Product Details

• Actors: Lon Chaney Jr., Carol Ohmart, Quinn K. Redeker, Beverly Washburn, Jill Banner
• Directors: Jack Hill
• Format: Black & White, DVD, Letterboxed, Special Edition, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
• Region: All Regions
• Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Image Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: September 14, 1999
• Run Time: 81 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (50 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00000JN2R
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #145,766 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Spider Baby" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Re-titled Spider Baby in 1968 after the original title Cannibal Orgy, Jack Hill's black and white proto horror-comedy influenced numerous films, especially those featuring boxed or bagged body parts, like Phantasm's yellow-bleeding finger and Blue Velvet's ear found in the meadow. Spider Baby is about an inbred family cursed with Merrye's Disease, which transforms even sweet children, Elizabeth (Beverly Washburn), Virginia (Jill Banner), and Ralph (Sid Haig) into murderous cannibals. Virginia steals the opening scene, during which she plays "spider," cutting the ear off a messenger who is sent to their decrepit Victorian mansion to deliver news of the house's confiscation. Caretaker Bruno (Lon Chaney Jr.) futilely chides Virginia in preparation for a visit from their oblivious, snooty cousin, Emily Howe (Carol Ohmart) and her husband, Peter Howe (Quinn Redeker), who plan to take the home. As more people pile into the house for a meeting, including lawyer Schlocker (Karl Schnazer) and his innocent assistant, Ann (Mary Mitchell), the kids cut loose, hacking everyone up and feeding them to their uncles locked in the basement. Jack Hill, whose films range from horror (Switchblade Sisters) to Blaxploitation (Coffy, Foxy Brown), made sure in Spider Baby to balance comedy with spook so its cannibalistic themes scare but don't absolutely disgust. A brilliant dinner party scene, in which the Merryes serve roasted cat and garden bugs, passing on the meat because they "don't eat dead things," is one of the tensest and funniest cannibal film scenes ever made, up there with Fuad Ramses' Egyptian feast in Roger Corman's Blood Feast. This special edition DVD includes interesting featurettes that detail the making of the movie and the whereabouts of the real mansion, though the best part of Spider Baby is pondering how bizarre this film must have seemed to the 1960s youth. —Trinie Dalton

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Definitive "cult" movie - not for all tastes, April 23, 2001

By 

Mark Shanks (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Spider Baby (DVD)

What to write about THIS one? I have to be honest, this is a tough call to make, because I just haven't seen anything quite like this before, and maybe that's enough of a recommendation in itself. Some reviewers have likened it to "The Addams Family", but I'd say "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" is another candidate for comparison. The Merrye family suffers from a degenerative disease ("rots the brain" - that's what my dad used to say about comic books!) which causes them to regress to, eventually, homicidal, psychopathic cannibals. There's no denying that Lon Chaney does a superior job as the family chauffeur and as the sole voice of reason in the madhouse. Carol Ohmart, as a relative visiting to reclaim the estate, reprises her sexy ice-queen role from "House on Haunted Hill", this time stripping down to the black lace (in one of the more gratuitous moments in a gratuitous movie!)

There's no gore, at least nothing like what you commonly see in today's poor excuses for "horror movies". In fact, the "rat scene" from "Hideous Sun Demon" is probably more of a pure gross-out than anything on camera in this movie. But the *implied* violence is there, in spades. And folks, it's weird. Do NOT expect to sit there and yawn. It may have been done on a low budget, but all that means is that today's directors are wasting money. "Spider Baby"'s director, Jack Hill, did some work with Roger Corman before knocking this one off in a mere 12 days of shooting. The movie was lost in legal limbo for years, and that lack of exposure at a time when it could never have made it to television probably ensured it's future as a true "cult" film.

The print is excellent - no complaints at all. The missing 8 minutes isn't the usual well-deserved cut, either: in this case, they lopped off important background information. (I wish that they had restored it into the film instead of having it as an "extra", but hey! We're lucky to get ANYthing here!)

