Spider Baby or, The Maddest Story Ever Told (1967)

[NoUse4AName68]

Spider Baby


Format: Dual Format Blu-ray + DVD
Starring: Lon Chaney Jr., Carol Ohmart, Sid Haig
Directed by: Jack Hill

Synopsis: The credits dub this “the maddest story ever told”, a promise that’s well on the way to being fulfilled in the opening scene alone, when Virginia traps and kills a hapless deliveryman in her makeshift web. She’s one of three siblings who suffer from a unique genetic disorder that causes them to regress back to childhood, while retaining the physical strength and sexual maturity of adults.
Lon Chaney Jr gave one of his most memorable late performances as Bruno, their guardian and protector, who has managed to cover up their crimes until two distant relatives lay claim to their house. When they insist on moving in, Bruno has to cross his fingers and hope that the ‘children’ behave towards their new guests…
This was the first solo feature by Jack Hill, whom Quentin Tarantino dubbed “the Howard Hawks of exploitation filmmaking”, and it remains one of his wildest and weirdest.

SPECIAL FEATURES:
High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentation of the main feature, available in the UK for the first time
Original 2.0 Mono Audio (Uncompressed PCM on the Blu-ray)
High Definition transfer of the feature supervised and approved by director Jack Hill
English SDH subtitles for deaf and hearing impaired
Audio commentary featuring Jack Hill and star Sid Haig
Panel discussion from The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences FILM-TO-FILM Festival, recorded September 2012, featuring Jack Hill and stars Quinn K. Redeker and Beverly Washburn
The Hatching of Spider Baby – Interviews with Jack Hill, Sid Haig, star Mary Mitchel, fan Joe Dante and more on the making of the film
Spider Stravinsky: The Cinema Sounds of Ronald Stein – The composer of ‘The Terror’ and ‘Attack of the 50 Foot Woman’ among others is remembered by Harlene Stein, Jack Hill, American Cinematheque’s Chris D. and others
The Merrye House Revisited – Jack Hill revisits the original house that was used as the main location in the film
Alternate opening title sequence
Extended scene
Original Trailer
Gallery of behind-the-scenes images
The Host (1960) – Jack Hill’s early short film featuring Sid Haig in his first starring role [30 mins]
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Graham Humphreys
Collector’s booklet featuring writing on the film by artist and writer Stephen R. Bissette, and an extensive article re-printed from FilmFax: The Magazine of Unusual Film and Television featuring interviews with the cast and crew, illustrated with original stills and artwork

DETAILS:
Rating: 15
Duration: 84 mins
Language: English
Subtitles: English SDH
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
Audio: 2.0 Mono
Colour: Colour


Had a really good time watching this one. I would definitely recommend it if you dig movies like The Addams Family.

My Review:
http://www.blu-review.com/post/revie...ory-ever-told/

[drat]

I can't wait to revisit this cult classic! I'm so glad Arrow is making it available here and it has an incredible package of extras too!

I think my copy is due to arrive on Monday and I'll be camped out at my mailbox until then!

[The Great Owl]

My Blu-ray of Spider Baby should be shipping from Barnes & Noble in a day or two. I'm looking forward to checking out this cult film for myself at long last.

[Spooked]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

My Blu-ray of Spider Baby should be shipping from Barnes & Noble in a day or two. I'm looking forward to checking out this cult film for myself at long last.

Have you not seen it yet? You're in for one heck of a ride if not.

[benricci]

There's already a thread on this: https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread...ht=spider+baby

[Jobla]

There's also some talk about it in the Arrow Video US thread.

[Professor Echo]

Quick question: Is there any difference between this and the UK edition? Thanks.

[Jobla]

Only cosmetic differences. The content will be the same, I believe.

[Professor Echo]

Originally Posted by Jobla

Only cosmetic differences. The content will be the same, I believe.

Thanks, Jobla. I asked because the UK version is more than $10 cheaper on Amazon right now.

[travisbickle]

UK release is region free, too. Just have to hit the top menu button on your remote.

Edit: Does the US release have the same over sized case as the UK?

[HorrorBlu]

Originally Posted by travisbickle

UK release is region free, too. Just have to hit the top menu button on your remote.

Only on certain players.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by Spooked

Have you not seen it yet? You're in for one heck of a ride if not.

I've never seen Spider Baby before, so I'm flying totally blind on this one.

[Mr. Thomsen]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I've never seen Spider Baby before, so I'm flying totally blind on this one.

You are in for a treat, then. It's crazy stuff.

I should really upgrade my old Synapse DVD, too. Hope Arrow UK has a sale soon.

[kuro_sawa]

Originally Posted by Mr. Thomsen

You are in for a treat, then. It's crazy stuff.

I should really upgrade my old Synapse DVD, too. Hope Arrow UK has a sale soon.

Last year they had a sale in June, so fingers crossed. The last one was in March.

[JimDiGriz]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I've never seen Spider Baby before, so I'm flying totally blind on this one.

I rented it ages ago, liked it a lot, and bought it not long afterwards. Its certainly quirky and very much a 60s film but its definitely a keeper for me. Oh and its very funny in places without being cheesy too!