Kingdom of the Spiders (1977)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

John 'Bud' Cardos

Writers:

Alan Caillou (writer)
Stephen Lodge (story)

Release Date:

November 1977 (USA)

Genre:

Sci-Fi | Horror

Tagline:

A new species of horror is born.

Plot:

Investigating the mysterious deaths of a number of farm animals, vet Rack Hansen discovers that his...

Plot Keywords:

Farm | Spider | Tarantula | Death | Hotel

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

William Shatner	...	Dr. Robert 'Rack' Hansen
Tiffany Bolling	...	Diane Ashley
Woody Strode	...	Walter Colby
Lieux Dressler	...	Emma Washburn
David McLean	...	Sheriff Gene Smith
Natasha Ryan	...	Linda Hansen
Altovise Davis	...	Birch Colby
Joe Ross	...	Vern Johnson
Marcy Lafferty	...	Terry Hansen
Adele Malis-Morey	...	Betty Johnson (as Adele Malis)
Roy Engel	...	Mayor Connors
Hoke Howell	...	Earl Forbes
Bill Coontz	...	Clyde
Whitey Hughes	...	The Baron
Jay Lawrence	...	Deputy

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | France:-12 | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 | UK:PG | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Camp Verde, Arizona, USA

Company:

Arachnid Productions Ltd.

Trivia:

$50,000 of the movie's budget went towards spiders. The producers offered to pay $10 each for live tarantulas, and handlers collected 5,000 of them.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: Just before his accident, Walter Colby is shown driving his truck. Briefly, a crew member's hand comes into view at the bottom of the screen.

Quotes:

Terry Hansen: Hey I'm sorry about what happened the other day.
Dr. Robert 'Rack' Hansen: I don't know what you're talking about lady.
[Terry Giggles]
Terry Hansen: Rack, your a funny man, You want be with your brother's wife, but you take care of her like you were. Isn't that like buying the cow and giving the milk away?
Dr. Robert 'Rack' Hansen: You don't quit pestering me, one of these mornings I'm gonna show up and start milking that cow.
Terry Hansen: Well, make sure your hands are warm.
[Rack giggles and holds his hands up in a clawing manner]

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Svengoolie: Kingdom of the Spiders" (1996)

Soundtrack:

Things I Treasure

Thoroughly entertaining nature-strikes-back horror scores a bulls-eye.

Arizona veterinarian "Rack" Hansen (William Shatner) probes the death of farmer Walter Colbys' (Woody Strode) prize calf; entomologist Diane Ashley (Tiffany Bolling) shows up to inform them that the cause of death was spider venom. Then the culprits - a seemingly never-ending army of tarantulas - show up to terrorize all the locals.

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I ended up liking this B level rural horror movie. It builds slowly but surely to a squirm-inducing climax with more tarantulas than I've ever seen in a motion picture. A fair portion of the budget for this picture went towards collecting the little stars, and boy does it show.

In its final third, the film delivers some good, solid, creepy scenes. Hansens' niece Linda (Natasha Ryan) on a swing, surrounded by the small menaces, a pilot trapped in his own crop duster, unable to get away from the critters, Colbys' unfortunate wife Birch (Altovise Davis) actually shooting a spider off of her hand, and so forth. The images of victims covered in webbing is also chillingly effective.

The cast delivers engaging performances right down the line; other fine performers in the cast include Lieux Dressler, Roy Engel, and Hoke Howell.

It's not entirely free from "Jaws" references: the ignorant mayor (Engel) concerns himself more with the towns' financial success than his citizens' survival.

Marked by a nicely realized downbeat ending, that ensures that this picture will stick in my memory instead of quickly fading. It's directed efficiently by John "Bud" Cardos, with first-rate animal action. I'm glad I caught this one; it's a good picture of its kind and I'd recommend it to others.

8/10