The Movie:

Bruno (the late, great Lon Chaney Jr.) is a gentle man who makes his living as the driver and caretaker of the Merrye estate. Not only does he take care of the grounds but he also looks after the three Merrye children - Ralph (Sid Haig), Virginia (Jill Banner) and Elizabeth (Beverly Washburn). Sadly, these three children are all afflicted with a condition so unique that it's been named after them, causing them to mentally regress to the point where they are, in many ways, quite primitive and prone to acts of cannibalism! Bruno swore to the children's late father that he'd take care of them and try to shelter them from the rest of the world, who really wouldn't understand them, but that all changes when the postman (Mantan Moreland!) shows up to deliver a letter and is killed when Virginia decides to 'play spider' with him.

The letter, which Bruno reads, announces that a few distant relatives of the Merrye clan intend to visit the estate and take custody of the children from Bruno. Uncle Peter (Quinn Redeker) and Aunt Emily (Carol Ohmart) bring their lawyer, Mr. Schlocker (Karl Schanzer) and his assistant Ann (Mary Mitchell), along for the ride and soon enough wind up at the decrepit family home. If their intentions were honorable that would be one thing but Bruno is suspect and it turns out that the new additions to the family are hoping that with the children will come a sizeable inheritance. Bruno's none too keen on letting them into the home for the night, but he relents only to find that Virginia is intent on playing another game of spider with the new house guests.

Shot in 1964 but not released until 1968 thanks to some financial problems that the producers ran into, Spider Baby (also known under the more sensationalist titles Cannibal Orgy or The Maddest Story Ever Told) is a strange little film. Famed exploitation director Jack Hill keeps the action moving at a good clip and paces the film well but the script is smarter and a little more cerebral than your average drive-in horror film. Couple the more sensitive aspects of the storyline with great performances from Chaney (who also sings the opening song!), Haig, Washburn and Banner and we find ourselves with a horror film where we care more about the poor, sympathetic cannibals then we do about the other characters. It's an interesting little twist, with Chaney really standing out and doing a fantastic job as the 'genuinely nice guy.' Haig's performance is also quite interesting as it's very physical, he has very little actual dialogue in the movie but still manages to give Ralph a true personality. Elements of black comedy run deep in the film and the quirky lead performances really fit nicely in the script's mix of shocks and laughs. It's amazing that it all works, when you consider that the film deals with incest, cannibalism and children suffering from a mental condition!

The strange score from composer Ronald Stein fits the eerie locations and stark black and white cinematography very nicely, ensuring that the picture has the right kind of music to fit and compliment that unusual visuals. Hill sets the story up quite nicely so that what transpires actually has an impact. The scares and more shocking moments of the film happen for a reason, it never feels completely gratuitous. There are moments where the film seems to be repeating itself but thankfully not enough of them to hurt the picture in the long run. In the end the film isn't as gory or as crazy as you might expect, instead it's clever and rather charming despite its unorthodox subject matter.

Video:

Dark Sky presents Spider Baby in a rock solid, director approved 1.66.1 anamorphic widescreen transfer that looks very good. There is a bit of print damage evident in some spots and at times the contrast gets a little high but for the most part the image is clean and clear and noticeably improved over the previous Image DVD release. Sharpness looks good and foreground and background detail remain pretty strong. A bit of edge enhancement shows up now and again but it's minor - there's not much to complain about here. The film will never look pristine, nor should it, and this transfer certainly does the visuals justice.