Earth vs. The Spider (1958) ** (out of 4) Two teens walk into a cave and run out when they see a huge spider. The police think they kill it but soon the spider is terrorizing the town. Director Bert I. Gordon made countless "big bug" films throughout his career and this one here is in the middle but if you're in the mood for a drive-in flick then this one here is a classic. This certainly isn't a very good movie but it manages to keep you entertained for over an hour. The special effects of the spider are downright awful but that's why they're so much fun. The performances aren't any better either but again, that just adds to the films charm.

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Did anyone else besides me become extremely annoyed when some so-called "scientist" kept calling the spider an insect?! Not only did he call it an insect, he repeated it several times! It's an arachnid, for crying out loud! Idiocy like that prevents me from even wanting to give a movie like this a chance. Ugh.

The only thing that can make this slapdash embarrassment the least bit scary is people's natural apprehension towards spiders. What else could account for anyone above the age of six being frightened by this hastily assembled tale of hyperannulated "teenagers" who run afowl of the local giant bird spider. And unlike its cousin "Tarantula", Gordon doesn't even bother to explain what this beast happens to be doing wherever it is. The movie projects no sense of place (except for the postcard stand where Gordon got his spider backgrounds). Carlsbad Caverns as a backdrop might be OK, but the rest of the sets seem to be in Wisconsin or some such place. The film boasts rock-bottom special effects; Bert I. Gordon did so many process shots over his career that the generally bad quality of those in this film has no excuse whatsoever. But there are times when you can plainly see right through the spider. And it would have been nice if the continuity person had done their job, but no such luck. The spider expands and contracts randomly, as if it were made of rubber. One minute it fits neatly into one corner of the school gym; the next, it's several blocks long and nearly 100 feet high! And as for the characters, we have: the middle-aged adolescents who stupidly keep putting themselves in harm's way, a pompous science teacher who can't see that his academic attitude is responsible for the havoc the spider is causing even after it attacks his own family, the sheriff who's only interested in finding someone to blame for the disaster befalling his town, and the sheeplike townspeople who unbelievably let these two clowns fight it out while the spider eats everyone and everything. And the only real point this movie seems to have is an implied criticism of modern music, as it is a loud rock 'n' roll band (with a conductor, no less!) that reanimates the dormant beast to terrorize the town. All in all, "Earth vs. The Spider" is really silly.

There are few film genres which can evoke such a wonderful sense of vintage entertainment as classic monster horror films. Whether perused in more depth to explore resonant themes and cultural tie-ins or simply taken at face value for comically poor dated special effects and pulpy entertainment, the particular cocktail of entertainment offered by almost any given similar film from the era is unlikely to disappoint - and Earth vs. the Spider is no exception. Despite a somewhat misleading title (then again, 'Small Rural American Town vs. the Spider' does lose some dramatic flair), the film's small, self-contained scope proves to be its greatest advantage, with few more profound aims than to entertain, and, despite whatever other faults, almost unwavering dedication to that front. While firmly ensconced in genre conventions, the film's tongue in cheek tone promotes such a wholesome sense of enjoyment that such clichés feel warmly familiar rather than suffocatingly so. Like many of its contemporaries, the film explores notions of adults versus teenagers (one particularly comical yet chilling scene has the titular creature awoken by a rock 'n roll song and dance interlude) and science versus good old fashioned American values, though the film is politically correct to not outright condemn scientists as nonsensical lunatics as many other such films do. Similarly, the much alluded to cause for the spider's abnormal growth is crucially never discovered, feeding into cultural notions of post-war nuclear paranoia. However, the film boasts surprisingly strong production values (the spider's cave is a wonderfully grotesque setting) and above par special effects given its inevitably low budget, and again manages to bend convention to its advantage through use of an eerie theremin score, giving it a sturdy enough veneer to make for a surprisingly entertaining 73 minutes. Despite the cast's typically universally flat performances failing to infuse much life into the shoddy script, one would hardly peruse such fare for the acting, making the cast's lackluster efforts endearingly amusing. Ed Kemmer interestingly melds the 'scientist voice of reason' and 'charismatic protagonist' figures into a single character, and feels all the more fresh and appealing because of it. June Kenney is often embarrassingly and comically melodramatic as a teen mourning her missing father, and Eugene Persson counterbalances her overacting with a dull, unenthusiastic performance as her earnest, "gee whiz" boyfriend. Gene Roth delivers many an (intentionally) comical moment as the town's ineffective sheriff, who also intriguingly shifts roles into a voice of reason figure later on. Despite a slew of expected faults given its genre, Earth vs. the Spider is never less than supremely entertaining, making for a wonderful comedy (intentionally or not) and easily worth investigating for any fans of classic horror, or those willing to derive amusement from envisioning how frightening it must have been to 1958 audiences, or simply ridiculing it throughout. -5/10

