Un Nuit Terribles (1896) aka A Terrible Night

3 / 5 Jan '11
Tagline: N/A
Directed by: Georges Méliès
Written by: Georges Méliès
Actors include: Georges Méliès
Genre: Comedy, Horror, Short
Length: 1 minute
Banned: Nope

Review:
Kind of a cute little one minute early film about a man who is trying to catch a good night's sleep. He snuffs out his candle and suddenly a giant spider comes out to annoy him. This is an insanely early film and honestly it's quite well preserved, I was impressed. The effects are also a tad better than I was expecting, although hardly amazing. This was my first exposure to Georges Méliès's work, but it certainly won't be my last. A fun little flick that should amuse early film fans with a touch of comedy.

Availability:  On DVD

The Spider's Labyrinth (1988) aka The Spider's Nest aka Il Nido Del Ragno

3.5 / 5
Tagline: N/A
Directed by: Gianfranco Giagni
Written by: Riccardo Aragno, Tonino Cervi
Actors include: Roland Wybenga, Paola Rinaldi, Claudia Muzi
Genre: Horror
Length: 87 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
I feel kind of weird rating this so highly because the first 40 minutes are confusing, strange and sort of boring and hard to sit through. Thing is, the payoff is excellent...I guarantee that if you can sit through the first part of this movie there is some seriously amusing things that happen and the effects are shockingly good! The story is sort of about a Professor who goes to investigate a weird cult and then really strange things start to happen around him. When he starts noticing people around town nearly all seem to have spider "tattoos" and well to say they act strangely is an understatement. I don't wish to give more away but it's one heck of a neat film once it gets going, it's actually kinda creepy and gross! The bad thing is that it's cheaply shot on home video when if it had been shot on film it would probably have looked amazing. Oh well, it's got highs and lows but for a rareish Italian flick that has the tendency to behave as a giallo it's well worth a watch.

Availability:  On DVD

The Giant Spider Invasion (1975) aka Invasion of the Giant Spiders

1.5 / 5 Nov '09
Tagline: Creeping!...Crawling!...Crushing!
Directed by: Bill Rebane
Written by: Richard L. Huff, Robert Easton
Actors include: Steve Brodie, Barbara Hale, Robert Easton
Genre: Sci-Fi, Horror
Length: 84 Minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:

Wow, this is a baddy...the acting, the dialog, the effects, the story....all bad. After an explosion in the sky (or shooting star or meteor shower or whatever) happens, rocks fall from the sky, cows turn up in pieces and rocks with diamonds and spiders (that aren't giant except one 50ft jobbie) in 'em land on earth. When people start turning up dead well folks start to think they may have real trouble on their hands. A scientist along with a guy from Nasa work to try the problem while the irritating townspeople stumble about wondering about who they could sleep with if their ages differed. They do at least squirt the ketchup about in places and the scenes where the giant spider attacks the house are remotely amusing. This is one lame film, and it's not really even so bad it's funny unfortunately. Although it's only an hour and 13 minutes long it feels like it goes on forever, one to avoid unless of course you like garbage?

Availability:  On DVD (but OOP) or watch it for free online here:  http://www.hulu.com/giant-spider-invasion