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Title: Spider Baby or, The Maddest Story Ever Told (1968)
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Cast
| Complete credited cast: | |||
| Lon Chaney Jr. | ... |
Bruno
(as Lon Chaney)
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Carol Ohmart | ... | |
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Quinn K. Redeker | ... |
Peter Howe
(as Quinn Redeker)
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Beverly Washburn | ... |
Elizabeth Merrye
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Jill Banner | ... |
Virginia Merrye
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| Sid Haig | ... |
Ralph Merrye
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Mary Mitchel | ... |
Ann Morris
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Karl Schanzer | ... |
Mr. Schlocker
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Mantan Moreland | ... |
Messenger
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Edit
Plot Summary
|
Add Synopsis
Storyline
In a dilapidated rural mansion, the last generation of the degenerate, inbred Merrye family lives with the inherited curse of a disease that causes them to mentally regress from the age of 10 or so on as they physically develop. The family chauffeur looks out for them and covers up their indiscretions. Trouble comes when greedy distant relatives and their lawyer arrive to dispossess the family of its home. Written by D.A. Kellough <dkelloug@infinet.com>
Taglines:
Do YOU dare see it! See more »Parents Guide:
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Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
18 January 1968 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Spider Baby See more »Box Office
Budget:
$65,000 (estimated)Company Credits
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company contact information
on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
MonoColor:
Black and WhiteAspect Ratio:
1.66 : 1
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Did You Know?
Trivia
After dinner, there's a brief scene that ends with Schlocker wagging his cigar at Emily. Originally this scene ended with Emily ripping the cigar from his hand and puffing on it, but the producers hated this irreverent moment and demanded it be cut. See more »Goofs
As Virginia climbs onto Peter's lap and the camera pushes in on them, the shadow of a boom mic drops down the wall. See more »Quotes
Virginia: I caught a big fat bug right in my spider web and now the spider gets to give the bug a big sting. Sting! Sting! Sting! Sting! Sting!See more »
At one point in this movie, Virginia (Jill Banner), the "Spider Baby" of the title, grabs a spider from the table and pops it into her mouth. Her sister Elizabeth (Beverly Washburn) quips, "Spiders don't eat spiders."
"Cannibal spiders do," retorts Virginia, and this scene sums up everything good about Spider Baby: twisted, funny, and possessing an internal logic that pretty much justifies anything it does, no matter how preposterous.
Originally funded by two real estate developers and locked away for years after a bankruptcy filing, Spider Baby hit the drive-in circuit, made its modest sum of money, and faded away--almost. Somewhere down the line, it developed a cult status despite only being available on low-quality, grainy video. It is now available on DVD in a restored cut that reveals strikingly beautiful black-and-white cinematography. Low-budget it may be, but it's gorgeous to look at.
Lon Chaney Jr. stars as a butler taking care of his deceased employer's children (Washburn, Banner and Sid Haig). The siblings suffer from a hereditary disease that leaves them intellectually childlike but also makes them casual murderers, a problem compounded when distant cousins (Quinn Redeker and the stunning Carol Ohmart) arrive with designs on taking over the estate. The plot is simple and the movie is short (only 81 minutes), but it wastes no time and delivers plenty of creepy thrills, among them cannibalism, implied necrophilia, and midnight chases through the woods.
The acting is a pleasant surprise as well. The entire cast does a convincing job of bringing these oddball characters to life. There are a few missteps here and there: a couple of moments, for instance, when Redeker addresses the audience directly, and it's hard to know if the humor is intentional or not. Overall, however, the quality of each performance is pretty high. Especially touching is a scene where Chaney's character realizes there will be no good end to the situation, and his obvious affection for these mad but dangerous children actually brings a tear to the eye.
Well worth checking out if you're into horror, grim humor, or very, very odd movies.