The title is a bit ambitious. A small town, not the whole world is being terrorized by a giant spider. No real explanation for this creature is given. But it is big and scary and it kills people...so destroy it. Easier said than done. Creepy music makes for a tense atmosphere. Nice flick for a slumber party, that way you have something to do while the movie runs. This film seems to have been done cheap and quick. The intent, no doubt, was to cash in on the popularity of the other giant mutant movies. Quite below average, but not a total bust. Cast members include Ed Kemmer, June Kenny, Eugene Persson and Skip Young.

When EARTH VS. THE SPIDER crawled onto theatre screens nationwide in 1958 and first appeared on television in 1963 it was under the title THE SPIDER. Thus its current label is somewhat of an enigma. Perhaps the additional prefix of EARTH VS. was part of its original intended title (with actual prints struck as such) but was deemed too ambitious for what actually transpires in the movie. Possibly because of this title's similarity to the Ray Harryhausen epic EARTH VS. THE FLYING SAUCERS (released a few years earlier) it was feared to be an infringement on the Harryhausen work (or it could be mistaken as a re-release of same) and was shortened to the more appropriate THE SPIDER. EARTH VS. THE SPIDER has the handicap of being a steal of Jack Arnold's TARANTULA (1955) and like all giant mutation films of the 1950's following in the wake of the 1954 sci-fi masterpiece THEM! (trying to emulate its distinctive qualities and commercial success) but taken on its own terms it successfully establishes its own eerie atmosphere and excitement that makes it popular today. Comparison with TARANTULA is unavoidable but while both films utilize an actual tarantula spider (for practical purposes) EARTH VS. THE SPIDER usually manipulates the title protagonist in confined, claustrophobic surroundings when pursuing its intended prey to great effect (the expansive yet enclosed underground caverns, the high school gymnasium and the climatic confrontation on the cavern ledge, etc.). Further this monster also spins a web (unlike the title menace in TARANTULA) and a great deal of suspense and tension is achieved as nosey intruders are caught in it while the wailing bellow of the approaching creature is heard. The giant spider's cave sanctuary is as much a character as the spider itself and it engenders a tremendous sense of foreboding and dread as the two teenagers and later as the town sheriff, his deputies and some townspeople approach and enter it (the mood is beautifully underscored by Albert Glasser's ominous background music). In comparison to the technical virtuosity of THE SEVENTH VOYAGE OF SINBAD released the same year (or any Harryhausen film of the period) the special effects in EARTH VS. THE SPIDER are thin beer indeed but adequate. These effects include rear projection, split screens, superimposures, miniatures and forced perspective utilizing photographic plates of famed Carlsbad Caverns. At the film's suspenseful finale there appears to be an unheralded moment of stop motion animation of the giant spider dangling along a precipice and the closing image of the dead creature impaled on stalagmite on the cavern floor (actually a painting) is quite impressive. All told EARTH VS. THE SPIDER is a film well worth looking into.

OK, so the special effects are not always that special, though better than many of the period, the story line is routine, though again no worse than that of similar films, and the acting is as one would expect for a film of this type. But, ask yourself, were you bored by it? At least Bert Gordon kept the action going and there were very few dull spots in his films. A lot of modern directors could learn how to pace their films from some of the old B movie directors. Compare that to the overblown, overlong, CGI laden sci-fi "epics" to which we are currently subjected - and I know which I would prefer. At the end of the day which is the better film - one made on a shoestring which entertains, or one costing a hundred million dollars which has you looking forward to the end credits?

