Spider Baby (1967)

Sick Product of a Sick System

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

There are bad movies, there are really bad movies and then there is "Spider Baby", Lon Chaney and a house straight out of "Psycho" notwithstanding. This is the kind of cult movie that makes you realize that cults can be a bad thing. The director was Jack Hill who made his reputation in exploitation cinema, (he made the incredible "Switchblade Sisters" as well as the more mainstream blaxploitation picture "Foxy Brown"), but this is probably what he's best remembered for though God knows why. By today's standards there is no gore and fewer frights. Chaney was obviously cast to 'sell' the movie and he 'acts' as if he believed every ridiculous word. If there is anyone here to keep you watching it's Carol Ohmart, an actress who always deserved better than she ended up with.

Merreye Syndrome is defined as a disease that causes regression to a primitive state suffered by the inbred Merrye family. A messenger delivers adoption notice to the isolated Merreye home. He gets caught in Virginia's web and killed by Elizabeth. Bruno the driver (Lon Chaney Jr) returns with Ralph (Sid Haig) to clean up the mess. Distant cousins Peter and Emily Howe come to take over and sell off the estate. Lawyer Mr. Schlocker and his assistant Ann Morris come to administer and plan to put the 3 children into institutions.This is a schlockfest B-movie. Filmmaker Jack Hill is in the same vein as the likes of Roger Corman. Lon Chaney is a good co-lead. Sig Haig is pretty good as the mute brute. It's got camp appeal with hot young cannibals. The kills aren't scary. It's simple B-movie fun.

I stumbled on this movie a few years back knowing almost nothing about it, save for it starring the awesome Sid Haig. Somehow, in all of my wanderings through the horror graveyards, this movie had escaped my attention as it had not been the sort of movie frequently discussed in horror boards or history books. It was a wonderful surprise, then, to discover what an amazing, eerie treat this movie was to behold.The reason for its' hidden place in the horror archives has to do, mainly, with its' distribution history. The movie was filmed in 1964 but lost in limbo for several years when the producers went bankrupt. It finally saw the light of day in 68, though it was packaged in subpar drive-in double bills under several titles and never got the promotion that it so truly deserved. It wasn't until home video release in the 80s that it started to gather a real following and that has increased greatly over the last decade with a DVD release and inclusion in Netflix streaming, where I stumbled across it. As such, it's one of those rares movies that's probably more well-known to modern fans that it was to the horror geeks of its' time.Directed by Jack Hill, who had come from the Roger Corman family, working on movies like THE TERROR and DEMENTIA 13. He would go on to direct exploitation classics like FOXY BROWN. The movie stars Sid Haig, Beverly Washburn (from OLD YELLER) and Carol Ohmart (HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL), along with the legendary Lon Chaney Jr.The movie starts with a fun animated title scroll backed by a campy song sung by Chaney himself. Instantly, the viewer realizes that you are onto something different and fun. The opening scene sets the tone as character actor Mantan Moreland (KING OF THE ZOMBIES) is trying to deliver a letter to the Merrye House, only to be caught in the web of one of its' youngest, who sets to slicing him up. We are, then, introduced to a demented family that carries a strange malady causing them to digress to primordial monsters.While this is not the first example of a horror movie using a demented family as the villains (you can go back to THE OLD DARK HOUSE for that), you can certainly see the touchmarks that quite possibly influenced legions of horror movies to come. Lon Chaney's caretaker reminds me a lot of Jim Seidow's cook in Texas CHAINSAW. The presence of Sid Haig and the family dynamic certainly share a resemblance to HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES and the creatures in the basement remind me of PEOPLE UNDER THE STAIRS.The movie is decidedly low on gore, with very little bloodshed, beyond the initial killing of the postman. However, there is a strange, disturbed sexuality throughout the movie. Ohmart parades around her room in lingerie, arousing the lust of Haig's Ralph character. Her scenes, plus the partial disrobing of the secretary in the climax show a little more risqué flesh than most movies of its' time. There is also an implied rape and one of our young females attempts to seduce her uncle, all of which play to the theme that the cause of this strange malady is forbidden desire, namely incest.The movie looks absolutely gorgeous, especially when put into the context of its' budget. If you can, avoid the free streams on sites like YouTube and rent a copy of the DVD, which looks striking and shows a clear attention to cinematography that belies the independent nature and relative inexperience of its' cast and crew.You''ll certainly find some who don't "get" the love of this movie and that's probably got more to do with over-hyped expectations than the actual results, as this movie has started to gain a devoted cult following. If you're a fan of dirty, creepy horror films and looking for something new, this will not disappoint.

While many call this a "Black Comedy" do not expect anything light-hearted. Anything you might want to call funny is not because of humor--intended or unintended--but from sheer madness.Do not expect gore. The horrific things are kept just off screen or very effectively implied just before a scene change.Do expect an incredibly macabre tragedy filled with well-developed characters, quite good acting and an excellent pace. With the slightest imagination it is every bit a cringe-worthy (perhaps even moreso) than the FX driven, gore-filled movies that many have come to expect as the only way to demonstrate "horror".