Tarantola

Tarantula is a classic example of a 1950s science runs amuck movie. It's a fairly simple movie and plot with all the characteristics of a sci fi, horror movie from the 50s. Nothing very special or unique about it but the film is still a lot of fun to watch. It's has the excitement and dramatic scenes that would have made this a great drive in movie or late night show. As long as you don't take things too seriously, just sit back and relax, it can be a nice reminder of the past that is still interesting to todays viewer. If you liked watching other sci fi, horror movies made in the early to mid 50s, you will also enjoy this one. I don't think you will be disappointed.

I watched this movie a hundred times while growing up and I've seen it at least a hundred more times as an adult! Great story. To me it's the greatest big bug movie ever made. Interesting side story of the effects of the nutrient on humans, also. I fell in love with Mara Corday after the first time I saw this as a young child and I still think she was one of the great beauties of the screen. I think the main reason the film holds up today is the special effects are still quite impressive and there is nothing that todays audience would find hokey or cheesy. The only thing that "Bugs" me is the sound effect of the tarantula growling as it attacks. But thats just nit-picking. Its also fun spotting a young Clint Eastwood. Great sci-fi and great entertainment! A film viewing must!

Only slightly less classic than "Them!" "Tarantula" still manages to stand on its own as a strong entry in the Giant Bug movies of the 50s. Technically, its not a bug movie as tarantulas are arachnids and not insects, but movie-going audiences of the 50s didn't care. They just wanted to see big ugly bugs crushing everything in their path, and this film certainly delivers in that respect.

Taciturn scientist Leo G. Carroll is a man bent on finding a cure for world hunger. He invents a serum which enlarges whatever animal or insect (or arachnid) it is injected into. Unfortunately, when injected into a human, it causes acromegalia, a disorder marked by progressive enlargement of the head, face, hands, feet, and thorax, due to the excessive secretion of growth hormone. When one of Leo's human guinea pigs comes looking for revenge, he not only destroys the lab and injects the doctor with his own serum, but he shatters the glass cage of a puppy-sized tarantula, which quickly scurries out into the night.

Enter Mara Corday and John Agar. Mara Corday is the new lab assistant for Leo, and John Agar is the country doctor who takes an interest in the dark haired beauty. But there's not much time for romance as the tarantula, now roughly the size of the Goodyear blimp, begins terrorizing the desert. Farm animals are munched upon, and so too are human victims who are found in pools of venom, their bodies literally filled with enough poison to kill ten more men besides. Leo G. Carroll slowly turns into the Elephant Man, the giant spider peeks through the window at Mara in her nightie and Clint Eastwood shows up at films end to fire napalm at the eight legged menace.

Forget about "Earth vs. The Spider" and whatever you do, avoid "The Giant Spider Invasion" at all costs. This is the definitive Giant Spider film. It's smart and fast and well acted, and the spider itself is pretty cool looking, considering the fact that no furry robotic arachnids were constructed for this film, but instead film footage of a real tarantula was blown up and rear projected. It looks pretty good, considering the time. If you liked "Them!" you'll definitely want to check this one out as well.

This is the story of a giant spider, told with the craft so often seen in older movies.

We have the "mad" scientist, who is quite a three dimensional character, who causes gigantic mutations in animals. A fire destroys all but one, a tarantula that grows to immense size.

People are prey to this arachnid. There are many scary scenes. Two men camping out are assailed, and there is the famous scene with the jeep. When the military fail to stop the spider, the commander leaves two men behind in a jeep which won't start. Apparently, it was serviced by a Louisville mechanic.

Clint Eastwood makes an appearance at the end, as a pilot.

But Agar, Carroll, and a stunningly beautiful Corday are the stars of this show.

There are thrills, logical sequences of events, and identifiable characters which makes this greatly entertaining. It is action packed, mixed in with good drama.

This is one of those films which starts off with a bang, slows down with a big lull in the middle section, and then finishes strong.

Kudos to the special-effects people to make the giant tarantula scenes look pretty good, even by today's standards some 50 years after this was made. Many times, the huge spider looks real while it's crawling down the road. I would like to have seen one or two more scenes of it in that middle section which would have kept viewers on edge throughout the film. Instead, it got a bit talky in spots.

Anyway, it still entertained and it was fun for me to see Leo G. Carroll, a guy I saw each week growing up watching "Topper" on television. Carroll played, by far, the most interesting character in this movie.

The acting was good in here, too, once again above '50s sci-fi standards. It was one of the better entries in the recently-released Sci-Fi Ultimate DVD set, offered at Best Buy. A pretty good transfer, too.