The only thing I knew about Spider Baby prior to watching it was that Sid Haig was in it. Other than that I didn't have much interest in seeing this film. I knew the film had a fairly decent cult following among horror fanatics but for some reason I never made the effort to watch Spider Baby. Well the other day with nothing on tv and the Final Girl Film Club deadline coming up I said "Eh, what the hell!" so I fired up the PlayStation 3 and pulled up Spider Baby on the Netfilx Instant-Stream. When the title sequence started and that kooky song played over it (sung by Lon Chaney Jr.) I knew I was in for something special and by the end I regretted not see this film earlier.
The basic jist of the story: The last surviving members of the Merrye family, watched over by devoted caretaker Bruno (Lon Chaney Jr.), are about to have their inbreeding utopia disrupted but some distant relatives looking to claim the family estate. The more Bruno tries to hide the family's secrets the more exposed they become to their visitors inquisitiveness and the surviving Merrye "children's" bad habits. Suffice it to say the movie is pretty good with a surprising amount of humor in it. I'm not going to go into huge detail about the film, it's a definite recommend but I do want to put down some thoughts I had while watching the film:
-Of course we open with the usual stereotype of the goofy black character being the first one to get killed..daaamn.
-The narrator and uncle to the Merrye children, Peter (Quinn K. Redeker) is the only other character beside Bruno that is nice to the "children". His demeanor kinda reminded me of this guy:
-The narrator and uncle to the Merrye children, Peter (Quinn K. Redeker) is the only other character beside Bruno that is nice to the "children". His demeanor kinda reminded me of this guy:
-Even in one of his earliest films Sig Haig can be counted on to play some fucking weirdo character!
-So on top of being a scumbag lawyer (like what other kind of lawyer is there) Schlocker is not only an asshole but what the hell is up with the Hitler 'stache?!! It was made very clear that the viewer he was not to be liked from the get go!
-Maybe it's my urban upbringing and my overall sense of distrust of everybody but I don't care what kind of inheritance I'm entitled to I would never have insisted on spending the night in that house with those people they way cousin Emily did. Oh hell-tothe-NO!
-Speaking of Emily, bad enough that she insisted on spending the night in that creepy house and was completely disgusted by the purrrr-fect dinner she retires to the bedroom to...dance around in sexy lingerie?! Her character was more weirder than the Merrye clan...ironic no?
-Big props to Ralph (Sid Haig) for laying the pipe good on that uptight bitch Emily. One minute she was screaming running away from him the next she's moaning in ecstasy and seeking out Ralph for some more. She certainly was keeping the family tradition alive.
-Very nice nod to Lon Chaney's iconic role as The Wolfman during the dinner scene where he mentions that it was going to be a full moon that night. Very Classy.
Those are just some of my thoughts about this crazy little film. It really was a treat to watch and I may have to add it to my movie collection. A must see for horror fans! Now I have to go and find that opening song to put on my ipod. Thanks again to Final Girl Film Club for motivating me to check out this film.
4 comments:
I thought she was hunting Ralph down for revenge. She does tear his eyes out when she finds him after all.
well that could be but to me she seemed like she was calling to him and then got pissed when she saw him attacking the other chick...at least that's how I interpreted it. But I could see it your way as well. I think both are legit since this movie is just bonkers! LOL!!! Thanks for the comment! ^_^
Whoa, where did you get that great romantic picture with the pearls and schoolboy costume.
I think her experience with Ralph sent her over the edge into Merrye Syndrome, but that doesn't preclude your take on the events, oh psychedelic one! Ole'!
@Eric-Google image search is a wondrous thing! I was pretty surprised to find that image myself, LOL! Thanks for commenting! ^_^
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