Exploitation titan Jack Hill, who went on to make such cult favorites as Switchblade Sisters, The Swinging Cheerleaders, and Foxy Brown, made his solo directorial debut with this fascinating, offbeat shocker. The three surviving children of Titus W. Merrye, who represent the end of his family's line, live in a dilapidated mansion where patient servant Bruno (Lon Chaney, Jr.) watches over the increasingly eccentric Virginia (Jill Banner), Ralph (Sid Haig), and Elizabeth (Beverly Washburn). All three Merrye siblings suffer from the same rare disease that felled their father and the other members of his family -- "Merrye Syndrome," a neurological ailment that begins to manifest itself at the age of ten, causing the brain to slowly decay and sending its victims into an alternately violent and infantile state. Bald, inarticulate Ralph is supposed to be a vegetarian, but "can eat anything he can catch," while Virginia, who seems to be in a perpetual dream state, imagines herself as a human spider and catches people in her "web" (a large net) and then kills them. While it might seem best to let nature to take its course and allow the family's sad legacy to die out, the Merrye siblings have two distant cousins, Emily Howe (Carol Ohmart) and Peter Howe (Quinn K. Redeker), who are interested in laying claim to the family mansion and any money remaining in the Merrye Estate. But not long after they pay a visit to Bruno, they start to have serious regrets about their decision to see the family. Shot in 1964, Spider Baby sat on the shelf until 1968, when it was briefly released as the second half of a horror double-bill on the drive-in circuit. But after it appeared on home video in the early '80s and was the subject of an enthusiastic essay in the book RE/Search: Incredibly Strange Films, the film began to develop a potent cult following and is now regarded as a minor classic of '60s horror. The film has also appeared under the misleading titles Cannibal Orgy and The Liver Eaters, as well as Spider Baby, or the Maddest Story Ever Told. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Special Features
Audio commentary by writer/director Jack Hill
Newly discovered 8 minutes of footage
Footage from the cast and crew reunion at the Nuart Theatre in Los Angeles
Director and cast filmographies
Display Format
Black & White
Audio
PCM mono
5 full-range channels. Includes 3 for the front speakers, 2 surround channels for rear speakers, & 1 low-frequency effects (LFE) channel to carry deep bass effects
Chapters
Side #1 --
0. Chapter Index
1. Main Title; The Merrye Syndrome [3:01]
2. Playing Spider [5:44]
3. Bruno And Ralph [6:36]
4. Cleaning House [2:38]
5. The New Guardians [5:49]
6. Meeting The Children [4:32]
7. What'S For Dinner? [12:52]
8. Spending The Night [8:39]
9. Stuck In The Cellar [8:37]
10. Hunting Aunt Emily [3:00]
11. Back To The House [6:38]
12. "Spiders Like Bugs." [5:22]
13. Emily Returns [2:52]
14. Bruno'S Surprise [2:16]
15. The Next Generation? [1:57]
16. End Credits [:22]
Menu
Side #1 --
Feature Start
Jack Hill Audio Commentary
The Audio Commentary by Director Jack Hill is now . . .ON
The Audio Commentary by Director Jack Hill is now . . .OFF
DVD Release Dates
