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[tab title="Movie Review"]

The Giant Spider Invasion

“Sometimes the only way I know you’re still alive is when I hear ya flush the toilet!”

Don’t adjust your television set!  The little blue streak shooting across a rather bland-looking photo of the galaxy as the title card for THE GIANT SPIDER INVASION appears means that aliens have arrived in Small Town, USA.  Cue the wind machines and the kooky electronic music!

"Through it all, the demented tone of this trashterpiece changes on a dime.  Sometimes comedic and sometimes dramatic, there’s always plenty to laugh at as giant spiders start roaming the countryside"


 

As the wind picks up, the arrival of these beings from outer space means that the Sheriff (Alan Hale, Jr, Gilligan's Island) is actually going to have to work the strip tonight (instead of just picking up the phone and basically being unhelpful) and set aside all the sitcom-inspired jokes for a hot minute or two.

Thanks to Dark Star Entertainment, The Giant Spider Invasion, a low rent spectacular, is back on, making its blu-ray debut with a brand-new HD transfer that was newly minted from the restored, original 35mm camera negative.  Miracles CAN happen!

It’s the night of big revival over at town hall and all the townies are going to be there to hear the preacher blather on and on about the Second Coming.  Unfortunately, his fingers point to the sky at the same time of a huge space age crash.  Suddenly, this dude is on fire with rock and roll! {googleads}

Clear across town, Dave (Kevin Brodie), the son of the local newspaper owner, has a hot date with Terry (Diane Lee Hart), the cutest girl in town.  Terry, who is definitely hot to trot, desperately wants to get out of her alcoholic sister’s cramped farm house.  Ev (Leslie Parrish), her sister, is unhappily married to the cheating Dan Kester (Robert Easton).  They raise cattle together, but that’s it as they mostly hate the sight of one another.  

And giant spiders landing in their pasture aren’t going to change that sad fact.  Not unless their arrival leaves behind rocks full of diamonds . . . which it does.  Last night’s disturbances are tonight’s red wine!  Yippee!  

Leave it then to two bored scientists, Vance (Steve Brodie) and Langer (Barbara Hale), to go over the reports concerning the crash and detect some spiking radiation levels.  Whatever landed isn’t going away on its own.  The Giant Spider Invasion

Directed by Bill Rebine (Monster a Go-Go, Invasion From Inner Earth) and written by Easton - ya know, the dude who plays the cattle rancher who is slipping everybody but his wife the salami -  and Robert Huff, The Giant Spider Invasion begins with cattle mutilations, electronic malfunctions, and really bad jokes.  But how it ends - as volkswagens, thanks to special effects artist Bob Millay, get disguised as giant spiders, complete with their tail lights serving as the glowing eyes of the alien invaders - means nothing will be the same in the town of Merrill, Wisconsin ever again.

Through it all, the demented tone of this trashterpiece changes on a dime.  Sometimes comedic and sometimes dramatic, there’s always plenty to laugh at as giant spiders start roaming the countryside, SLOWLY attacking anything and everything that dares approach them.  Fairs and cookouts are ruined as puppet spiders are dragged across main street, suddenly make cars explode, and terrorize an entire community . . . of extras.

The Giant Spider Invasion, from 1975, might be cheaply made, but it is pretty damn orderly. The bizarre B-movie is now on blu-ray thanks to Dark Star Entertainment.

4/5 beers

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[tab title="Blu-ray Review"]

The Giant Spider Invasion

Blu-ray

Blu-ray Details:

Home Video Distributor: Dark Force Entertainment
Available on Blu-ray
- June 16, 2020
Screen Formats: 1.85:1
Subtitles
: None
Audio:
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
Discs: Blu-ray Disc; single disc
Region Encoding: Region-free playback

After a black hole strikes, it opens up another dimension in a rural Wisconsin town, and soon there is an invasion of gigantic arachnids who crave human flesh. NASA scientists Dr. Vance (Steve Brodie) and Dr. Jenny Langer (Barbara Hale) try their best to save humanity as a romance blooms between them. Meanwhile, local Dan Kester (Robert Easton) squabbles with his wife, Ev (Leslie Parrish), and has a dalliance with local bartender Helga (Christiane Schmidtmer).  Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, The Giant Spider Invasion arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Dark Force Entertainment. 

Video:

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, The Giant Spider Invasion arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Dark Force Entertainment.  Mined from a new master which involved restoring the original 35mm camera negative, the results are pretty stunning and the new color grading is spot-on, too.  Black levels are bold, colors pop - with reds, greens, and browns getting the edge over other colors - and everything has more depth than previously seen.  It is a damn fine job, resulting in a movie that looks brand-new again.  There is one nighttime sequence which looks a bit too soft for its own good.  That being said, this release is a solid one.

Audio:

The sound and weird sound effects are presented in a vibrant DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono track.

Supplements:

Commentary:

  • None

Special Features:

Vintage promos and archival interviews lead the way on the three offerings of supplemental materials.  Fans get an old interview with Rebane who discusses the special effects of the movie and some of the problems they had with explosions.  Easton is another archival interviewee and a promo reel rounds out the collection.

  • Giant Spider Music Video
  • Interview with Bill Rebane
  • Interview with Robert Easton

Blu-ray Rating:

  Movie 4/5 stars
  Video  4/5 stars
  Audio 3/5 stars
  Extras 3/5 stars

Overall Blu-ray Experience

3/5 stars

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[tab title="Film Details"]

The Giant Spider Invasion

MPAA Rating: Unrated.
Runtime:
80 mins
Director
: Bill Rebane
Writer:
Richard L. Huff; Robert Easton
Cast:
Steve Brodie, Barbara Hale, Robert Easton
Genre
: Horror | Sci-fi
Tagline:
The Scream You Hear Will Be Your Own.
Memorable Movie Quote: "You're so dumb you wouldn't know rabbit turds from Rice Krispies."
Theatrical Distributor:
Group 1 International Distribution
Official Site:
Release Date:
Otober, 1975
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date:
June 16, 2020.
Synopsis: Giant spiders from another dimension invade Wisconsin.

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[tab title="Art"]

The Giant Spider Invasion

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