Spider Baby

Mondo Bizarro!!!! Look, just watch Spider Baby and if you don’t like it, check yourself into a hospital, lay there with the covers off of you and let the nurse look at you.

This is one bizarre film. Have plenty of buttered popcorn handy. Also, look for Carol Ohmart in stunning lingerie! Woo hoo!

A creepy, crazy, gripping horror classic !

An early horror comedy gem.

An odd episode of the Addams Family. Spider Baby is just another of those film's that makes my weird and insane self feel a bit normal. I have never heard of Jack Hill but for this being the first film of his I've seen I'm very impressed. The direction here great and the odd visual style feels very off but, it works for this kind of story. Jack Hill does his best not in the direction but the writing. He really makes us connect and sympathize for this odd family of freaks. Lon Chaney Jr. was fantastic and could have done this performance with solely his face expressions (not surprising as his father was the great Lon Chaney). Jill Banner and Beverly Washburn was phenomenal and I don't know how they weren't film stars in the 60s and 70s. These 3 performances carried the movie entirely. The score was surprisingly great considering that it comes from Ronald Stein who I have never heard of before. The only complaint that I have (which is actually more of a complement) is that the film has a short runtime. The story didn't have enough to make it last at least 110 minutes so, it's understandable that this was less than 90 minutes; however, I would have like for this film be longer because of how much I fell in love with the performances and characters. All in all, Spider Baby was a very enjoyable and solid little weird film that has unfortunate faded into obscurity.

I really enjoyed this movie. Partly because it was so original. I watched The Haunting of Hill House And The Bat awhile back and to me, they weren't much better than Plan 9 From Outer Space! Also, even tho I am 74 and I live in a nursing home, I still wanted to find out all I could about Beverly Washburn because she is a cutie and sexy! What is ironic is that tubi had a documentary about the 100 worst horror movies and they said Spider Baby was the worst horror movie ever made! Shoot, Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 94% on their Tomatometer! :o) Watch it and I'm sure you'll find it a refreshing change.

It's a fun, quick lil quirky trip through weirdness.

Of course it's good, just look at that title!

Spiderbaby," the Maddest Review Ever Told "This Cannibal story is strange to behold in the maddest story ever told." Bruno, played by Lon Chaney Jr., sang this line in the beginning of "Spiderbaby," written and directed by Jack Hill. The opening score is a parody of the monster mash according to some, although if so it is a loose interpretation. Truly, the most artful and frightening part of this film is the first eight minutes and twenty six seconds, but if you are like me you will be hooked and complete this cult classic. There is still doubt for the audience in the opening scenes what they are in for, though warned by the theme song to expect anything. A messenger is in search of the Merrye House to deliver a package, and has challenge finding its location and occupants. His better luck would have been to be unsuccessful. Soon we are introduced to the most entrancing character of the film and the inspiration for the title, Virginia Merrye, the first role for Jill Banner. The scene where she shows you how she plays spider is darkly poetic and entrancing. She has a grace of movement and a frightful dialogue and expressions that will be etched in the mind for some time. The less you know about this film the more you will savor it, so I hope to just entice your curiosity enough that you will watch. There is sexual tension, murder, cannibalism, and humor, and Sid Haig. The set of the film fits the regression of the humanity of the Merrye characters and the caretaker. The menacing variation of "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" is more than a tad spooky. Perhaps the most enjoyable aspect of "Spiderbaby" is its black comedy; notice a shrug and a menacing grin at a crucial point in the film. This low budget black and white film seemed doomed to never reach the public audience. Not because Jack Hill, the writer and director, and the crew and cast didn't create an inexpensive film shoot in twelve days. The estate of Jack Hill was under legal control due to finical issues, and "Spiderbaby" unfortunately was tangled in this web. But it made its way into the heart of a dedicated audience. Definitely a must watch for the Halloween season. 7 out of ten Zombies.

Sin duda tiene conceptos innovadores para su época, y me atrevería a decir que es bastante fuerte en lo gráfico de ciertas temáticas e imágenes, al menos en su contexto histórico y artístico. El bajísimo presupuesto se hace notar obviamente, en especial en las excéntricas interpretaciones de los actores (el unico mas o menos bien es Lon Cheney Jr, navegando sus borracheras), asi como en su disparatada historia que no tiene miedo a mostrarnos más de una locuras para las que no estaban preparados en los 60. Quizás mi mayor problema es su falta de un tono consistente, pues la cinta va dando bandazos entre la comedia y terror, pero sin terminar de fusionarse bien y para mi gusto haciendo perder impacto a los momentos más interesantes de la película.