MoPoshy Absolutely brilliant

Numerootno A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

Marva-nova Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

Logan By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

lulu-17985 It may be unintentional, but the more I think about this movie, the more it makes sense. It pretty much sends up many Gothic horror tropes-a decaying house, along with a decaying, mentally disturbed family, and a sympathetic-and, in this case, empathetic-caretaker who tries, in vain, to protect the family from outsiders, even though the caretaker isn't a family member him or herself. It even parodies the sex and violence used in movies to try and catch an audience's attention, with Virginia's off screen mutilation of the poor telegram messenger via what would have been, in "normal" circumstances, an "innocent" and silly pretense to be a spider. We also have the "auntie" stripping down, for no clear reason, and then being chased around in her black lace underwear just for shocking effect-but the one thing that I really found disturbing was how they more than implied that-once her disturbed distant kinsman, Ralph, "had his way with her," she was anxious for "more."There have been other movies mentioned that this one is similar to. The one that stands out, to me, in similarity, is "Arsenic and Old Lace," Though much darker in tone, like the earlier movie, this one uses humor to soften the troubling subject of criminal insanity addressed in the film. It also reminds me very much of "The Fearless Vampire Killers or Pardon Me, But Your Teeth Are In My Neck," which would be created after this movie, though it would end up released about the same time. That one was an unabashed send up of Hammer Studios' vampire movies, as well as Roger Corman's "Poe" movies for AIP. It even has the "twist" ending like the preceding "Spiderbaby" production.One of the standout moments, to me, is the one straight dramatic moment when-in a discussion between Lon Chaney's character and his troubled charges-you realize that they aren't so nuts that they don't understand that they are different, and they actually communicate a sorrow and regret about their situation.Sadly, not many people remember Lon Chaney, Jr. was nominated for an academy award because he ended up doing so many forgettable movies for various reasons, not the least being his own battle with the bottle. I'm glad that, in this movie, his character is portrayed as displaying an amazing calm in the midst of the insane zoo he was trying to wrangle-and not told to try and recreate Cary Grant's manic performance in the similar role in "Arsenic and Old Lace." I think he did a good job with the part.They really didn't explain much about the kid's dad. He obviously must not have suffered the genetic aberration himself, but gambled that he would not pass it on to his own offspring-a gamble he obviously lost. Since they also had "crazies" in the basement, I wonder if they were his siblings? If all you want is a "popcorn" movie, I think this one works just fine for that. If you're looking for Ingmar Bergman, then you should pass on this one. Also, though I know kids nowadays aren't "protected" from certain subjects like we oldies were, as a parent I would think about the implied cannibalism and rape/sadomasochism in the film before letting a kid watch this. A really sensitive kid might pick up on the implied cruelty amidst the silliness.

Charles G Uncle Peter: "Do you like horror movies?"Spider Baby, also known as The Maddest Story Ever Told, is about a caretaker who lives in an old mansion with three siblings who suffer from Merry Syndrome. It's a rare disease caused by inbreeding, which causes them to mentally, socially, and physically regress backwards down the evolutionary ladder starting in early puberty. All of a sudden another branch of the family, without Merry Syndrome, appear out of nowhere to claim the house.What starts off as a black and white, gritty B-movie ends up as one of my favourite Horror movies. Well, in general to be completely honest. The combination of the cartoony, one-dimensional yet amusing characters and the bizarre atmosphere worked extremely well for me. The only minor downside was the sometimes overpowering audio but it was no deal breaker. Spider Baby may not be that scary but it's definitely creepy. It's a web of funny dialogue and witty scenes and I'm not afraid to tell you that I was caught in it.

TheBlueHairedLawyer It's hard not to at least like the family living in the strange old house in this movie, despite then being the antagonists. Two adolescent sisters and their older brother Ralph live with their caretaker Bruno who used to be the family chauffeur until the death of the parents. All three kids suffer from a disease inherited from the inbreeding in their family which causes their mental stability to regress as they get older. Ralph is an overgrown and mute adult man with the mind of a child who enjoys hiding in the dumbwaiter. His sister Virginia has an obsession with spiders; she frequently enjoys "playing spider" with strangers and neighbors, which involves killing them, and she collects whatever spiders she can find in the basement. the other sibling, Elizabeth, is a very hostile teenager who often causes trouble. Bruno loves them; he knows the good sides of the three kids but knows that outsiders would only see them as freaks, so he takes care of them and tries his best to isolate them from people. One day a letter arrives which warns of the coming of the children's estranged aunt, uncle and a sleazy lawyer. When they show up they immediately suggest that the children should be institutionalized, but Bruno protests that it would terrify them to leave home. For dinner the guests, without realizing it, are eating garden weeds, some wizzled up old mushrooms and a stray cat that Ralph caught and killed. Bruno tells the guests that it's a rabbit. When the guests stay the night, things only get worse as murders begin to take place, and more gruesome family secrets are discovered that lead Bruno to the only choice he has left to protect the children.It really makes you question whether the children are the real antagonists or if the ill-fated guests with bad intentions are the bad people. I'd say Bruno was my favorite character; he was a character with a kind and caring personality but conflicting choices to make. The acting for all the characters was really good, and the film had a very shocking conclusion... maybe there'll be more "spider babies" out there... The film also had this very messed up but funny cartoon at the beginning, accompanied by a weird little song and title credits. If you're a fan of classic horror, this is definitely worth your time, I loved it!