Bottom line: you can't call yourself a "cult movie fan" if you haven't seen this one. It is in no way similar in plot to "Carnival of Souls", but I'd have to say that it ranks right up there with that classic for pure strangeness.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Yeah Baby, Yeah!, August 7, 2000

By 

Jesmat (West Midlands, UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spider Baby (DVD)

I discovered this DVD a few weeks ago whilst browsing Amazon. I had'nt seen or heard of it before and simply bought it on a whim. It now ranks as one of the most enjoyable movies in my collection. 'Spider Baby' is in a different league to most other B-movies. The production is lifted by excellent direction from Jack Hill and by a very capable and likable cast. The real surprise for me was Lon Chaney's performance as the family chauffeur. I'd half expected to see a washed up old horror star sadly trying to emulate his past glories (a la Bela Lugosi in 'Plan 9 From Outer Space'). Instead, Lon Chaney treats us to one of the best performances of his career (honestly!) and shows what a great professional he was. The movie benefits from a marvellous musical score, including the opening theme which is sung by Mr Chaney himself. It really does have to be heard to be believed. The storyline is surprisingly slow paced and there is little on-screen gore or violence. Most of the horror occurs off camera and the film relies on the weird characters and strange goings on to keep viewers capitivated...and it succeeds brilliantly!

On the technical side, picture quality is fantastic - exceptionally clean and sharp with very little sign of wear and tear. The sound is single channel mono and is also very good. The film is presented in its original widescreen 1.66:1 ratio. This is a good size even if you don't own a widescreen set - the movie looked great on my standard size 1.33:1 TV. The DVD also features an interesting commentary by the film's writer and director Jack Hill. Jack has a very easy going style and gives lots of behind the scenes info on the movie, cast and crew. Spider verdict : a thoroughly enjoyable tongue-in-cheek horror that comes highly recommended.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "Ralph's allowed to eat anything that he catches"..., June 14, 2003

By 

BD Ashley "vidiot_y2k" (Otago, New Zealand) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Spider Baby (DVD)

Also known as THE LIVER EATERS, and subtitled THE MADDEST STORY EVER TOLD (a variation on the DeMille movie); this 30th Anniversary DVD of Jack (FOXY BROWN) Hill's horror classic SPIDER BABY is a real treat. For a movie addict like myself, discovering this is like having Xmas come early.
Hill's script deals with an imaginary medical condition known as "Merrye's Syndrome", a "rotting of the brain" a disease so awful many authorities are in denial of its existance. The result of inbreeding, the sufferer experiences age regression, which is to say as the body grows, the mind gets younger. SPIDER BABY tells the story of "that fateful day ten years ago" that Merrye's Syndrome was wiped out forever.
Despite their name, the Merrye family are anything but and make the Addams family look like the Cleavers by comparison.
Horror legend Lon Chaney Jr has one of his best roles as Bruno Schlocker, the Merrye family's new chauffeur- though unknown to him the previous driver was "webbed" by Virginia Merrye (Jill Banner), one of their cute but deranged daughters. As if that wasn't enough the poor chap also had his ears hacked off with a pair of carving knives. What a lovely young lady. The other psychotic daughter is Elizabeth (Beverly Washburn) also cute, but suffering from radical brain rot. And last but not least is Ralph (Sid Haig) an unfortunate fellow who stalks and kills domestic cats, which the Merryes then roast and serve to their guests; who are told they're eating rabbit. Ironically, the Merrye family are all vegans because.... nope. No spoilers.
During dinner one of the guests asks Bruno: "Isn't Ralph a vegetarian too?" to which Bruno replies: "Yes, but Ralph's allowed to eat anything that he catches".
DVD extras include Commentary by Jack Hill: which is actually worth listening to (Unlike some bloated commentaries by Hollywood egoists and talentless film makers); filmographies for Hill and Lon Chaney Jr; plus footage of the 30th Anniversary reunion presented by archivist Johnny Legend as well as an additional 8 minutes of previously unseen footage.
A must have for cult movie buffs; SPIDER BABY is a true original and four decades on it retains its creepy fascination. Buy it and let the SPIDER BABY weave its macabre web on you!!