Let me say up front that this movie is not a cinematic
achievement that film historians will be discussing over the next 100 years.
No, it is not the CITIZEN KANE of giant critter flicks. What it is though is a
lot of fun and thanks to VCI it is now available on blu-ray.
Film has changed with each passing decade and the most
wonderful thing about movies in the 60s, 70s and into the early 80s was that
low budget independent movies could be made and actually be found playing in
theaters, mostly drive-ins, across the country. A small group of talented (or
not talented) individuals could come together on a relatively small budget and
make an actual movie. But times changed with the advent of video and now DVD
and those movies rarely show on a big screen and almost always go straight to
video if they get made at all. But those gems of the past are now making their
way to this new format for movie fans to enjoy.
The movie opens with a meteor crashing in the field of farmer
Dan (Robert Easton) and his wife Ev (Leslie Parrish). Talk about a
dysfunctional family, Dan is a philandering husband hitting the local hooker at
night, Ev is an alcoholic and Ev’s sister Terry is a teenage tease who’s dating
local newspaper reporter while taunting Dan. Dan and Ev see the meteor in the
sky and decide to check it out the next morning.
At the same time local scientist Dr. Jenny Langer (Barbara
Hale) has noted some strange readings and contacted NASA who send out Dr. Vance
(Steve Brodie) to investigate. Most of their time is spent discussing the
scientific questions revolving around the strange readings Langer got as well
as those from NASA before they go out to investigate at Dan’s ranch.
It’s not long before we discover that what seemed a meteor
was actually a method for an invasion of spiders that start normal size but
eventually grow to the size of a small car (a Volkswagen draped in a welded
frame and outfitted to look like a giant spider was used). In addition to
plenty of webbing walked through we get the giant spider eating any and all it
comes in contact with while both doctors try and find a way to get rid of the
pesky critter.
While this may not qualify as a classic such as THEM it does
have a certain amount of charm to it. Those who would make note of the bad
acting here are missing the point. This is not an award winning film and never
intended to be. Instead it was a low budget horror film that was intended to
open doors and be a part of a resume. The fact that it made so much money on
such a miniscule budget (by Hollywood standards) shows that there was a
definite market for movies like this at the time. As noted in the extras even
Johnny Carson mentioned the film on his show due to the amount of money it
made.
VCI has dusted off the movie to offer the cleanest
presentation available for fans of both the film and of low budget horror
flicks. If you fall into those categories you won’t be disappointed. Not only
do you get the best reproduction of the film there are plenty of extras as
well. Included are a new documentary on the film by Daniel Griffith, a super-8
version of the film transferred to HD, a behind the scenes gallery if photos,
the original trailer and TV spots, interviews with members of the cast and
crew, a newsreel, an 18 track recording of the upcoming stage musical based on
the film and more. VCI have gone out of their way to satisfy the fans of the
film.
This is the sort of movie that you put on after popping a
bowl of popcorn, grabbing your favorite beverage of choice and plopping your
feet up in the recliner to sit back and have a laugh with. It won’t alter your
life or ask you to join some misguided organization that wants to save spiders.
What it could possibly do is have you consider buying a home theater projector
to sit up on the back porch come summer so you can watch movies like this they
was they were intended, under a starry night listening through a tinny speaker
and having a blast. One last note is the appearance of Alan Hale, the Captain
of GILLIGAN’S ISLAND, playing the town sheriff in what amounts to a cameo role.
Just another great reason to pick up this movie.
Click here to order.
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