sjrobb99-997-836393 "Spider Baby" is a treasure. Lon Chaney, Jr. is Bruno, caretaker of Merrye House and its inhabitants: Virginia, Elizabeth, and Ralph. The Merrye siblings are nominally teenagers, but suffer from a hereditary disease ("Merrye Syndrome") that stunts them mentally and emotionally, leaving them to act out with the boundary-free viciousness of small children. Their Uncle Peter (a smarmily effective Quinn Redeker) tells us that the disease will progress until the children revert to savagery and cannibalism.Bruno wearily but lovingly tends his little flock: Elizabeth (Beverly Washburn) flounces and pouts like a nasty 5-year-old; Virginia (Jill Banner), creepily nubile and obsessed with spiders, and Ralph (Sid Haig) who has regressed to infantile grunts and dependence.The movie shoves you face-first into the dreamily brutal world of the Merrye children: in the first five minutes, Virginia traps a messenger (Mantan Moreland) in her string "web" and gleefully "stings" him to death with a pair of long knives. Afterward, Elizabeth scolds her: "Bad Virginia! Bruno will really hate you now!" But Bruno is more disappointed than horrified. "Remember when those two children climbed over the wall?" he chides Virginia, gently, "and Elizabeth almost got them in her web before I got there? I expected you to watch her and not let her do that again!" Virginia pouts, and Elizabeth buries her head in Bruno's lap and wails, "Please don't hate me, Bruno!" Bruno strokes her hair and rasps, "I promised your father I would NEVER hate you." And you believe him.Alas, greedy relations come sniffing around; brother and sister Aunt Emily (Carol Ohmert) and Uncle Peter arrive, followed by attorney Schlocker (Karl Schanzer) and his secretary, Ann (Mary Mitchel). Emily is a greedy bitch with a heart of stone. She brought the lawyer; Peter (who attempts avuncularity with the suspicious Merryes) is not so sure. Schlocker strikes the only false note in the entire movie; with his Hitler mustache and cartoonish pontificating, he plays for much broader satire than is necessary. Bruno, horrified at the idea of losing the children, rises to the occasion; the Merryes give their guests dinner featuring a main course of fried cat, which Uncle Peter gamely pronounces to be "Rabbit, obviously, and done to a turn!" Bruno explains that "...usually we are vegetarians, but Ralph is allowed to eat anything he catches." (Ralph chortles obscenely.)Afterward, Uncle Peter takes Ann into the village to find a hotel for the night, while Emily and Schlocker opt to stay in the house...with predictably gruesome results. While Bruno cares for Ralph, Elizabeth and Virginia decide that Schlocker will "tell about us" and thus, he must die. They descend on him like harpies, Elizabeth shrieking "KILL HIM! KILL HIM!" while Virginia drools vacantly and waves her "stingers". Schlocker natters about how "There are laws about these things! Criminal Laws!" while they brutalize him.Meanwhile, Emily, in her bedroom, strips down to black lace bra, panties, and garter belt and discovers a closet full of old negligees. Again, the genius of the movie peeks through: in any other B-flick, this would be a cheap thrill to keep the audience engaged; here, it seems perfectly logical that someone as self- absorbed as Emily would try on the negligees and strut about in front of the mirror. When she discovers Ralph hanging upside-down outside her window like a spider, she runs shrieking from the room--and smack into Virginia and Elizabeth wrestling Schlocker's battered corpse out of the dumbwaiter.Clad only in lingerie and heels, Emily totters, screaming, into the night, pursued by Virginia and Elizabeth in full cry -- but Ralph gets there first, and wrestles Emily into a bush with much grunting and slobbering. Virginia, finding them a moment later, rolls her eyes and yells, "Hey, Liz, look at THIS!" before going back to the house like nothing is wrong.Later, the camera returns to the woods...and we see Emily, stretched out on the ground, quite alive, albeit rumpled. She sits up, stretches, and looks around; her face is different -- softer, somehow -- and as it dawns on you that she looks awfully...post-coital, she tosses her hair and calls out, kittenishly, "Ralph? Where are you?"I had to watch that scene twice before I believed that the filmmaker had gone there, but when Emily gets up and goes in search of Ralph it is not played for laughs: you know beyond a doubt that Ralph gave Emily the ride of her life and she wants an encore, and some part of you hopes that she'll get it because this movie is so finely crafted, you have no trouble rooting for a deranged cannibal to get some. By the time Bruno realizes that the only way keep the world at bay and avoid further bloodshed is to blow up the house with all three children in it, his gallant determination to protect his charges to the end will move you to tears. One of the most touching scenes in the movie comes at the end, when Peter, having freed himself from Virginia's web, attempts to rescue Ann and encounters Bruno arming the bomb that will send the Curse of the Merryes to oblivion. "Sir," says a flustered -- but desperately polite -- Bruno, "I don't know why you've come back here but I would advise you to leave with all due speed!" There are loose ends, of course. You never really find out much about the lycanthropic relatives in the cellar, or why Virginia thinks she's a spider. But you end up so immersed in the beautiful, swampy madness of the story that none of that matters.