Spider Baby, or The Maddest Story Ever Told (1967)
Genre: Horror / Comedy
Duration: 81 minuten
Alternative title: Attack of the Liver Eaters
Country:
United States
Directed by: Jack Hill
Stars: Lon Chaney Jr., Carol Ohmart and Beverly Washburn
IMDb score:
6,7 (9.060)
Releasedate: 24 December 1967
Spider Baby, or The Maddest Story Ever Told plot
"Come into my parlor, said the spider to the..."
An inbred family suffers from a disease that prevents them from growing spiritually after the age of ten. Their driver keeps an eye on things but cannot prevent greedy relatives from claiming the house, with all that entails.
Actors and actresses
Bruno
Emily
Peter
Elizabeth
Virginia
Ralph
Ann
Schlocker
Messenger
Reviews & comments
Woland
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- 4899 messages
- 3925 votes
I originally know Spider Baby from the Fantomas version of the film score (their album The Director's Cut is definitely recommended for those who like noise and movies), but when I watched the film a few years ago I was really positively surprised. A very cool low-budget horror with very nice black humor and a great atmosphere, about the inbred family Merrye whose mental deterioration causes a lot of murders. And with very good roles from horror legends Lon Chaney and Sid Haig. Even with this rewatch, the film still stands tall, although there are a few minor irritations on my part. The film is very low-budget, and although this is a textbook example of how you can still create an excellent film with little money, scenes that are not filmable on this budget are sometimes very clearly cut. That could have been a little more subtle. But mainly, a lot else is going well. Wonderfully strange atmosphere with fine acting, especially from Sid Haig, Lon Chaney and Jill Banner, although not everyone is equally strong. Well filmed, beautiful cinematography, nice freaky story with quite a bit of tension, nice pace in the story - this makes me happy. Still: 4.5*.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Shadowed
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- 12083 messages
- 7064 votes
Oh so nice.
Not expected, but this is also a winner from a fairly old vintage. I never expected to come across a lot of nice things and yet they keep coming again and again. This film was also a very positive surprise.
The film is completely supported by the children, who simply steal the show. Banner and Haig in particular simply stand out and completely outplay everyone with their fun and charisma. The film is crazy, funny, sad and creepy in one package.
This is just really fun to follow. Especially the scenes with spiders themselves are creepy, the humor is quite good and I had to laugh a few times, but it also manages to be beautiful at the end.
I think this is very successful, it's a shame that it hasn't received more attention, because it certainly deserves it. I would have liked a remake of this.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Bobbejaantje
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- 2365 messages
- 2119 votes
Wonderful retro gothic starring none other than Lon Chaney Jr. The long b&w expressionistic shadows are a tribute to the 1930s Universal horror whose icons (Frankenstein, Dracula, Wolfman) are mentioned not once but even twice in the film. The Wolfman is mentioned by the secretary character immediately followed by a close-up of Chaney. A shame for the man who created this monster for Universal in the early 1940s.
Great atmosphere, although the horror isn't too bad. It is more tongue in cheek and works very well. There are even some sexy moments in which you recognize the changing zeitgeist of the 1960s. Taken with a grain of salt, this is great entertainment. A film with a unique tone.
Translated from Dutch · View original
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