I was twelve years old when I saw this. Watching it again this week brought back some nice memories and I was surprised how much actual good stuff is in the movie. It has a very formal three act structure. In Act One a man driving home crashes his pickup truck when he hits something stretched across the highway. Carol, his daughter, and Mike, her boyfriend, borrow a car from their friend Joe (thirty-five years old and still a student in high school!) and go in search of him. They find the wrecked vehicle and go into a cave (convincingly portrayed by the very brightly lighted- a fact no one mentions- Carlsbad Caverns) where they find a giant spider, from which they barely escape. With help from their science teacher they persuade the authorities to go to the cave and confront the monster, which they kill- so they think- with DDT. The too short second act finds the spider transported to the high school. The gymnasium where it's kept is supposed to be off limits but the janitor (It's Mr. Ziffel from GREEN ACRES!) lets Joe and his band in to practice. Their bass player is the actor (then pushing thirty) who played Wally on OZZIE AND HARRIET. The drama club has finished practice, so they come in and start dancing. The DTD wears off and the spider, fresh from his long nap, eats the janitor and then terrorizes the town. People run wildly back and forth on Main Street (the Universal back lot) as the spider walks through snacking on unfortunate citizens. We see scenes of destruction in the residential area, an overturned car with Just Married painted across the back window, a small child crying in the wreckage. Throughout the carnage the sheriff stays put in his downtown office. The science arrives home (a quite large and nice home, which makes you figure that the town of River Falls pays its teachers well) in time to smash his car into the spider's butt to make it leave the man's family alone. The spider decides to return to its nest. Throughout the film the spider makes a strange roaring noise. I listened with headphones because the family was asleep and I'd swear that the spider mutters "home....home" as he heads toward the cave. The somewhat overlong third act finds Carol and Mike in the cave searching for a bracelet which her late father had purchased for her. She had dropped it running for safety in the first act and wants to retrieve it. They are unaware that the spider is alive until it returns. The authorities seal the cave with dynamite, figuring that they've entombed the spider for good. When they find out the teenagers are in there they have to start digging. The spider chases Carol and Mike onto a ledge. The science teacher and sheriff find them and they rig equipment to electrocute the spider. Happy endings. Well, not for the spider or the people who were spider snacks, but still a happy ending. This is just flat a fun movie. The people making it knew it wasn't CITIZEN KANE. They did their jobs and went home. The special effects are surprisingly good when you consider the time and the tiny budget that Bert I. Gordon had. There are some elements that are surprisingly effective. The sound quality is impressive. Scenes where people are talking in the hallway of the school have the slight echo quality you get in hallways of such structures. The music is rousing and effective. And American Movie Classics got a print that's in pristine condition, clear and sharp black and white. Looking up the cast members through IMDb is fun. Gene Persson, who plays Mike, went on to produce YOU'RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN on Broadway. Many cast and crew had long and varied careers, some going on to much bigger things. Enjoy. Some people take argument with the title EARTH VS. THE SPIDER. It wasn't the spiders goal to stop with one small town. And that town was, as best we can tell, on planet Earth. I rest my case.

With the exception of a few A titles Sci-fi was mostly considered kids stuff especially in the 50's. The studios had such low expectations that even a gem like Forbidden Planet was used as a premium for cornflakes boxtops. That being the case it was profitable to crank out as many as possible as cheap as possible with as much action as the budget would allow and that was the only criteria. It worked because kids hungry for any kind of monster and teens needing a good background for the drive-in flocked to these B pictures so much that you could expect one to open a couple of weeks or so. It's not like anybody got suckered into these things as well.I don't know how many previews I saw at the drive-in or matinée even if the monster looked fake or stinky in the trailer I still wanted to go see it. For the most part I had a good time and I still love these B creature Features from the fifties. This one in particular is highly re-watchable. Unfortunately I can't say much for their current counterparts it seems like the bad bug movies of today are mostly just bad and not fun like these were. Recently I watched Ice Spider,Lord Of The Spiders and Scorpius Giganticus on the sci-fi channel and they all blew so bad I could barely finish them. The special effects here are bad but they're fun because they're bad plus they fit right in with the naiveté and unsophistication of the times and Bert I Gordon didn't skimp on them either. Once the monster showed up you got tons of bad special effects right up until the climax . Today we know so much more about effects and budgeting and story structure and science and credible actions that it seem a shame that so many sci-flicks are blatantly disregarding this without giving us the fun of old school. It's a lose lose situation. Currently this is on DVD with War Of The Colossal Beast and I recommend it highly as a cheap disc worthy of a rainy night filled with cherry Cokes and Sloppy Joes