I had this on a 4-way creature feature DVD with Spiders 2 (They're on a big boat this time!) and Octopus 1 and 2 (I never watched them because, to quote 8 year old me, "Spiders are cooler and octopusses are stupid").
It's fantastic. Still a yearly watch, it follows a UFO reporter chasing a lead to a secret government base where a secret government space shuttle has crashed, along with it's cargo/experiments of genetically engineered secret government Spiders and crew of secret government goopified victims.
In fact, I don't even know if it's meant to be secret. I think it is just a good 'ol NASA Space Shuttle, but they fuck about with spiders, and everyone just has the vibe of secret government secret people.
I LOVED this movie. Still do, tbh. Admittedly I was obsessed with Spiders (The first DVD I ever bought online was Eight Legged Freaks!), but it has a familiar charm to anyone that loves the blend of corporate horror and science gone wrong that encompasses the entire Resident Evil franchise. That's why I loved it, anyway.
I can't get it out of my head, "Female lead investigates a secret underground lab where genetically a genetically engineered monster gets loose, turn on it's creators, before the big bad corporate agent guy willingly mutates into a giant monster hismelf, going on a bit of a bender, before being put down by a quip and a rocket launcher" is basically the plot of Resident Evil.
The sequel was much less fun, and much worse all around. Spiders feels like an earnest effort on a low budget, and that effort shines through to soften where it lacks.
You might recognise several actors, including Lana Parrilla from her longstanding role on Once upon a Time, and also Season 4 of 24, and Jonathan Breck from Jeepers Creepers!
And our lead villain. What a guy. The hammiest Willem DaFoe look-a-like they could get, and god does this guy relish every ounce of hot nonsense he has to read.
Honestly, if you're down for low-budget creature features, with bad CGI (But some genuinely fantastic make-up and practical work to make up for it!), give it a shot.
It's bad, but I love it.