The Giant Spider Invasion (1975)

A fair argument could be made that applying critical standards of any sort to a picture called The Giant Spider Invasion is pointless, seeing as how the title is so ridiculous that only an equally ridiculous film could accompany the title. In that spirit, let’s dispel with the usual appraisal of whether The Giant Spider Invasion “works” in any traditional sense. Instead, let’s explore a more relevant topic: whether the movie is fun to watch. That depends. If you’re looking for a few chuckles, mostly at the expense of the filmmakers, then you could do worse than investing 84 minutes in The Giant Spider Invasion. Made in the tradition of the giant-monster flicks of the 1950s, the picture offers old-fashioned silliness with a few concessions to modernity, namely brief nudity and a little bit of gore. The movie’s distinguishing characteristics are its absurd special effects, since the oversized monster of the title is actually a set of flailing legs and a furry body strapped to car as it put-puts through various locations. On some level, The Giant Spider Invasion is endearingly terrible. The plot involves familiar hokum. A meteor falls into a field outside a small town, unleashing normal-sized but vicious spiders. They kill a few folks. Then a human-sized spider claims a victim. Finally, an arachnid the size of a house begins its rampage. All the while, two scientists try to halt the invasion. Envision all the usual clichés executed without energy or imagination, and you’re on target. Directed by one Bill Rebane, the picture relies on stock characters and trite dialogue, though flashes of something resembling wit appear. Gilligan’s Island star Alan Hale Jr. plays a sheriff, and his first line is “Hi, little buddy!” A bumpkin character maligns someone by saying, “You’re so dumb you wouldn’t know rabbit turds from Rice Krispies.” Not exactly Algonquin Round Table banter, but serviceable in this context. The Giant Spider Invasion is cheap, goofy, and shallow, but for insatiable creature-feature addicts, those aren’t necessarily negatives.

The Giant Spider Invasion: LAME