The Hobbit: Are The Illusions Of Mirkwood Elven Magic Or Spider Trickery?

gamerant.com:

There are lots of magical and fantastical scenes in Peter Jackson’s film adaptations of The Hobbit, from the Giant Eagles carrying the company through a beautifully dusky sky, to watching the 13 dwarves float down the rapids in barrels. But arguably one of the most visually interesting moments in the entire trilogy is when Bilbo and his friends find themselves straying from the path in Mirkwood, which gets them into all sorts of sticky situations.

During this scene, the trees of Mirkwood appear in almost psychedelic colors, the dwarves begin walking in circles, and it becomes very quickly obvious that all is not well. The air is stifling, and the foul waters of the wood emit a kind of intoxicating fume that makes the dwarves begin to see strange and uncanny things as they wander deeper and deeper into the thicket, and away from the path that they are trying to find. In the movies, Bilbo has the sensation of going mad when he looks backward and see’s himself walking both behind and in front of him. When he looks down at his feet, they appear to be moving backward, and he seems almost permanently suspended at a 45-degree angle as he walks, rather than being upright. These scenes, although very effective and creative, are slightly different interpretations than the illusions that occur in Tolkien’s original story.

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In the books, it is not themselves that the hobbit and dwarves see walking lost through the forest, but a group of elves, feasting and merry-making around a ridiculously long table full of the finest foods, and the richest wine, and a warm fire. At this point, the dwarves have been in the woods for several days, and have run out of all the fresh water