Review of Spider Baby (1967) by James T — 08 Sep 2010

A black and white dark comedy about an isolated but happy family that kill any visitors that happen to stop by. One of Lon Chaney Jr.'s last films Spider Baby is a fun and twisted horror story.

The family consists of two sweet girls: Elizabeth and Virginia, a large simpleton: Ralph and uncle Bruno played by Lon Chaney Jr. Who happen to be cannibals. The spider metaphor refers to the luring, trapping and eating of victims. The family lives in a large very isolated house where they provide for themselves and rarely meet other people. It's stated that the children are the product of inbreeding and that's where thier psychosis comes from.

It's when distant relatives come by that the family have to restrain their cannibalistic urges. Thus trouble ensues. It doesn't take long till people start dying and the fun starts. Things get more and more desperate and funny when more people die and the family start having difficulties hiding the bodies from the other guests. All of this winds up to a crazy, hectic and amusing ending which includes one of my favourite scenes of a woman in lingerie runs through the countryside being chased by the two knife wielding lolitas.

Its also fun to hear the tune of Itsy Bitsy Spider playing during brutal murder scenes.

The acting is very good, the characters come across exactly as they were intended. The girls were my favourite who are naive and childlike despite the fact they're in their teens.

Another fun aspect are a few references to Lon Chaney Jr.'s previous work namely the Wolfman that pop up throughout the feature.

Spider Baby is a fun and original piece that shouldn't be missed by classic horror fans.