# Lavalantula
**Lavalantula** is a 2015 American made-for-television science fiction horror comedy in which volcanic eruptions in Los Angeles unleash a swarm of gigantic, lava-breathing tarantulas, and a washed-up action movie star must fight them to reunite his family.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/lavalantula) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4060576/) It was directed by Mike Mendez, written by Neil Elman, Mike Mendez, and Ashley O'Neil, and premiered on the Syfy channel on July 25, 2015.[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4060576/) • [3](https://www.dreadcentral.com/news/114676/get-wrapped-up-in-two-new-lavalantula-teasers/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| First broadcast | July 25, 2015, at 9 pm on Syfy (United States) and Space (Canada), as part of Syfy's "Sharknado Week"[3](https://www.dreadcentral.com/news/114676/get-wrapped-up-in-two-new-lavalantula-teasers/) |
| Director and writers | Mike Mendez; screenplay by Neil Elman, Mike Mendez, and Ashley O'Neil[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4060576/) |
| Lead cast | Steve Guttenberg as Colton West, with Nia Peeples, Patrick Renna, Michael Winslow, Leslie Easterbrook, and Marion Ramsey[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4060576/) |
| Runtime and rating | 1 hour 23 minutes; rated TV-14 on IMDb (Netflix lists it TV-MA)[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4060576/) • [4](https://www.netflix.com/title/80062284) |
| Reception | IMDb 4.6/10 from about 3,900 votes; Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer 34% with 100+ ratings[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4060576/) • [1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/lavalantula) |
| Production | CineTel Films and Syfy; producer Anthony Fankhauser[5](https://www.kinoafisha.info/en/movies/8357794/) • [1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/lavalantula) |
| Sequel | *2 Lava 2 Lantula!* (2016), directed by Nick Simon, moving the creatures to Florida[6](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/2-lava-2-lantula) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Colton West, once a popular action hero of 1990s cinema, now works in low-budget films. When a swarm of earthquakes strikes [Southern California](https://www.edgepedia.org/southern-california), volcanic eruptions in the Santa Monica Mountains release gigantic tarantulas that breathe and spit lava, and the creatures swarm Los Angeles, including the 405 Freeway.[7](https://www.tvguide.com/movies/lavalantula/cast/2030034262/) • [8](https://sib.illinois.edu/sites/default/files/2023-02/Newsletter2015-2016.pdf) As a mandatory evacuation of the city is ordered, Colton, armed with a shotgun, races to find and reunite his family while fighting the spiders, and in the process proves himself a real-life action hero.[7](https://www.tvguide.com/movies/lavalantula/cast/2030034262/) • [9](https://play.google.com/store/movies/details/Lavalantula?hl=en_US&id=lHPOBQ67ZT8)
### Sequel
A sequel, *2 Lava 2 Lantula!*, followed in 2016. Directed by Nick Simon and again starring Guttenberg as Colton West alongside [Michael Winslow](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-winslow) and [Marion Ramsey](https://www.edgepedia.org/marion-ramsey), it moves the creatures to Florida, where erupting sinkholes awaken a new nest of fire-spitting lavalantulas.[6](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/2-lava-2-lantula) • [12](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/8142/lavalantula)
## Cast and the Police Academy reunion
The film is notable for reuniting four Police Academy alumni: [Steve Guttenberg](https://www.edgepedia.org/steve-guttenberg), Leslie Easterbrook, Marion Ramsey, and Michael Winslow, joined by [Nia Peeples](https://www.edgepedia.org/nia-peeples) and [Ralph Garman](https://www.edgepedia.org/ralph-garman).[3](https://www.dreadcentral.com/news/114676/get-wrapped-up-in-two-new-lavalantula-teasers/) Guttenberg plays Colton West, Peeples plays his wife Olivia West, Patrick Renna plays Chris, Winslow plays Marty, Easterbrook plays Doris, and Ramsey plays Teddie; Carlos Bernard, Danny Woodburn, and Ian Ziering appear in supporting roles.[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4060576/) Guttenberg joked in a 2015 interview that the film was "based on a true story."[10](https://0091ea1ee8fdb6411646-a3a01b483b2fbabd33a43c2148c64365.r9.cf2.rackcdn.com/FeatureArticles-July2015.pdf)
The movie also crosses over with Syfy's *Sharknado* franchise: [Ian Ziering](https://www.edgepedia.org/ian-ziering) appears, and in one scene his character Fin Shepard tells Colton West, "I'd love to help you, but I got shark problems right now."[5](https://www.kinoafisha.info/en/movies/8357794/)
## Reception and place in the Syfy creature-feature canon
Lavalantula belongs to Syfy's line of self-aware B-movie creature features. The science fiction encyclopedia *SF Encyclopedia* groups it with its 2016 sequel as films about giant spiders that emerge from a lava-emitting volcano, in a tradition of giant-spider cinema running from *Tarantula* (1955) to *Eight Legged Freaks* (2002).[11](https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/spiders) Mendez had previously directed the giant-spider film *Big Ass Spider!* (2013).[3](https://www.dreadcentral.com/news/114676/get-wrapped-up-in-two-new-lavalantula-teasers/)
Critical and audience response was poor to mixed. The film holds a 34% Tomatometer on Rotten Tomatoes, with an average audience rating of 2.7 out of 5, and 4.6/10 on IMDb.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/lavalantula) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4060576/) One audience review described it as "as over the top as Sharknado but without the same sense of fun."[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/lavalantula)
## References
1. [Lavalantula, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/lavalantula)
2. [Lavalantula (TV Movie 2015), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4060576/)
3. [Get Wrapped Up in Two New Lavalantula Teasers, Dread Central](https://www.dreadcentral.com/news/114676/get-wrapped-up-in-two-new-lavalantula-teasers/)
4. [Watch Lavalantula, Netflix](https://www.netflix.com/title/80062284)
5. [Lavalantula 2015, Kinoafisha](https://www.kinoafisha.info/en/movies/8357794/)
6. [2 Lava 2 Lantula! streaming, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/2-lava-2-lantula)
7. [Lavalantula, Full Cast & Crew, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/movies/lavalantula/cast/2030034262/)
8. [Entomology Newsletter 2015-2016, University of Illinois](https://sib.illinois.edu/sites/default/files/2023-02/Newsletter2015-2016.pdf)
9. [Lavalantula, Google Play Movies](https://play.google.com/store/movies/details/Lavalantula?hl=en_US&id=lHPOBQ67ZT8)
10. [Feature Articles, July 2015](https://0091ea1ee8fdb6411646-a3a01b483b2fbabd33a43c2148c64365.r9.cf2.rackcdn.com/FeatureArticles-July2015.pdf)
11. [Spiders, The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction](https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/spiders)
12. [Lavalantula, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/8142/lavalantula)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Life and health › Animals › Invertebrates › Arthropods › Arachnids › Spiders › Spiders and humans › Fictional spiders in media › Spider horror and monster films*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license