidante. He is able to take a walk with his dad and express what he’s going through. We can all learn from that – how important it is to reach out to someone, express your true emotions, speak your truth, and not hold everything inside.”
Adds director Jarelle Dampier:
“Miles represents so many of us doing the best we can in our day-to-day lives. We don’t often realize all that we’ve been through until our own body forces us to become aware of its experience. My intention is that The Spider Within can motivate deeper conversations amongst friends & family about their own mental health journeys – and I hope it feels like a love letter to those who adore Miles Morales.”
This is typically the part of the post where we invite you to stay tuned for more on the Spider-Verse, but let’s be honest: we don’t expect there to be too much more in the way of horror from that franchise. But do stay tuned, just in case. You never know!
