Spider Baby (1964)

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Spider Baby (1964)
Topic Started: Feb 21 2009, 07:38 PM (82 Views)
Laughing Gravy	Feb 21 2009, 07:38 PM Post #1
Revered in the UK Posts: 11,075 Group: Admin Member #1 Joined: August 31, 2005	Meet the Merrye Family.... Due to a rare disease caused by inbreeding, they start out okay, but as they grow they regress to cannibalism, turn into homicidal maniacs, then become morons, before finally degenerating into monsters and have to be locked up in the secret basement of decaying Merrye Manor. Lon Chaney, Jr., the family's former chauffer, looks after the whole brood, which means feeding Uncle Ned and a few assorted others in the cellar while trying to stop the two sexy young girls (Jill Banner and Beverly Washburn) and their amazing brother Ralph (Sid Haig) from killing the neighbors (he fails miserably the day Mantan Moreland sticks his head in the window). So then some distant relatives show up (including Carol Ohmart, Vinnie Price's wife in House on Haunted Hill, who spends much of this film running around very close to nekkid) and what is poor Lon to do? One of the greatest cult movies ever made, Jack Hill's little opus took four years to release. Chaney sings the theme song(!) and at one point in the film some of the cast members talk about how much they loved those old Mummy and Wolf Man pictures. There is not a scene in this film that is not astonishing. I love it. The Image DVD is terrific, widescreen, with commentary and a grand reunion from 1994 with the survivors and other bonus material. Highly recommended. The rest of this week's FNF lineup included a very good Popeye cartoon (Shiver Me Timbers!) with Popeye, Olive and Wimpy trapped aboard a "ghosk ship" (there are even ghost hamburgers). A rare Popeye cartoon that lacks Bluto. The short subject, Holiday from Rules, was every bit as astonishing as Spider Baby, sort of. Four kids wish they had no rules, so the film's narrator grants their wish and they go live on a desert island, where they all get filthy, one of 'em breaks his arm, they can't play any games (games have rules), yadda yadda yadda. And of course, Mysterious Island... What can we say?



panzer the great & terrible	Feb 22 2009, 10:42 AM Post #2
Mouth Breather Posts: 10,358 Group: Members Member #13 Joined: September 3, 2005	Sounds like a perfect FNF -- lucky kids.
	We Wear Short Shorts Flying Purple People Eater


The Batman	Feb 23 2009, 08:44 AM Post #3
Charter Member Posts: 5,570 Group: Members Member #17 Joined: September 4, 2005	One of Lon Chaney Jr's best. A classic.


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