A new Spider-Verse short film sees Miles Morales do horror

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The Spider Within premiered at Annecy International Film Festival and Market

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse concept art
(Image credit: Sony Animation)

A new Spider-Verse short has premiered at Annecy International Film Festival and Market – which sees Miles Morales in a horror-themed tale as he battles his own subconscious.

The short, titled The Spider Within, follows Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) as he grapples with the pressure of being Spider-Man (via The Wrap). This results in a bout of sleep paralysis and a panic attack for Miles in the guise of a trippy ride through his unconscious in the bold animation style we've come to expect from the franchise. 

"We’ve never been able to have that slice-of-life moment because the movies are so big and excellent and breathtaking," director Jarelle Dampier, who's previously worked on shows like Prime Video's Invincible, told The Wrap. "I think horror is just one of those great down-on-the-street-level genres that you can use to just get intimate and find out what really makes this character tick, what makes them scared, and what are they going to do to get through it."

Miles, of course, was most recently seen in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, which exploded onto the big screen earlier this month and has already beaten the box office figures amassed by its predecessor, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. The sequel sees Brooklyn's friendly neighborhood Spider-Man reunite with Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld) for more world-hopping adventures. This time, though, their paths cross with the Spider Society – and Miles doesn't quite see eye to eye with their rules for the multiverse.

Emily Garbutt
Entertainment Writer

I’m an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering everything film and TV-related across the Total Film and SFX sections. I help bring you all the latest news and also the occasional feature too. I’ve previously written for publications like HuffPost and i-D after getting my NCTJ Diploma in Multimedia Journalism.