L'Araignée

Bert I. Gordon's 1958 "Earth vs the Spider" was the director's seventh and last sci/fi effort of the decade, after which he branched out into teen fantasy ("The Boy and the Pirates," "The Magic Sword," "Village of the Giants"), straight horror ("Necromancy," "Burned at the Stake," "Satan's Princess"), and psychological dramas ("Tormented," "Picture Mommy Dead"). A giant spider had been a Universal regular with "Tarantula" and "The Incredible Shrinking Man," so the only surprise is that Gordon was bringing up the rear on this occasion. The search for a missing father reveals him to be the latest victim of a hungry eight legged monster living in a nearby cave (New Mexico's Carlsbad Caverns in fact, plus reliable Bronson Canyon), capturing its prey using a thick strand of silk spun across the highway. A bout of DDT seemingly renders it harmless, the local high school professor allowed to showcase the remains in the auditorium, only for the creature to come back to life during a rock 'n' roll jam. Nothing can stop its journey back to the cave, where natural elements must be used to destroy it once and for all. There are plugs for both "The Amazing Colossal Man" and "Attack of the Puppet People," and the picture succeeds better than most Gordon fare despite the absence of a reason for the spider's outsized existence. It's certainly not as good as either of Universal's classics, and the director would reuse the idea briefly for a scene in his 1965 teenage romp "Village of the Giants."

This is a typical drive-in movie horror film from the late 1950s. Like all similar films (such as ATTACK OF THE GILA MONSTER, THE KILLER SHREWS, etc.), this one had a very low budget, was quickly made and featured small-time actors. Naturally, the dialog was poor at times and the overall plot laughable, but in a strange way the film was still a lot of kooky fun. The spider special effects were generally very good and the story kept my interest. While those who love Shakespeare and art films probably won't appreciate this film, for those who love the genre this is a film that will most likely satisfy. As for me, I like these silly old flicks and recommend the movie--but I also can't rate it any higher because of its questionable aesthetic value and cheesiness.

PS--Look at the marquee at the movie theater. One of the films on the bill was THE AMAZING COLOSSAL MAN and the other was ATTACK OF THE PUPPET PEOPLE--both films by director/producer Bert I. Gordon who made this film.

When you sit down to watch a Bert I. Gordon picture, you know you're in for a bad movie.

And, knowing that you can have a real good time.

The story is about a giant spider that attacks a town. No more need be said about the plot. The acting is horrendous. It's awful inconsistent too, half the time the characters do really dumb things, and half the time (well part of the time) they are actually smart too. That's the bad news, here's the good news, it is fast paced and fun. While the movie came out the same year as "The Blob", and both movie feature "kids" (AKA teenagers) who first witness the monster, in "The Blob" nobody believes the teens until it's too late. Not in Earth vs. the Spider! At least some of the adults totally accept that there is a giant spider on the loose, right from the get go. And that's what you, the viewer have to do here to - there is no explanation for what caused the giant spider, or why there are no other giant spiders, it just is, and you have to accept it. It also features a great rock and roll number, effects that run the gamut from real cheesy to real impressive, the world's oldest teenager, "hep" 50s dialogue, a theremin soundtrack and "spider noises"!

At just 73 minutes, it never gets dull, it's up there with some of the best so-bad-it's-good movies ever made. So grab some friends and a 12 pack, and check out this - the original 1958 version of "Earth vs. the Spider"!

I remember many years ago on WUTV, originating from Buffalo, New York, a bunch of us would watch the Saturday afternoon "Creature Feature" and "Monster Movies" and laugh our heads off. How ludicrous they were.

Now this was back in the late 70's, early 80's when we were "grown up", so to speak. If we had see these movies when they came out originally in the theaters or drive ins, we probably would have been scared out of our wits.

Now this movie, Earth vs the Spider, a true creature feature, stuck in my mind over many of the other ones. The scene that I remembered for years afterwards and hoped like crazy that they would show the movie again, was the scene when the band starts playing that real hot music in the gym with the spider listening in. I just couldn't believe how anyone would want to be in the same room as the spider.

I was so happy when they showed the movie, I guess, maybe a half a year later. I was ready. I set up my tape recorder and waited patiently for that particular scene and when I got that music on tape, I got REALLY excited!!!!!!

That was the only thing that I had from that movie until about 3 months ago. I found a video store that had the movie!!!!! I couldn't wait to bring it home and play it in order to find out what was the rest of the movie all about.

Yes I did remember all about the spider itself and how it reeked havoc in a small town in the middle of nowhere. I remembered about the useless sheriff, Gene Roth, and his attitude towards the townsfolk and the kids (funny he plays a lot of those kind of parts). Plus I remembered the fellow who played Mr. Kingman, the "hero". He used to play Commander Corry in Space Patrol which was on television in the very early 50s.

The scene with the band in the gym with the spider and the drama class still was very powerful. I just couldn't get over how funny it was.

To me, that made the whole movie a joy to watch!!!!

For Saturday afternoon fun, where you don't have to think, rent this one!!! You won't be disappointed!!!!

Released in 1958 and shot in B&W, "Earth vs. the Spider" details the events of a small town in Southern California when a colossal spider living in a cave comes to town.

While "Earth vs. the Spider" is great when you're 8 years-old its flaws surface when viewed as an adult. For one, the spider's size changes according to the sequence: In the cave it's huge, but when it's on display at the school it's noticeably smaller; then when it traverses the town it's gargantuan. Inconsistencies like this don't make for great movies. It's entertaining in some ways, like being a period piece of the late 50s, but it pales in comparison to Sci-Fi giants from the 50s like "The Day the Earth Stood Still" (1951) and the monumental "Forbidden Planet" (1956). It doesn't help that colossal animal/monster movies made in the decades since are just all-around better, including being in color. Still, "Earth vs. the Spider" is worth catching if you favor these kinds of flicks and want to go back in time to the late 50s, not to mention there are some effective elements, like the horrific sounds the spider makes and the drained remains of its victims.

The film runs 73 minutes and was shot in Bronson Canyon, Griffith Park and Los Angeles, California, with additional footage from Carlsbad Caverns National Park.

GRADE: C