Kingdom Of The Spiders
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Movie Reviews of Kingdom Of The Spiders
Movie Review: Shatner camp at it's best!
Summary: 5 Stars
Gotta love Captain Kirk in Arizona! Terrific stuff. If only "Night of the Lepus" was available to complete my collection!Movie Review: Really cheesy and really fun!
Summary: 4 Stars
Shatner and spiders. That's all the information I needed about director John "Bud" Cardos's 1977 film "Kingdom of the Spiders" to know that I simply had to sit down and watch it. Yep, Shatner and spiders--killer spiders to boot. I used to blast these nature gone amok movies as rapidly as I watched them. Outside of "Jaws" and a few others, spending a couple of hours wading through one of these films meant a couple of hours of sheer agony. Watch "Shark Attack 3" if you don't believe me, or "Crocodile," "Death Swamp," or any of the other hundreds of killer animal films clogging the arteries of a video store shelf near you. But something funny happened after I watched the fiftieth film in which a crazed, giant reptile munched down on a batch of teenagers: I began to really like these films even when they're total garbage. I still knock a few of them--Rene Cardona's "Tintorera" quickly comes to mind--but these films can be a lot of fun if you'll let them. Besides, even the worst of these sorts of films easily beats watching the dreck on network television. So, my friends, we've got Shatner and spiders on deck for a drubbing. Oh yeah!
Shatner, perhaps the hammiest actor to ever grace the hallowed hills of Hollywood, plays a veterinarian named Dr. Robert "Rack" Hansen in "Kingdom of the Spiders." Rack! Oh man, I had to pause the disc while I howled for what felt like hours over that one! I soon discovered that laughter and "Kingdom of the Spiders" go together like ice cream and cones. The movie tells the story of Rack (giggle) and his adventures in a little town somewhere in Arizona. Hansen is a stand up guy, caring for his deceased brother's widow and child even as he rebuffs the woman's romantic overtures. Whatta guy! He's also a crack critter doc, always ready to jump in the truck and head out to a local farm to make a diagnosis. Rack's problems begin in earnest when local rancher Walter Colby (Woody Strode) and his wife Birch (Altovise Davis) summon the good doctor to check up on a prized cow. Something sinister slunk up on the animal out in the field and attacked it--we know this because we saw the attack unfold in hilarious fashion--and Colby wants a diagnosis. Rack is stumped and sends some samples to the big city, worried that some sort of illness going around might force him to quarantine and kill a lot of the livestock in the area.
When big city bug doctor Diane Ashley (Tiffany Bolling) shows up to tell Rack and the townsfolk that mutant spiders killed the cow, the movie takes off. Our hero soon discovers a huge mound of dirt with spiders spilling out of it on Colby's property, and then discovers a lot more of these mounds later on spread around the desert. How did they get there? Who knows? The film throws around some noise about pesticides or some such nonsense, which makes sense in the environmental madness context of the 1970s, but we're far more interested in seeing Shatner take charge in a Captain Kirk way than worrying about logic. Kirk never appears, sad to say, although we do get some macho posturing and the requisite love interests that Shatner must insist on in every one of his television and film contracts. We also get some really funny spider kills. The reaction of that cow is a scream, but that's only the beginning. These nasty spiders know no limits, and before you can "There's something on the wing" they're attacking people with impunity. A crop duster falls from the sky after the pilot learns he's covered in spiders. Then the whole town comes under attack as people lurch and shriek through the streets covered in spiders and webs. Can Rack save the day?
"Kingdom of the Spiders" is a lot of fun, easily a four star film. I'm docking it one star because the pacing seemed to drag during the first half of the picture, but the last part and the conclusion payoff in a big way. Shatner gives a restrained performance, all things considered. Fortunately, at one point in the film we see Big Bill thrashing around covered in spiders, shrieking and gesticulating wildly in a way that only Shatner could pull off. The rest of the cast does a good job backing Shatner up, with special mention going to Tiffany Bolling and David McLean (playing the Sheriff). The believability factor definitely lacks punch, however. Lots of spiders moving around look good and creepy, and there are points when we see many of them in one place, but it's impossible to believe for a second that people couldn't escape from these critters. I think my favorite part of the film, aside from Rack's spastic anti-spider dance, involved the poor sap who tried to cover up the danger posed by the spiders. His death scene is so over the top, so obviously a punishment for trying to hide the truth, that I couldn't help but laugh.
