‘The scream you hear will be your own’
The Giant Spider Invasion is a 1975 sci-fi horror film about arachnids from another dimension that invade Wisconsin.
The movie was directed by Bill Rebane (Blood Harvest; The Demons of Ludlow; The Capture of Bigfoot) from a screenplay by Robert Easton and Richard L. Huff.
The film is about giant spiders that terrorise the town of Merrill, Wisconsin and the surrounding area. The iconic theatrical poster art was a throwback to the giant monster movies of the 1950s. The $300,000 film received a considerable theatrical run via Group 1 and became one of the fifty top-grossing films of that year.
Major roles were played by some actors who may have been considered “has-beens” at the time. The leads were Steve Brodie and Barbara Hale, with other roles going to Alan Hale, Jr. and Leslie Parrish (whose character unwittingly drinks a Bloody Mary cocktail containing a pulped arachnid!).
The film’s one “Giant Spider” was constructed by covering a Volkswagen automobile with artificial black fur, with the fake legs operated from the inside by seven members of the crew. The back of the car was the front of the monster, and its red tail lights served as the monster’s glowing eyes. In August 2013, it was reported that the rusting frame of the giant spider had been stolen and sold off for scrap.
A comic book was created to help promote the film and was reprinted for Retromedia’s DVD of the film.
“Despite the jokey reference to Jaws (1975) this film is clearly a displaced item from the fifties cycle of radiation (and such like) mutation movies. It even comes complete with Brodie and Hale as the boy-meets-girl couple who save the day. But, whereas the fifties films were at least a direct reflection of their times, this ineptly mounted offering has no such backdrop.” The Aurum Film Encyclopedia: Science Fiction book
“Something of a hotch-potch as Rebane jumbles comic strip with genuinely unsettling horror. Real spiders are used to reasonably good effect, whereas the one giant specimen, despite a spirited first appearance, is patently mechanical and sadly undemonstrative.” Time Out
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“Lots of laughs … there hasn’t been a movie with special effects so bad since The Giant Claw!” Michael Weldon, The Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film book
” …stars the silliest “giant creature” ever created in movie history. It takes this film almost an hour for the “giant spider” to show up up, and when it does, it’s so blatantly a VW beetle with fake legs attached that you won’t believe your eyes.”John Wilson, The Official Razzie Movie Guide
“In spite of the title, there is only one giant spider, but we don’t feel cheated because it’s a dilly. It is impossible to see such a budget conscious special effect without feeling a wave of admiration.” Stephen King, Danse Macabre book
“Modest and unpretentious, The Giant Spider Invasion is really much better than its reputation […] But the famously bad spider puppets are the main draw […] Be sure to enjoy good-natured 70s sexism: a teenaged floozy appears virtually topless, and at one point the camera shamelessly zooms in on her cleavage.” David Elroy Goldweber, Claws & Saucers book
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Choice dialogue:
Sheriff Jones [Alan Hale Jr.]: “Did you ever see that movie Jaws? This makes that shark look like a goldfish!”
Filming locations:
Merrill and Gleason, Wisconsin
Trailer:
Carnage count:
Free to watch online on YouTube:
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