Le baiser de la tarentule

If seeing a man play a creepy, unattractive, hair-hat-wearing corrupt cop who's an incestuous uncle a little too convincingly is your thing, your ship came in and has been at the docks for decades! Otherwise, the movie is just tedium and people hilariously spazzing out and killing themselves over spiders that pose them no real harm.

When you look at the poster or the VHS cover, you think this is going to be some kind of horrible boring B movie that flunked before it even hit theaters. Well, in some ways it's absolutely ridiculous. Other ways, it's frightfully disturbing and suspenseful. The Tarantulas used are actually a quite expensive and sought after species, the Mexican Red knee. Completely harmless, we make the venom of these spiders look like they can kill virtually in an instant. That's silly to me, but to others it might prove quite chilling. The crazy part is the family life of the poor young woman. Incest, murder, bullying, I'm amazed the poor girl wasn't in an asylum. I'll say this much, this film will leave you with your mouth agape in disgust and amazement. I really liked it.

When a cheating wife is discovered plotting her husband's death, her oddball daughter commits matricide with the aid of some hairy, eight legged companions. Creepy little thriller is a poor man's "Willard" in which the beguiling Susan (Suzanne Ling - never seen before or again) is remarkably naive to the cruel intentions of various sleazy characters with whom she comes into contact. High on the perv-alert is her nefarious uncle (Mason), the local police chief who's been chasing her tail since puberty, discovers her involvement in a series of unexplained deaths and seeks to protect his political ambitions abetting a cover-up to divert suspicion away from his family. Mason's character is the epitome of ugliness, and his predatory pursuit of the adolescent Ling, is as appealing from a cinematic perspective as it is repulsive from a moral viewpoint.

Intense over acting and varying breeds of comically amateurish supporting performances coupled with laughable set-ups successfully mar what could have potentially been a minor sleeper. Director Munger's casual treatment and unimaginative scene construction display a lack of detail that is evident throughout the film, and it's a shame there's not a more graphic indication of the tarantula's impact on the victims (most seem to succumb to shock and hyper-anxiety, or is that just the quality of the acting?).

"Kiss of the Tarantula" takes a convenient pathway to imagined justice, while the central character's psycho-sexual motivation (which is intimated throughout the film) is never properly explored or connected to her deviant behaviour. As such, Ling's character is little more than a facade, and much of the film's promise as an interesting character study is henceforth unrealised. Perhaps lethally hampered by the lack of budget, whilst there's loads of potential, overall the film just can't carry the weight of expectations.

"Kiss of the Tarantula" is a mildly interesting horror film about a teenage girl named Susan(Suzanne Ling)and her fondness for spiders.When anyone crosses her or her mortician father,the spiders come out to set things right.Her leering uncle and town sheriff(Eric Mason)has eyes for her,and she has the perfect plan to dispose of him.She also takes vengeance on the high school kids who broke into her house and killed her prized spider.She unleashes a slew of her friendly eight-legged buddies in their VW Bug at a drive-in.It's a pretty gruesome,but also very silly scene.Although its' low budget shows,the film still has some nice touches and a great ending which shouldn't be missed.Director Chris Munger also made exploitation flick "Black Starlet" (1974)and producers Daniel Cady and John Hayes were also responsible for "Grave of the Vampire"(1972) and "Garden of the Dead"(1972).Give it a look,if you like tarantuals.6 out of 10.

In the distinctly 70s tradition of films such as WILLARD, HOLY Wednesday, STANLEY, and JENNIFER; THE SNAKE GODDESS, this unspectacular independent non-chiller concerns a strange, spider-loving girl who dispatches her little 8-legged friends on killing missions...vengeance against folks who've treated her badly. Lovely Suzanna Ling, apparently in her only film appearance, is quite appealing. Her performance isn't exactly award-winning, but she shows potential, and one wonders what she may have accomplished had she not opted for instant retirement following KISS OF THE TARANTULA(it's hard to blame her, however).

It's very likely that you've seen this whole idea brought on before, and with better results(actually, I can't think of a time when it might have been done more poorly). Even as 70s-era drive-in fodder goes, this is a weak, ordinary film devoid of surprises or anything resembling quality craftsmanship.

An obscurity, moreless, and justifiably so. 3.5/10