Kingdom of the Spiders (1977)

In rural Arizona, countless killer tarantulas are migrating through a farm town, killing every living thing in their path. The town's veterinarian will do everything in his power to survive the onslaught.

Director:

John 'Bud' Cardos

Writers:

Richard Robinson (screenplay), Alan Caillou (screenplay)

Stars:

William Shatner, Tiffany Bolling, Woody Strode

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
William Shatner	...	Rack Hansen
Tiffany Bolling	...	Diane Ashley
Woody Strode	...	Walter Colby
Lieux Dressler	...	Emma Washburn
David McLean	...	Gene Smith
Natasha Ryan	...	Linda Hansen
Altovise Davis	...	Birch Colby
Joe Ross	...	Vern Johnson
Marcy Lafferty	...	Terry Hansen
Adele Malis-Morey	...	Betty Johnson (as Adele Malis)
Roy Engel	...	Mayor Connors
Hoke Howell	...	Earl Forbes
Bill Coontz	...	Clyde (as Bill Foster)
Whitey Hughes	...	The Baron
Jay Lawrence	...	Deputy

Storyline

Investigating the mysterious deaths of a number of farm animals, vet Rack Hansen discovers that his town lies in the path of hoards of migrating tarantulas. Before he can take action, the streets are overrun by killer spiders, trapping a small group of towns folk in a remote hotel.

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Plot Keywords:

girl in very short dress or skirt | girl in a notably short outfit | arizona | aviation | tragic event | 

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Taglines:

You could be the next Victim!

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Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

November 1977 (USA)

Also Known As:

La invasión de las arañas

Filming Locations:

Camp Verde, Arizona, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Arachnid Productions Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Bettie Bolling--who played Mildred, the telephone operator--was Tiffany Bolling's mother.

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Goofs

At Colby's accident site, the deputy tells the sheriff that an eyewitness was a quarter of a mile behind Colby's truck and saw the accident. However, during earlier wide shots of Colby driving, there was nobody as far as the eye could see on the straight highway.

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Quotes

Terry Hansen: Hey I'm sorry about what happened the other day.
Dr. Robert 'Rack' Hansen: I don't know what you're talking about lady.
[Terry Giggles]
Terry Hansen: Rack, your a funny man, You want be with your brother's wife, but you take care of her like you were. Isn't that like buying the cow and giving the milk away?
Dr. Robert 'Rack' Hansen: You don't quit pestering me, one of these mornings I'm gonna show up and start milking that cow.
Terry Hansen: Well, make sure your hands are warm.
[Rack giggles and holds his hands up in a clawing manner]

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Connections

Featured in Atop the Fourth Wall: Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (2013)

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Soundtracks

Pastel Pastorale
(uncredited)
Music by Neil Richardson
KPM Music Ltd

User Reviews

I LOOOOOOOOVE this junk!

Even the most avid fans of 70's kitsch-cinema will have difficulties defending this "Kingdom of the Spiders", as it basically is rubbish from start to finish! Immensely entertaining rubbish, though, with lousy but unscrupulous plotting and over-the-top action sequences that'll keep you amused unconditionally! Charismatic actor and professional cool dude William Shatner stars as the veterinarian of a little Arizona town that developed a BIG spider problem on short notice! Tarantulas have suddenly altered all their natural instincts and they're turning against the yummy cattle and – of course – the unknowing inhabitants of the little town. The female scientist Diane Ashley explains that this is due to the destroying of their normal food sources with pesticides etc, but it's too late... The extremely venomous spiders eat their way the town and really nothing can extinguish them! "Kingdom of the Spiders" actually is so damn entertaining because of its ineptness! The screenplay doesn't even bother to drag in theories about genetic mutation or military experiments gone wrong, like it usually is the case in this type of creature-features. The spiders are just furious at humans and eat them...period! Although very low-budgeted, some sequences are well-mounted and quite suspenseful. Especially the obligatory mass-hysteria scene in which the poor villagers get overrun by millions and millions of tarantulas is a fine example of trash-cinema. Director John "Bud" Cardos, previously an actor is dreadful drive-in horror movies himself, clearly had great fun making this good old-fashioned "Don't-mess-with-Mother-Nature" flick, so why shouldn't you! His enthusiasm even was so big he threw in a hilariously inappropriate country & western soundtrack! That's fabulous!!