Spider Baby, or The Maddest Story Ever Told 

Dir: Jack Hill

1968

*****

Spider Baby, or The Maddest story ever told represents two things; The last of the b-movie horrors, which by the late 60's had been done to death with wavering originality and the beginning of a new chapter in horror, a realism that inspired films such as The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and a new wave of film making that got people thinking differently and making their own independent films. A good cult film will do that. Spider Baby and Jack Hill also created the foundations for what was to become Exploitation film which would influence some of the most successful directors working today. I think the key to its success is the balance of darkness and humour, the description 'Black Comedy' has been overused so often i'm not sure people really know what kind of film it refers to anymore but Spider Baby is a good example of how the idea became mainstream. The performances are awesome, from Lon Chaney Jr's conflicted Bruno, to Sid Haig's likable yet unpredictable Ralph, to Quinn K. Redeker oblivious (and rather funny) Peter to Jill Banner's innocent but deadly Spider baby. Watch the fully restored version and wonder why it was ever referred to as a B-Movie.