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The Giant Spider
Invasion (1975)
Directed
by Bill Rebane
 The Giant Spider Invasion
is a B-movie about giant spiders, and although it is easy to
tell the movie was produced on a low budget, the movie is now
considered to be cult classic.
The movie begins by introducing, hillbilly farmer,
Dan Kester, who tells his wife, Ev, he is going to the revival
at the local church, but he goes to see his mistress instead, and while
the fire-and-brimstone-preaching minister at the revival blasts out his
speech against sin, Dan is concentrating on sinning instead. Back at
the farm, Ev concentrates on getting drunk.
Ev's younger sister, Terry, also lives at the farm, and she isn't at
the revival either; she is out on a date with a reporter called Dave
and the young couple look set to get down to some serious sinning of
their own.
While the citizens of Merrill, Wisconsin are all preoccupied—in one way
or another—with sin, a meteor is heading towards Earth. It lands close
to the Kester's farmhouse, just as Dan arrives home to a very
disgruntled Ev. When the meteor crash-lands it puts on quite a
colourful display of fireworks but after a hard night of sinning Dan is
too tired to go and investigate and heads for bed, for the second time
that night. Meanwhile, the falling meteor has shorted out the power in
Dave's car and Terry has to walk home.
The next morning Dan and Ev go and investigate the area where the
meteor crash-landed. Before they find the crater though, they
discover all their cows have been mysteriously killed
in the night.
On reaching the crater they find lots of strange-looking rocks strewn
around the area. Neither Ev nor Dan have ever seen anything like them
before and pick up a few to take home with them, where Dan tries to use
the contents of his toolbox to open up the rocks and see what's inside.
He fails miserably, but one of the rocks falls from the
kitchen table and cracks open on the floor. Dan and Ev are both quick
to notice the large diamond that was hidden inside the rock, but
neither of them notice the spider that was in there with it,
so they are soon filling thier home with the strage rocks. No
surprisingly, Ev soon discovers the Kester house seems to have a
not-so-little spider problem, and she sits nursing a fly squatter that
looks pitifully inadequate for the task at hand.
The Giant Spider
Invasion is rather a corny movie. It is also quite
entertaining, but not at all frightening. When the 50ft spider puts in
an appearance complete with ping-pong ball eyes, I couldn't help but
smile—a Volkswagen Beetle with legs! As to the smaller spiders, they
look more like tarantulas than invaders from outer space. Hey! Wait a
minute, they are
tarantulas! The stripy ones are Mexican red knees and the other ones
are chilean rose tarantulas, both of which are recommended starter
spiders for those who fancy keeping tarantulas as pets. I know, I keep
tarantulas, so the movie failed to scare, and I found it very hard to
suspend disbelief when the giant spider ate one of the local citizens
by sucking him into its mouth. Spiders don't eat like that—even when
they are ninety percent German automotive engineering.
The
Giant Spider
Invasion is not exactly a believable movie, but there are
worse ways to spend a rainy Sunday afternoon, and it is probably worth
watching the movie just for the unbelievably cheerful sheriff, and the
fire and brimstone preacher—who is so cliched that he is a monument to
the word—and the movie even allows him a final say as the final credits
roll.
Runtime 84 mins
Certificate: 15 (UK),| PG (USA)
CAST
Steve
Brodie
... Dr. J.R. Vance
Barbara
Hale
... Dr. Jenny Langer
Alan Hale
Jr.
... Sheriff Jeff Jones
Robert
Easton
... Dan Kester
Leslie
Parrish
... Ev Kester
Christiane Schmidtmer ... Helga
Kevin
Brodie
... Dave Perkins
Tain
Bodkin
... Preacher
Bill
Williams
... Dutch
Diane Lee
Hart
... Terry
Paul
Bentzen
... Billy Kester
J. Stewart
Taylor
... Deputy
William W. Gillett Jr.
... Paul Rider
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