Last year, it was announced that Sony Pictures would be releasing a short Spider-Verse film called The Spider-Within. Directed by Jarrelle Dampier, the short film draws on Dampier’s experience with anxiety and panic attacks to depict a similar experience with Miles Morales’ Spider-Man.
In an interview with The Wrap, Dampier confirmed this when he discussed how the film came to be. Now, the film has finally been released in full on YouTube to watch for free. Viewers also have the option to donate to the Kevin Love Fund, a foundation started by NBA player Kevin Love in order to raise awareness and provide tools for mental health.
One of the best aspects of this short film is its depiction of how Miles’ daily life impacts his anxiety and vice versa. When the film begins, he is walking home with his mind filled with loud thoughts about his day as a high school student, a teenage son, and Spider-Man. Depicted as overlapping chatter underscored by sinister music, his parents and teachers are on Miles about bad grades while he gets his butt kicked as Spider-Man. Little do they know that Miles’ struggle to balance school and superheroics is putting a lot of pressure on him, demonstrated by his heavy breathing as he walks home.
At the same time, Miles’ heightened sense of anxiety is demonstrated with a conversation he has with his father Jefferson once he makes it home. As a joke, Jefferson scares Miles by wearing a scary hockey mask and then reminds Miles to “Keep your head on a swivel.” He wants Miles to always be on his guard in case something were to happen, a suggestion that is all too familiar for any Black person. As a Black-Asian person, sometimes it feels like I have to keep my guard up all the time to protect myself from those who might threaten me or see me as a threat.
Of course, this shield is also a double-edged sword. If you perceive your loved ones as a threat for any reason, you’ll be afraid to ask them for help and support. This is demonstrated when Jefferson tries to get Miles to watch scary movies with him and Miles declines, saying he’s tired. Jefferson then asks Miles if he’s okay and Miles lies and says, “Yeah I’m good.”
Once Miles is in his room, Miles’ anxiety soon peaks in the form of a panic attack. His breathing gets heavier and his heart beats faster as he suddenly looks up to see a red-eyed shadowy figure resembling himself. Then, the figure vanishes, reappears on the ceiling, and reaches out towards him.
It is at this point that the film’s cinematography climaxes alongside Miles’ mental state. Soon, Miles finds himself on a speeding subway train facing his shadow self. Both are backlit by a red glow. During a panic attack, you may find your thoughts racing and your body getting hot. It is these sensations that I believe the train and red glow metaphorically represent. Things take a turn for the worst as Miles’ shadow self turns into a giant spider that approaches Miles before becoming a thousand tiny spiders that Miles desperately swats at while webcrawling.
As quickly as it comes, the panic attack subsides, the lighting in Miles’ room returns to normal and Miles finds himself upside down on the ceiling. It is after this that I believe the film falls flat due to how neatly things are resolved post-panic attack. Miles deciding to talk to his Dad was a good decision, but the conversation we see as the film ends felt lackluster. It felt odd to see Miles have a panic attack only to say that he had homework and girls on his mind.
Speaking from personal experience, I know that everyone experiences anxiety differently and everyone discusses it differently. I also realize that it is impossible to depict the full experience of anxiety in a short film that is less than ten minutes long. However, I felt it would’ve been better if Miles had said something along the lines of, “I’ve been under a lot of pressure lately and it feels really bad. Can I talk with you about this?” This would’ve been a better conversation starter as it would’ve allowed Miles to bring up the panic attack and how pressure from his Dad and others contributed to that.
For the most part, Spider-Verse: The Spider-Within is a scarily accurate depiction of anxiety. If you have anxiety and arachnophobia, then I wouldn’t watch this film at night. Even though the ending doesn’t stick the landing, this short film is still worth a watch.
Latonya Pennington
Latonya Pennington is a freelance contributor whose comics criticism can be found at Women Write About Comics, Comic Book Herald, Newsarama and Shelfdust, among others.
