This low-budget film about huge spiders attacking the town of Merrill, Wisconsin, was one of the top 50 highest-grossing films of 1975. Since its theatrical release, “The Giant Spider Invasion” has seen four major runs on television and has become a B-movie cult classic. “The Official Razzie Movie Guide” lists it as one of “The 100 Most Enjoyably Bad Movies Ever Made.”
One of the things that kept me intrigued throughout the 84-minute runtime of the film was its obscure array of subplots. First of these is farmer Dan Kester’s verbally abusive relationship with his wife, Ev. Even when a meteor drops rocks filled with diamonds and, unnoticed by its discoverers, spiders, Dan and Ev still can’t manage to work together, fighting over who gets the diamonds. Dan’s ferocity causes Ev to drink heavily, especially when her husband is screwing around with Helga the Bartender late into the night. These issues are never resolved, though, because a giant spider eats both Dan and Ev before they can discuss their marital problems.
There are also reccurring messages from a evangelical revivalist, shown or heard almost exclusively screaming, that loosely tie into the events of the spider invasion, warning of the troubles to come for sinners and telling of the horrors of hell. As the credits roll at the end of the film, this preacher’s voice continues, yelling at both sinners and nonbelievers to remind them of the seven plagues.
It’s interesting that such things as religion and abuse play into this movie. I mean, as a whole, this movie is awful. The effects are hilarious: the crew created the 50-foot spider by covering a Volkswagen bus with artificial fur, with the taillights serving as big red eyes. In most scenes, the contrast is drastic, making the spider look like a black shadow that is somehow swallowing a human whole.
The complexity of the explanation for the arrival of the spiders was just as odd. At one point, when Dr. Vance, a NASA scientist, and Dr. Langer, local Wisconsin scientist, realize the spiders came from a black hole that opened the gateway to another universe, I felt like I was watching “Donnie Darko.” The very fact that a movie about giant spiders attacking a rural Wisconsin town had such serious subplots and applications of science, for some reason, made me laugh harder.
The strangest part of the film, though, was its abrupt ending. When the town gets wind of the gigantic spiders, it begins to piece together a militia to bring the beasts down. At the same time, Vance and Langer are trying to close off the gateway allowing the spiders to roam earth. While the sheriff holds off the mob, Vance and Langer manage to close the portal. The spiders instantly begin to melt into this gross liquid substance. When Vance and Langer notice they have achieved their goal they kind of half hug, the picture freezes and the credits roll.
My question with this film is: Why all the subplots? I understand an 80-minute spider rampage would have been excessive, but why include all this nonsense if none of it is to be resolved?
In the end, “The Giant Spider Invasion” gave me a good laugh, but I find it unsettling that someone, in whatever black-hole universe, may be a devout fan of this film.