Yes sir, "Kingdom of the Spiders" is required viewing for both Shatner fans and viewers who enjoy these sorts of nature gone wild films. What isn't appreciated is the poor DVD version of the film. No extras I can deal with, although it's always nice to see at least a trailer packaged with the feature presentation. We don't get anything to sink our teeth into here. What's worse, the movie is a full screen transfer with VHS quality. The picture quality isn't as bad as some discs, but the movie could look a lot better in the hands of someone like Anchor Bay or Image Entertainment. Anyway, give "Kingdom of the Spiders" a shot if you've a hankering for a heavy dose of cheese.
Movie Review: Competent and innocuous sci-fi film, a 70's cult classic
Summary: 4 Stars
Though many may want to rush to judgment on this picture because of the title and the cast that would be a gross injustice. 'Kingdom Of The Spiders' is an all too rare achievement in the science fiction sub genre of insects on the rampage. It is surprisingly well-done, dwelling more on building suspense than spotlighting spider attacks - though there are plenty to be seen here. The spiders in this case are tarantulas and they are normal size, which is a refreshing change of pace. A perfectly chosen cast and great outdoor photography are other assets to this thrilling B movie.William Shatner heads the cast and is most effective as the easygoing veterinarian Rack Hansen; Woody Strode is convincing as a livestock breeder, Colby, whose ranch becomes the launching grounds for the spiders' invasion; Tiffany Bolling portrays entomologist Diane Ashley, who arrives from the University of Arizona to assess the potential problem of the spiders; all the remaining roles are filled by familiar B movie supporting players, most notably Marcy Lafferty, Shatner's then-wife, playing his sister-in-law. In fact the actors who depict the 'local yokels' are all quite colorful adding an extra touch of realism to the proceedings.
The plot moves along neatly with Colby finding a prized calf near death and contacting Hansen for a diagnosis and hopeful treatment. After the calf dies mysteriously Hansen sends it's blood out for analysis that results in a visit from Ashley. She becomes convinced that the spiders are organizing attacks on the animals because of a shortage in their food supply, which is caused by the use of DDT and other insecticides. The tarantulas have built up immunity against the insecticides and as the townspeople try to think of other options to battle them the spiders begin their assault...
The spiders' attacks on animals and humans are done very well - they're not played for laughs or over played to the point of ridiculous. The web spinning effect is also a superior special effect that is presented with moderation. The only liability of the film is it's somewhat predictable nature. When Colby is attacked in his truck you see it coming beforehand; and the same thing for the demise of the crop-dusting pilot and the ending, which seems derivative of the horror classic 'Night Of The Living Dead'.
Some final notes: The film is presented here in standard full frame, free of errors and looks great, although a widescreen treatment would have been preferable. The cover case is only an artist's rendering of two separate scenes and is not a still from the film. Probably because of it's Southwestern US setting the opening and closing credits have a country & western song playing over them, which is very unusual for this type of film. The music however is very pedestrian sounding and although it doesn't hurt the movie's impact frankly it doesn't help it at all either.
