Spider Baby

"Come into my parlor, said the spider to the..."

1967 1h 24m EN

👍

6.8

SOLID

★6.8TMDB · 190

ComedyHorror

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In a dilapidated rural mansion, the last generation of the degenerate, inbred Merrye family lives with the inherited curse of a disease that causes them to mentally regress from the age of 10 or so on as they physically develop. The family chauffeur looks out for them and covers up their indiscretions. Trouble comes when greedy distant relatives and their lawyer arrive to dispossess the family of its home.

“Come into my parlor, said the spider to the...”

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Cast

Lon Chaney Jr.
Bruno
Carol Ohmart
Emily
Quinn K. Redeker
Peter
Beverly Washburn
Elizabeth
Jill Banner
Virginia
Sid Haig
Ralph
Mary Mitchel
Ann
Karl Schanzer
Schlocker

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Jack Hill
Writers: Jack Hill
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

84 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.1M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

59 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Jack Hill, shot by Alfred Taylor. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Ronald Stein. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Jack Hill shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Lon Chaney Jr. and Carol Ohmart and Quinn K. Redeker carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Jack Hill directs. Alfred Taylor behind the camera. Ronald Stein scores. Jack Hill cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

184 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Shot for just $0.1M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
359 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
5Directed by Jack Hill, shot by Alfred Taylor. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Ronald Stein. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Jack Hill shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Lon Chaney Jr. and Carol Ohmart and Quinn K. Redeker carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "Come into my parlor, said the spider to the...".
10IMDB entry: tt0058606 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 10 themes, including "lingerie", "stockings", "killer children", "inbreeding".

The technical file

Cinematography: Alfred Taylor
Original score: Ronald Stein
Editing: Jack Hill
Runtime: 84 min · 1h 24m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $65,000
Original language: EN
IMDB: Spider Baby (1967)

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Jack Hill

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Community reviews

What people are saying

rolanddoobie2017-10-01
★ 6/10
A fun romp. This movie feels like it is wedged between old school horror, and more recent exploitation films. Stylistically, it feels 50s, yet subject matter is more 70s exploitation. I liked it, but I will watch a lot of garbage. Give it a try. Young Sid Haig as a bonus.
CinemaSerf2024-09-05
★ 6/10
Picture a ramshackle house (like the one the "Waltons" lived in) and then imagine it populated by two sisters and a brother who progress ok until their early teens, then they start to regress - with varying degrees of maniacal behaviour. Is this dangerous? Well we need only ask poor old Mantan Moreland who never faced such dangers with "Charlie Chan" as he does in the opening scenes trying to deliver a letter to the house and... well... it's the last delivery he will ever make! Their only controlling influence is their chauffeur "Bruno" (Lon Chaney Jr.) but even he has his hands full when some grasping cousins - and their lawyer - decide to come visit and claim their inheritance. Given the state of the place, I'd have run a mile but they cling on and are soon beginning to regret their perseverance! It's fun, this. It makes no effort to assess or explain the mental illness that prevails amongst the offspring - aside from suggesting that it could be quite plausible for their mother, father and dog to all have been the same being! The acting itself is pretty average, the writing delivers little by way of subtlety or mystery and we are left with a series of slightly repetitive spoof-horror scenarios that wear thin after a while. It's not with humour - intended or otherwise - and it moves along quite well for 80 minutes but sadly not a film I think I'd ever bother to watch again.
Wuchak2025-10-17
★ 6/10
“It’s a madhouse, a madhouse!” This was shot at the end of summer, 1964, but not released until over three years later due to the producers going bankrupt. Its full title is “Spider Baby or, The Maddest Story Ever Told,” which is reminiscent of other oddball, overlong titles in the ’60s, such as "The Incredibly Strange Creatures ...Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies!!?" This isn’t as entertaining and it’s strapped by B&W photography but, like that one, it’s really quirky, hammy horror, rather than a comedy. Both came in the 'B' tradition of "The Brain That Wouldn't Die,” mixed with the slasher bits of "Psycho." Rob Zombie was obviously influenced by it for his “House of 1000 Corpses.” While Lon Chaney Jr in his old age and a young Sid Haig are notable, the real highlight is the female cast. Guys tend to gush over petite brunette Jill Banner as Virginia, who happened to be 17 during shooting and would turn 18 a couple of months later. She unfortunately died prematurely in 1982 at the age of 35 due to a vehicular accident involving a drunk truck driver on an off-ramp of Ventura Freeway. Interestingly, she was working for Marlon Brando at the time, developing scripts and what have you. While she certainly has her appeal, her character is so dim-witted and psycho, she’s a turn-off (for me, anyway). I prefer Carol Ohmart as Emily, who has a few stunning scenes à la “Horror Hotel,” aka “The City of the Dead.” It runs 1 hour, 21 minutes, and was shot at Smith Estate in Highland Park and other parts of Los Angeles, such as Chatsworth and Mandeville Canyon, with studio work done in Glendale. GRADE: B-