Sunday, December 21, 2008

SPIDER BABY



"Cannibal spiders creep and crawl,
Boys and ghouls having a ball,
Frankenstein, Dracula, and even The Mummy
Are sure to end up in somebody's tummy"

So goes Lon Chaney, Jr. singing the deranged opening song to “Spider Baby“...and just when you thought things couldn't get weirder, the movie starts.
Spider Baby is about a family that has a peculiar disease. As they grow older, their minds become younger and they become sadistic, murderous, dangerous. They can no longer control their instincts.
This peculiar family lives in a mansion and is overseen by their caretaker, played by Lon Chaney, Jr., in one of his greatest roles. When some distant family members come to visit because they want to sell the estate, all hell breaks loose!
Filmed on a shoestring budget and in black and white, this movie always amazes me. I've seen it too many times to count. The look of the film is eerie, almost dreamlike, thanks to the director, Jack Hill. The acting and the characters are amazing.....and this is what makes the movie. Jill Banner's performance as Spider Baby is haunting.......whimsical and creepy all at once......she likes to play spider by seducing her victims and killing them. Sid Haig's performance as Ralph is out there too......remember him as the clown in "House of 1000 Corpses" and "The Devil's Rejects"?
Everyone should see this movie. Look for it seek it out it's not too hard to find........
"Do you want to play spider with me?"

Here's the bizarre opening theme song...




And here's a clip from the movie.


2 comments:

Unknown said...

Thanks for your kind comments.
==Jack Hill

Steve Smith said...

You are welcome, sir. Thank you for dropping by.