Spider Baby is a weird, weird film. An anomaly in the late ‘60s, that was directed and written by Jack Hill (Switchblade Sisters, Foxy Brown, Pit Stop, Coffy) and starred Lon Chaney, Jr., Carol Ohmart, Quinn K. Redeker, Beverly Washburn, Jill Banner, and Sid Haig. Siblings Virginia (Banner), Elizabeth (Washburn), and Ralphie (Haig) are looked after by the kindly old family chauffeur/caretaker who promised their dying father that he would look after his children after his death. You see, in the inbred Merrye family, they don’t live too long; a regressive, childlike state only serves to send the family members closer to death the longer they live — either by genetics or by circumstance. The sisters pass the days pretending they are predatory spiders — at least when passerby come around — as they unknowingly fall into a mental Benjamin Button-like state. The first instance of this we see is an elderly messenger (played by the famed character actor Mantan Moreland) who only wants to deliver an important envelope; even with his decades of experience, he is no match for two murderous children.
![Jack Hill's Spider Baby (1968) [click to enlarge]](https://diaboliquemagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Spider_Baby_3-620x348.png)
Jack Hill’s Spider Baby (1968) [click to enlarge]
The transfer is likely identical to Arrow’s UK release, which means it’s beautiful and brilliant. Ronald Stein’s score lends itself well to the action, providing great cues while amping up the dread and excitement factors of the film. Beautifully preserved deep blacks and pristine white and gray shades — as well as great audio — make this release a highly recommended grab.
![Jack Hill's Spider Baby (1968) [click to enlarge]](https://diaboliquemagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Spider_Baby_2-620x348.png)
Jack Hill’s Spider Baby (1968) [click to enlarge]
Overall, Arrow’s Spider Baby is a fantastic addition to any fan’s media library. Unfortunately, I can’t give Pit Stop as high praise as Spider Baby for a few reasons. The basic premise, a guy (Rick Bowman, played by the decidedly James dean-like Richard Davalos) without purpose suddenly deciding he wants to become a mercenary-like racecar driver for sport and profit, as egged on by rich guy Grant Willard (played by Brian Donlevy) is a bit tedious. Additionally, there are several instances of the transfer’s film degradation, at least at the beginning of the picture. The whole thing seems to be something of a cash grab by the producer, Roger Corman.
![Jack Hill's Spider Baby (1968) [click to enlarge]](https://diaboliquemagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Spider_Baby_4-620x348.png)
Jack Hill’s Spider Baby (1968) [click to enlarge]
Haig starts out at the beginning of the movie as the clown prince of the race car circuit, but is eventually revealed to be a person with actual human emotions, unlike our protagonist, Rick. (Well, he does display anger). It’s not clear if Haig is simply the better actor (likely) or if he was written and/or directed better than Davalos, either by choice or by disregard. Guys intend to dethrone other guys and it’s an exciting race to the finish line of who gets to be the biggest jerk! Career and wife and girlfriend stealing win the day!
![Jack Hill's Pit Stop (1969) [click to enlarge]](https://diaboliquemagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/PITSTOP_2-620x349.png)
Jack Hill’s Pit Stop (1969) [click to enlarge]
As a fan of film, any work done to repair a decaying medium in order to preserve a story (no matter how asinine) is a worthy venture. As reported by the booklet copy: “Thousands of instances of dirt, scratches and debris were carefully removed frame by frame, damaged frames were repaired, and density and stability issues were improved. Some minor picture issues remain, in keeping with the condition of the film materials. The soundtrack was also remastered, minimizing audio issues such as pops, bumps, clicks and audible buzz.”
Verdict? For hot rod or Hill completests only.