The Giant Spider Invasion

source: The Giant Spider Invasion

Well, obviously not a popular film. However, I believe considering the circumstances in which this film was made, this film not only was made WELL, but outclasses films from the 90s of astronomical BUDGETS. Although the SPIDER scenes aren't the best, this can be blamed on low budget and low technology. Good acting from Alan Hale. He shouldn't be wrongly thought of because of this film. C'mon people, give it a go?!

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.

This movie was perfect for Mystery Science Theater 3000. The special effects were extremely bad, but as surprising as it may be, they were far from the worst thing in the movie. The plot is, too put it simply, very weak. It just makes no sense! The acting is just plain terrible. Alan Hale was not to bad, but everyone else was just bad. Thankfully, I saw this movie with the protection of MST. Remember, avoid watching this or any other MST movies without the protection of Mike, Servo and Crow.

Not enough credit, or perhaps discredit, is alloted to Bill Rebane as a director on level with Ed Wood and quite frankly it's wrong. His movies have that feeling of incredulity and confusion along with community college level acting that seems to endear as many viewers as are repulsed by seeing them. Don't interpret this the wrong way, his films are still awful on a scale not frequently seen, they just have that little something extra that sort of makes you smile after the fact. Kind of like when your five year old swears. You're angry that he/she did it but afterwords you chuckle to yourself. When no one is around of course. A meteor is seen crashing into the Wisconsin countryside by NASA as they send Dr. Vance to investigate. Once there he teams up with Dr. Jenny Langer, after he carpet bombs her with sexist stereotypes, and they discover that the geodes are filled with icky spiders. Vance and Langer go up the hill and both go tumbling down. Vaaaaaaaaance! Meanwhile white trash Kester is cheating on his alcoholic wife Ev with a woman who I must assume is blind. With his long underwear and back brace Kester is definitely doing his part to bring sexy back. Alan Hale Jr. pays his sizable buffet tab by playing the useless town sheriff who looks more comfortable scarfing down a stack of pancakes at the local Perkins than serving and protecting. Eventually the giant spider makes his way to Gleason just in time to ruin the softball tournament. Whatta jerk! I've made many a trip to cheeseland a let me tell you that the population there is pretty hokey with all of its fake Indian trinkets and goofy "hay dere" dialect but Giant Spider Invasion portrays Wisconsonians as southern gutter trash. Kester and Ev are especially guilty of this as they are more apt for some trailer park in Alabama. I had a chance to watch the full length movie after seeing this on Mystery Science Theatre and was a little sickened by two scenes involving Terry played by Diane Lee Hart. Now mind you she is playing a seventeen year old girl when she is being sized up by Kester and then caught topless by his cousin that eerily resembles Charles Manson. How this got a PG rating is mystifying to me. The movie redeems itself however when Dr. Vance pulverizes Dr. Langer as they tumble down the hill. At one point he rolls over her head. May the giant spider's soul rest with the spirit of Tommy Bartlett.

Meteor lands on Wisconsin farm, opening up a black hole that unleashes giant spiders into a hick community!! Oh boy. Legendary horror cheese filmed in Wisconsin by B movie director Bill Rebane is the perfect example of a film that's so bad it's good! The Giant Spider Invasion is best remembered as the movie in which a VW Beetle was used for the monster spiders! The special FX consists of live tarantulas, unconvincing puppets, and of course those VW's complete with long furry legs. Between those amusing FX, a ridiculous premise, and some funny dialog this cheap horror film never has a dull moment. Yet as poor as the quality of the film is the cast (which has a number of veteran actors) isn't that bad. In a way it's their serious, well semi-serious, performances that make the occurrences even more humorous. The Giant Spider Invasion is one of the most unintentionally hilarious horror films ever made and whether you like it or not, you can't deny that it's entertaining! A definite must-see for fans of campy B horror. ** 1/2 out of ****