Movie Review: Great big, ugly spiders run amuck in this creep-fest
Summary: 4 Stars
Kingdom of the Spiders starts off a little shakily, but it gradually evolves into a creep-fest of great, eight-legged proportions. I don't know how many tarantulas there are in the world, but I'm pretty sure at least 95% of them were cast in this movie. As with any Shatner film, you get the bonus of having two movies in one. At one level, this film is all about gigantic spiders run amuck, but it also serves as an excuse for Shatner to work his magic on the ladies. Interestingly enough, Marcy Lafferty, Shatner's wife at the time, has a role in the film playing the sister-in-law of he-man veterinarian "Rack" Hansen (Shatner). It's a strange role; a widow for two years, she seems quite taken with "Rack" and the two even engage in a little lasso fun on the farm until she mistakenly calls him by his dead brother's name, but later on, he rather blatantly flaunts another woman, entomologist Diane Ashley (Tiffany Bolling) in her face. But I digress.This film is really all about the spiders. The first victim is a poor rancher's prize calf, the one sure to win first prize at the upcoming fair. Unsure of the cause of death, "Rack" sends samples to the university in Flagstaff; soon Diane Ashley shows up to tell him the death was due to spider venom. Folks don't want to believe such a far-fetched thing at first, but these tarantulas are all business and not a bit shy about it. A huge spider hill is found on the rancher's property, which our heroes attempt to burn (forgetting to burn both sides of it, though); this apparently makes the spiders a little mad, and the full-scale invasion of town is soon launched. Our heroes find themselves holed up in a cottage in the middle of nowhere; surrounded by spiders all over the place, the chances of their survival appear to be worse than slim to none, all of which leads up to a somewhat unusual but more than acceptable ending.
If you don't like spiders, you don't want to watch this movie. I mean, there are tarantulas everywhere; I was more than ready for this film to end three-fourths of the way through it. I don't mind spiders that much, as long as I am only watching them appear somewhere else, but this movie puts so many spiders on the screen you start wondering if some of them will fall through your monitor or TV screen. For this type of critter invasion film, Kingdom of the Spiders works incredibly well. While there are a few weak spots in the plot, the filmmakers succeed remarkably well by going all out in terms of making the viewing experience as spiderific as possible.
Movie Review: Rampaging tarantulas make meal of Arizona residents.
Summary: 4 Stars
Cult 1977 low budget "nature gone haywire" film with Arizona veterinarian William Shatner ( that's about as far away from the bridge of the USS Enterprise as you can get ! ) firstly investigating unexplained livestock deaths. After Shatner takes bio samples from the dead animals and sends them off for analysis, then enter ice cool blonde entomologist Tiffany Boling to explain the animals are succumbing to massive doses of spider venom. Shattered farmer Woody Strode then shows Shatner and Boling a huge dirt mound seething with hairy, agressive tarantulas, and it soon becomes apparent that something is very wrong with the local spider population !
I first saw this film theatrically upon it's release back in 1978, and 25 + years later, when you stack it up against other "bugs on the rampage" films like "Frogs", "It Happened at Lakewood Manor" & "The Naked Jungle"....it holds up as one of the best. Sure, its as cheesy as a block of cheddar, and Shatner is a hammy actor, but it's a real guilty pleasure movie and seems to tick along quite well without getting bogged down with boring characterisations, or long winded explanations about why the spiders are now hunting much larger prey !
For my money, all the actors involved in this one deserve bravery awards for sharing the screen with hundreds and hundreds of genuine LIVE Mexican red knee tarantulas. On top of that most of the key cast members ( Shatner, Bolling, Strode, Dressler, Hughes & Lafferty ) get attacked and covered in these creepy arachnids. Nowadays, film makers would just cheat and use CGI effects, but back in low budget productions in 1977, they just tipped a bucket of real tarantulas on the actors and filmed the shot.....YECCH ! Well know Hollywood animal trainer's Lou Schumacher & Jim Brockett who have worked on similar projects such as "Day of the Animals", "Night of the Lepus", "Alligator" & "Dracula"s Dog" supplied & wrangled the spiders for KOTS, and I would have asked for a hotel room a long, long way away from Lou & Jims.....lest some of their "pets" went out for a stroll.
Although this release by Good Times DVD is only a mono soundtrack and a standard full frame presentation, the print is excellent and the transfer has been done very well. If you're a fan of this genre of horror movie, the "Kingdom Of The Spiders" definitely belongs in your DVD collection.