received any sort of salary during the shooting of the film. All chose to waive their salaries, so the money could be used to bankroll the under-funded production. Reception Critical response Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of based on reviews from critics. The site's critical consensus reads, "Ralph Fiennes is brilliant in this accomplished and haunting David Cronenberg film." On Metacritic, the film had an average score of 83 out of 100, based on 35 reviews. Roger Ebert gave the film 3/4 stars, writing, "The details of the film and of the performances are meticulously realized; there is a reward in seeing artists working so well. But the story has no entry or exit, and is cold, sad and hopeless. Afterward, I feel more admiration than gratitude." Nev Pierce from the BBC awarded the film 3/5 stars, calling it "dour, thoughtful, and oppressive". Stephen Holden from New York Times praised the film, calling it "as harrowing a portrait of one man's tormented isolation as the commercial cinema has produced." Peter Travers of Rolling Stone awarded the film 3.5 out of 4 stars, writing, "What catches us in Spider‘s web — besides the indelible performances of Fiennes and Richardson — is the director’s sympathy with this freak man-child who struggles to order his confused memories into a kind of truth. That’s what makes Cronenberg a world-class provocateur: His movie gets under your skin." Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian rated the film 4/5 stars, calling it " an intensely controlled, beautifully designed and fascinatingly acted account of Patrick McGrath's original novel". Mike Clark from USA Today awarded the film 3/4 stars, commending the film's direction, cinematography, and performances, while also stating that it was not particularly "sizzling" as in his previous films The Fly and eXistenZ. Awards The film also won a Genie Award for Best Director; the TIFF award for Best Canadian Feature; and the TFCA award for Best Canadian Film. It was mentioned in the 2002 Sight & Sound poll by Amy Taubin, who ranked it at 10th. References External links 2002 films 2002 drama films 2002 independent films 2002 thriller drama films 2000s English-language films 2000s mystery drama films 2000s mystery thriller films 2000s psychological drama films British independent films British mystery films British thriller drama films Canadian drama films Canadian independent films Canadian mystery films Canadian thriller films English-language Canadian films Films about