The last generation of the Merrye family, Ralph (Sid Haig), Virginia (Jill Banner) and Elizabeth (Beverly Washburn), all suffer from a rare syndrome that causes progressive age regression and an eventual reversion to a savage, pre-human condition. After the death of their father, family chauffeur Bruno (Lon Chaney Jr.) assumes responsibility for the 'kids', keeping them hidden from prying eyes behind the tall gates of the family home; that is, until greedy Aunt Emily (Carol Ohmart) and Uncle Peter (Quinn K. Redeker) turn up at the old house with a devious plan to get rich quick; aided by slimy lawyer Schlocker (Karl Schanzer) and his pretty secretary Ann (Mary Mitchel), the couple intend to become the youngsters legal guardians, a move that will entitle them to ownership of the house and control of the family fortune, but which might also cost them their lives.
1968 was a great year for horror: not only did it see the birth of 'yours truly' (a horror legend in my own mind) and, almost as importantly, the introduction of the modern zombie film (in the pale, shuffling, flesh-hungry form of Night of the Living Dead), but it was also the year that gave us demented drive-in favourite Spider Baby, the undoubted inspiration for Tobe Hooper's The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and Rob Zombie's House of 1000 Corpses and The Devil Rejects, all of which used the Merrye family as the blueprint for their own murderous clans.
To the casual onlooker, Ralph, Virginia and Elizabeth might not appear as immediately foreboding as either the Sawyers or the Fireflys, the boy being a drooling simpleton, and both girls being rather comely young fillies; but get them upset, or agree to participate in one of their games, and you'll eventually discover, chainsaw or no chainsaw, that they're not the sort of people you would elect to spend the night with: spider obsessed Virginia traps her victims in her rope web before 'stinging' them with a pair of carving knives; Elizabeth is no slouch with a pitch fork; and Ralph becomes uncontrollable after watching his surprisingly fit Aunt Emily cavorting around her room in her underwear. Bruno, on the other hand, is always trying to ensure good behaviour from his unruly and unhinged wards, but more often than not finds himself having to cover up for their messy mistakes.
Director Hill expertly blends his ghoulish humour with moments of genuine horror, and the film benefits immensely from some perfectly balanced and extremely memorable performances: Haig is wonderful, as always; Banner and Washburn are dangerously sexy as young women with the minds (and dress sense) of little girls; and Lon Chaney Jr. gives a brilliant tongue-in-cheek turn, providing a few laughs at the expense of his earlier career and giving the film some pathos in its explosive finale.
If you're an aficionado of weird and wonderful cinema, a rabid fan of the gruesome and macabre, or just an all round horror addict keen to expand your knowledge of the genre, and you haven't yet seen Spider Baby, do so immediately—your life won't be complete until you do.
1968 was a great year for horror: not only did it see the birth of 'yours truly' (a horror legend in my own mind) and, almost as importantly, the introduction of the modern zombie film (in the pale, shuffling, flesh-hungry form of Night of the Living Dead), but it was also the year that gave us demented drive-in favourite Spider Baby, the undoubted inspiration for Tobe Hooper's The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and Rob Zombie's House of 1000 Corpses and The Devil Rejects, all of which used the Merrye family as the blueprint for their own murderous clans.
To the casual onlooker, Ralph, Virginia and Elizabeth might not appear as immediately foreboding as either the Sawyers or the Fireflys, the boy being a drooling simpleton, and both girls being rather comely young fillies; but get them upset, or agree to participate in one of their games, and you'll eventually discover, chainsaw or no chainsaw, that they're not the sort of people you would elect to spend the night with: spider obsessed Virginia traps her victims in her rope web before 'stinging' them with a pair of carving knives; Elizabeth is no slouch with a pitch fork; and Ralph becomes uncontrollable after watching his surprisingly fit Aunt Emily cavorting around her room in her underwear. Bruno, on the other hand, is always trying to ensure good behaviour from his unruly and unhinged wards, but more often than not finds himself having to cover up for their messy mistakes.
Director Hill expertly blends his ghoulish humour with moments of genuine horror, and the film benefits immensely from some perfectly balanced and extremely memorable performances: Haig is wonderful, as always; Banner and Washburn are dangerously sexy as young women with the minds (and dress sense) of little girls; and Lon Chaney Jr. gives a brilliant tongue-in-cheek turn, providing a few laughs at the expense of his earlier career and giving the film some pathos in its explosive finale.
If you're an aficionado of weird and wonderful cinema, a rabid fan of the gruesome and macabre, or just an all round horror addict keen to expand your knowledge of the genre, and you haven't yet seen Spider Baby, do so immediately—your life won't be complete until you do.