Review by: Misfit Boy
Posted by: Root Rot
Spider-Baby (1964)
AKA – Attack of the Liver Eaters (1964), Cannibal Orgy, or the Maddest
Story Ever Told (1964) Liver Eaters, The (1964)
Written & Directed by Jack HillThe Merrye Syndrome – (Mar-e Syn-drome) A rare disease which causes progressive age regression as early as the tenth year reverting its patient into a “pre-human” condition of savagery and cannibalism. The first time I saw this film was when I bought a “bootleg copy” VHS tape for one dollar in a dump bin at a local horror convention. I was immediately angered by the fact it was just recorded from TCM. But what do you expect for a dollar. I went home and popped it into my “Jurassic media player” and was taken on a journey into a dark world of psychosis and misunderstanding. Spider-baby is a very underrated film if I ever saw one. Lon Chaney’s performance at times could bring a grown man to tears, for his love and devotion to the children in his care. Chaney loved the script so much he vowed to stay “sober” until the end of the shoot. (he was a well known alcoholic.) I’m not going to give too much of the plot away because this film should be on display in any cult film fan’s wall. If you have ever seen Rob Zombie’s HOUSE OF 1,000 CORPSES watch this film and compare notes. It’s amazing how much influence Spider-baby has on Mr. Zombie’s film.
The film opens with a messenger who is delivering an important document to Bruno (played by Cheney) about visitors who are making a trip to the Merrye house. They are cousins who want to take the children that live there away. The siblings are named Elizabeth, Victoria, & Ralph (played by a very young Sid Haig). As the messenger approaches the house he looks inside a window and is immediately trapped as the window closes on him. Enter Virginia, a young teen who enjoys playing a deadly game known as “spider”. in which Elizabeth tosses a web-shaped rope over the victims head, then grabbing two twelve-inch kitchen knives, and utilizing them as a spiders fangs. “Sting, sting, sting” she shouts moments before hacking her victim into shreds. Now that you have an idea of the illness that plagues the three children, add some visiting relatives (including an annoying layer), a caregiver who just wants to protect the kids from the outside world, and relatives who are kept in the basement, and you have a cocktail mixture that’s sure to get you intoxicated on horror and dark comedy! The film starts quick, slows down a bit then dumps you into an abyss of madness. It is surely a ride you will not forget! On a scale from one to ten, Spider-baby gets a high nine for its originality, well-built script and great acting making the characters almost seem too real! I will post a link below to the official films website where you can learn more about the film.
Facts and trivia;
1. The opening tune is sung by Lon Chaney
2. Hard-core punk band THE ACCUSED loved this film so much they made a character called “Martha Splatter head” and regularly wrote songs about her (Aunt Martha lived in the basement of the house).
3. White zombie also has a song of the film’s title on their outbreak LP La Sexorcisto.
4. A remake was done by Director Jeff Backstreet (Night Of The Living Dead 3-D 2006).
Special thanks to Root Rot for allowing me to talk about an almost forgotten film, thanks brother! misfitboy
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here is a link for the film.
http://www.spiderbabyonline.com/
Great review Misfit Boy. I’m sorry to say I’ve never seen this, but it sounds essential. It’s just went to the top of my must see list. Cheers!
Awesome film. I love this one. Great review as well.