The Giant Spider Invasion is not a bad movie....it's a terrible movie. Easily one of the worst movies ever made which makes it quite enjoyable again...it's a strange theory but I didn't invent it. All elements in this movie are so far below the standards that the whole finished project becomes hilarious. You're not laughing with this movie...you're roaring with laughter AT this movie. The Giant Spider Invasion was never meant to be a comedy...on the contrary, it was meant as a breath-taking monster film that would scare the hell out of people. This movie was made in 1975, when the sub-genre of "eco-horror" was making it's comeback. During the fifties this was the most popular sub-genre and the first director who came up with the scare idea of a huge spider was Jack Arnold ( Tarantula ) ... Director Billy Rebane saw his chance to do something similar and he even figured out a way to keep his production cheap!! The Giant Spider Invasion could easily be renamed to "the disguised Volkswagen attack" because the huge spiders are in fact VW Beetle's covered with sheets and legs. The headlights function as eyes. Not a bad idea you'd think ( and maybe it isn't ) but it's executed very very poorly... The spiders aren't moving, the are in fact DRIVING !! And every time they're on the screen some stupid tune can be heard in order not to notice the running engine. Great idea, Mr. Rebane... Don't think that's the only goof in The Giant Spider Invasion...The acting is very laughable ( especially the Sheriff and the waitress are *cough cough* multi-talented ), the other effects are a joke ( that meteor hitting earth !! ) , there's no attempt to build up tension or even atmosphere and the musical score is pathetic ( example: while a couple has an argument they're running around a kitchen table. Meanwhile a stupid banjo tune is played ... cliché ). Better yet, there's a complete lack of structure during the whole movie...at first, it seems like you'll follow the adventures of a married couple but all of sudden they die, then you think a young girl and boy are the leading actors but they completely disappear and they're ain't mentioned again. Oh and by the way...did you know that a falling meteor opens doorways to another dimension ?? Neither did I. The ending is terribly forced and we're supposed to believe their solution worked while you don't see ONE spider die...Yeah sure, why not. The Giant Spider Invasion is pure trash !! No wait, trash can be good sometimes...it's pure CRAP !! But, for that exact same reason it received a huge cult-status and the movie was very popular especially in drive-in theaters...oh, sweet irony. Giant mutated animal flicks are fun, fascinating and even terrifying from time to time ( Them! ) but this thing is nothing but a bowl of rotten cheese...One to watch if you have a weird sense of humor...NEXT !!

I don't know what's worse about this movie. Is it the terrible acting? Or is the problem the attacking car/spiders? The setting is dull, sets are boring and fake looking, and the spiders look terribly fake. I guess "The Giant Spider Invasion" is good for some campy laughs, but this movie is utterly unwatchable without the Mystery Science Theater 3000 treatment.

Filmed on the kinda budget that Ed Wood might have envied (but not too much), half of this film is devoted to the mini-Spider Invasion, and there are a few mildly chilling moments. Why they're coming out of a black hole is anybody's guess, but no doubt it made sense to someone at the time. But then the giant spiders/badly-disguised cars start pouring forth, and you find yourself not-so-inexplicably cheering for them to chow down on the bunch of Wisconsin "rednecks" that infest this film more thoroughly and foully than the poor aggrieved spiders. Only for those with a strong stomach. Not for spiders, but for poorly sketched one-dimensional characters.

Once upon a time in Wisconsin, in a small town where Alan Hale is the sheriff (Oh! the horrors!), a strange fireball comes down from another dimension and releases giant spiders. At least, that's what was supposed to happen. Actually, some really horrible characters meander around and a VW Beetle with a big fuzzy shell on it drives around. Not much of a story, and the acting is tremendously bad, so director Bill Rebane makes up for it with...nothing. This has to be one of the worst pseudo-horror films ever made, and that is what makes it fun to watch, with the protection of Mystery Science Theatre 3000, of course. As a serious horror film, 0 out of 5.