Spider Baby – Director’s Cut (Dark Sky Films/DVD)
Picture:
C+ Sound: C Extras: B- Film: C-
No matter
what cut you see, Jack Hill’s cult classic Spider
Baby (aka Cannibal Orgy, or The Maddest Story Ever Told) is a very
bad film; Ed Wood bad for that matter.
Trying to capitalize on films like Whatever
Happened To Baby Jane? and Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, the film is about three young adults with mental
complications who murder the more they regress.
Two young ladies (Jill Banner and Beverly Washburn) are half-dressed and
their brother (a young Sid Haig) might as well run around with an adult
diaper. With Lon Chaney Jr. as Bruno,
The Chauffeur, this could have been interesting, but Hill’s script and directing
make it a mess.
Dark Sky
has issued this extras-loaded DVD to enhance its release and appeal. The film is a hoot, but a little can go a
long way, because it is not so bad it’s good.
It is just plain bad. The film
wants to be a comedy and horror thriller, but any laughs are unintended and
anything scary is from the script being so bad.
More frustrating is that if this has been taken more seriously and Hill
could have balanced these ideas with some tension, this could have worked on
some level. As it is, it is an all time
free-for-all curio with some interesting casting, groovy music, decent black
and white shoot and amusing animated opening credits. Could be played with the sound down while
listening to Monster Mash.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.66 X 1 image looks better than previous clips and
versions we have seen, though one too many segments are softer than we’d have
liked. However, when this does look
good, Director of Photography Alfred Taylor does deliver some good shots and
humorous images intended and not. The
Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono shows its age more so, which is to be expected from an
independent film. The picture does not
look as old. The combination is good for
its age.
Extras
include an interesting feature length audio commentary with Hill & Haig, Hatching
Of Spider Baby making of featurette, Spider Stravinsky: The Cinema
Sounds Of Ronald Stein about the groovy music he has created for films
like this & other notable B-films of the time, The Merrye House Revisited
featurette, stills, amusing alternate opening title sequence with the Cannibal Orgy name and even an extended
scene. All in all, it is everything
you’d want to see and know about the film.
Dark Sky has done this notorious classic justice.
For more
on the 50 Worst Movies Ever Made
DVD, check out this link:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/2427/The+50+Worst+Movies+Ever+Made
- Nicholas Sheffo
