The Giant Spider (2013)

Remember all those unfunny people you've met in your lifetime who genuinely thought they were funny even though no one else did and were never even aware of it? Well, they apparently got together and made this movie with just lousy dialogue and characterizations, plus a magnified tarantula superimposed in scenes and an obviously fake spider head for close-ups. I thought the 1977 'The Crater Lake Monster' was one of the worst movies I'd ever seen but this movie effortlessly edged ahead of that one. They simply try to hard to parody the subject and the 50s and it just doesn't work, unless of course their intent was to make as horrible a movie as the ones they're referencing.Save your brain cells and give this one a huge pass - the 'star' rating that is 6+ is obviously manipulated and is not reflective of the quality of this movie - you surely have the film makers, their friends and their relatives to thank for that slanted score.

I can see the attempt to make this a 50's style film, but it doesn't work. Now I have seen movies of the 1950's including the nature on the rampage ones. This isn't that. There are many jokes throughout poking fun at 50's life, and that joke wears thin really quickly. The movie, simply, is too self aware to be a real throwback. Maybe I'm being too critical of the film but...it's a good attempt but just doesn't work. Stop trying too hard.

The main problem I have with these indie throwback tributes to the 1950s monster movie genre is that I'd much rather be watching one of the original productions rather than an indie with a struggling budget trying to do justice to the genre. That's the case with THE GIANT SPIDER, a virtual reworking of TARANTULA with some surprisingly decent, lo-fi special effects. The whole thing is shot in black and white and certainly looks the part, but the script is sub par and I found the forced humour to be unfunny; I'd much rather they simply played it straight.

I've been following Christopher R. Mihm's film career for a couple of years now, and The Giant Spider is easily the best, most accomplished film he's made. Mihm has made a career of mounting reverent homages to 50's horror/sci-fi films, and the polish of each of his films (this is his eighth!) grows with each film. The pacing, acting, special effects, directing, and technical achievement of The Giant Spider is pretty darn impressive for an independent film-maker - some stand out elements for me: The "spider" simply puts all other film beasties to shame - compare it directly with 1955's "Tarantula" and you can see how much better this one is filmed and presented. The puppetry is AMAZING! The close-up of the spider's face is really, really first rate. And the theme song has been stuck in my head for days! Love, love, love it. A film that made me laugh out loud several times (not AT it, WITH it), and left me with a great big smile. Perfect film for fans of the genre.