‎Spider Baby (1967) directed by Jack Hill • Reviews, film + cast • Letterboxd

Spider Baby

1967 Directed by Jack Hill

The most gruesome horror ever shown!

The story follows a family of inbreeds who have been afflicted by a genetic disorder known as 'Merrye syndrome', named after the family in which the disorder developed. This malady causes its victims to enter a state of age regression that starts at the age of ten and continues throughout the remainder of the person's life, rendering them with the intelligence of a child. The final generation of the family has been entrusted to the care of the family chauffeur (Lon Chaney Jr), and all is well for these odd people until a greedy branch of the family decides that they want to relieve the family of its home. Mental illness has always, and will always be, a fascinating subject for horror movies as it probes into the unknown and Spider Baby makes best use of that fact.

Lon Chaney Jr. Carol Ohmart Quinn K. Redeker Beverly Washburn Jill Banner Sid Haig Mary Mitchel Karl Schanzer Mantan Moreland

81 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by Marna Larsen ★★★★★

Set in a pretty traditional haunted house but hints of the definitive 'genetically defective' family dinner to come shine thru here and there. Some people just aren't right you know. Not me or you or anyone we know but people out there, people that might try and trap you in a web or wear a great gatsby dress to dinner, you just don't know! That being said, the 'kids' are pretty adorable.

Also I've noticed offscreen animal deaths don't necessarily bother me? Easier to picture the cat just being cute and getting paid for his or her fine acting with tuna and plenty of chin scratches.

#143
Review by Joe ★★★★★ 3

I've never seen a movie that strikes the tone this one does, an intersection between scary, funny, sexy, completely heartfelt, and totally disreputable. Lon Chaney's tearful late film monologue should be legendary if it isn't already. Same goes for Sid Haig's completely unhinged performance.
Review by matt lynch ★★★★

Lagrange point between "The Addams Family" and THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE.
Review by Naughty aka Juli Norwood ★½ 3

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Film #5 of the "Scavenger Hunt" Challenge!
Task #26 : An Exploitation film!
letterboxd.com/naughty/list/scavenger-hunt/

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Unfortunately I was immune to the charm others claim to have seen in this exploitation film! In my eyes the descriptive summary of the film was far more impressive than what unfolded onscreen! Most of the horrifying aspects of the film are either implied innuendo or happens off screen! What we are allowed to see doesn't amount to a hill of beans!

Highlights of the film would be a very young Sid Haig (Ralph) And the greatest wolfman ever Lon Chaney (Bruno) who quite frankly gave this film his all!
Review by Disgustipated ★★★★★ 3

Hooptober 5.0 - 2018 - Film #13

WTF- Spider Baby!

Spider Baby is a young woman. Who thinks she is spider. It sounds so stupid. But it is awesome.

Spider girl, Virginia, is holed up in a gothic mansion with her retarded older brother Ralph, her constanly whining sister, Elizabeth, and the chauffeur, Bruno, who acts as their de-facto guardian and tries to keep them together and safe from the outside world. Considering that Virginia has a habit of throwing a web over the odd visitor with and stabbing them to death, it's probably not a bad idea to keep them separated.

But their peace is rudely interrupted by extended family members, a lawyer and a secretary who come to…
Review by laird ★★★★ 4

Somewhere between this and Zombie Shark Cheerleaders (or whatever DTV horror comedy is currently in post production somewhere on Earth this minute) we as a culture forgot that a movie that has horror elements can also be funny without being overtly self-referential, jokey, and stupid (2011's THE WOMAN is a notable counter example). Everyone plays their part with a straight forward conviction that makes the humorous aspects even more absurd and enjoyable. Lon Chaney Jr in particular summons something deep, dark and true in his turn as the straight man to his ghoulish family.

Also, a great theme song *or* the greatest theme song of all time?

Recent reviews

Review by Marna Larsen ★★★★★

Set in a pretty traditional haunted house but hints of the definitive 'genetically defective' family dinner to come shine thru here and there. Some people just aren't right you know. Not me or you or anyone we know but people out there, people that might try and trap you in a web or wear a great gatsby dress to dinner, you just don't know! That being said, the 'kids' are pretty adorable.

Also I've noticed offscreen animal deaths don't necessarily bother me? Easier to picture the cat just being cute and getting paid for his or her fine acting with tuna and plenty of chin scratches.

#143
Review by Scott Kaczynski ★★★½

This is a fun movie, full of 60's cheese, and early exploition vibes.

The duo of the two sisters is great. Chemistry and weirdness abound. Sid Haig plays a mentally disabled giant rounding out the crew.

It reminded me of an adult version of the Addams Family.

It started out pretty tame, but ramped up near the end. It's got rape, canabilism, suicide, you know all the "must haves" for a shock flick.

One thing I learned, never play "spider" if asked, or at least look to see if there are any large knives laying around.
Review by Jon Ursenbach ★★★

I don't like spiders either, dude.
Review by Greg Dorr ★★★★

I first watched and reviewed SPIDER BABY OR, THE MADDEST STORY EVER TOLD as part of this website's inaugural Octoblur horror festival in 2014. It was one of my favorite movies of the 48 that I watched that month, the kind of introduction to a movie that always brings with it a hint of fear that the same level of enthusiasm will never survive a second viewing. That it did survive a second viewing is a testament to director Jack Hill's attention to the right details: although the situations in SPIDER BABY are sensational, they may not have continued to stand-out after a further five decades of creepy family horror movies without the care that Hill and his cast have…
Review by cat_vs_kirk ★★★½

Not much of a story here... And the characters aren't, uh, very nuanced... But it definitely has a certain charm. A "bunch of inbred weirdoes use spiders and knives to kill everyone they meet" sort of charm, but a charm nonetheless
Review by Emperor Cupcake ★★★½

The subtitle for this is THE MADDEST STORY EVER TOLD and yeah, that's not hyperbole, this thing is pretty darn mad. This is somewhat of a cult film from the 60s that I'd never heard of before lucking into it on a horror podcast. This is why you should listen to horror podcasts. This movie could have been cheesy as hell, like Ed Wood territory, but it's surprisingly well-made and well-acted. It's about a family with a syndrome that causes them to regress into violent mutants in late childhood. The two creepy girls, especially the "spider" one, are really effective. Lon Cheney Jr. brings a subtle and even touching performance as their caretaker. Probably better than you expect.
Review by n135479

diaboliquemagazine.com/spider-baby-blu-ray-review/
Review by RiddleOfSteel ★★★

Kind of an awkward, comedic, Texas Chainsaw Massacre. 60's horror silliness makes this entertaining throughout.
Review by Caeneus ★★★½

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

For people like me who aren't attracted to women, sexy fanservice in horror films is often hard to come by so I gotta say...the bondage scene with Uncle Peter towards the end of this flick....poetic cinema....over too soon, alas!!

Watched on YouTube, an upload by somebody who had put a dull yellow filter over it which heightened how dingy and off-putting everything is in a wonderful way.

Very fun. The sisters cracked me up.