The Giant Spider Invasion (1975)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

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.

Judging from what has been said from other commentators I was expecting one of the worst movies ever made. Make no mistake The Giant Spider Invasion is a bad movie- very bad in fact, the 2.7 rating is about right for it- but not atrocious and a long way from one of the worst movies ever made. Barbara Hale and Steve Brodie are decent, there is some unintentional entertainment value and a couple of the attacks are appropriately gruesome. To say that The Giant Spider Invasion is poorly made though is an understatement, often what is seen is close to incoherent. The spider is not a convincing threat at all, more goofy than menacing and the cheap puppet-like design is no help. The music sounds stock and inappropriate, when you can hear the dialogue you are kind of glad actually that the sound is poor and the story is thinly plotted, completely lacking in atmosphere and predictable. Apart from Barbara Hale and Steve Brodie, the acting is so terrible- especially from Alan Hale- that it's not worth any comments. All in all, not as atrocious as heard and expected but very bad. 3/10 Bethany Cox

I think calling this my favorite Bill Rebane film is like saying I have a favorite way to be tortured but it's true,I love this movie. This one rises above the slag heap that is the Bill Rebane catalog.First the plot. It's a standard man vs nature type. Meteor strikes a north central Wisconsin town. Hollow rocks contain small spiders that start to grow. As with any movie like this, law enforcement or scientists team up to stop the threat and that's true in this film. Soon a scientist from NASA(Steve Brodie) comes to investigate and teams with local doctor(Barbara Hale) to try to solve the problem. The spiders get bigger until the climax of the movie, which is an invasion of the local town celebration. Ultimately, Dr Vance and Langer(Brodie and Hale) come up with a far-fetched solution and the day is saved. If you've seen some of the 50s movies like Giant Gila Monster or even the Blob then you won't see anything new here.Yes it's not groundbreaking but it seems to work out O.K. That however, is not what makes this film so appealing. It's not a masterpiece by any means but it is a cult classic that is worth the time to see. It has been panned on MST3K but try to see the non-mysted version if you can. It's still just as fun.It's my understanding that Rebane wanted this movie to be a serious one but Robert Easton, who is credited as a writer, realized that people wouldn't buy it so some comedy was written in. That is one of the reasons I like this movie so much. The characters are laughable. The sheriff, the farmer and his wife, and the NASA scientist are hilarious. The self-effacing humor really makes it worth seeing. Humorous subplots, such as the farmer collecting "diamonds" from the stones and the sheriff who never seems to leave his office are great. In addition, the role players are awesome. Cousin Billy, Dutch, Helga, and many others are fun to watch. I have to say that, as a Wisconsinite growing up in the 70's, I think Bill Rebane really nails the way people were at that time(no offense to people of Merril and Gleason). This movie really brings me back. Gleason days is just like any other small town carnival I went to when I was growing up.In short, I think fans of the genre will like this and I would recommend it. It doesn't take itself too seriously so you shouldn't either. Just sit back and enjoy.

Ridiculous 1970s sci-fi movie. It takes place in Wisconsin. Some spiders from another dimension (don't ask) get to Earth and grow to gigantic size. They attack a small town and panic ensures. Dr. Vance (Steve Brodie) and Dr. Langer (Barbara Hale) try to figure out how to destroy them while the sheriff of the town (Alan Hale badly miscast) tries to keep things in order. There's also redneck Dan (Robert Easton), his alcoholic wife Ev (Leslie Parrish) and their jail bait daughter Terry to provide some wholly predictable and boring "human interest".I heard this was bad but I didn't realize that it was THIS bad! Bottom of the barrel stuff here. It was made on no budget with a giant spider that is (pretty obviously) a puppet. The sound recording is poor (I had to keep turning the volume up and down) but--considering the dialogue--that's no great loss. The film has absolutely horrible cinematography--some scenes were so dark I couldn't make out what was happening! Also Alan Hale bulldozes through his scenes to an embarrassing degree--it makes his acting as the Skipper on "Gilligan's Island" look restrained. There are a few good parts--the acting by Barbara Hale and Steve Brodie isn't bad and there's a nicely gruesome scene where you see a man devoured by the giant spider. Still this is mostly boring and pointless. A 2.