Kingdom of the Spiders (Blu-ray Review)
- Review Date: Nov 15, 2024
- Format: Blu-ray Disc
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Director
John “Bud” CardosRelease Date(s)
1977 (August 27, 2024)Studio(s)
Arachnid Productions/Dimension Pictures (Kino Cult #14)- Film/Program Grade: A-
- Video Grade: A
- Audio Grade: A
- Extras Grade: A-
Review
For what it is, Kingdom of the Spiders (1977) is a nearly perfect little film. As part of the 1970s nature-gone-wild sub-genre of horror films, it’s far superior to bigger movies like Irwin Allen’s The Swarm (1978) and the later, similar Arachnophobia (1990). Though produced on a budget probably slightly lower than the average TV-movie of the period, Kingdom of the Spiders is impressively solid. The screenplay offers unusually fleshed-out characters, building tension methodically and, for the most part, logically, and while obviously inspired by Hitchcock’s The Birds (1963), mainly, and more recent hits like Jaws (1975), it’s original enough that it never feels like a cheap rip-off. The acting is mostly good, the lead role perfectly suited for star William Shatner, who’s very good throughout. The story, confined to a small Arizona community, doesn’t aim higher than the film’s means, and Bud Cardos’s direction is effective and tension-generating. Even the spiders give lively performances.
In Verde Valley, Arizona, country veterinarian Robert “Rack” Hansen (Shatner) receives an urgent call from Walter Colby (Woody Strode) that his prize calf is deathly ill. Rack is unable to save it, and he’s in disbelief when arachnologist Diane Ashley’s (Tiffany Bolling) autopsy reveals the animal died from spider venom. Soon, Colby’s dog is dead from another unseen attack, but Colby finds an enormous spider hill on his farm, with thousands of deadly tarantula-like eight-leggers nesting inside. Colby himself dies soon after, when spiders get into the cab of his pickup truck, causing a fatal accident.
The mayor (Roy Engel) orders the area sprayed with dangerous pesticide, but Diane warns this will only exacerbate the problem and, indeed, when more spiders invade the crop duster’s cockpit and begin stinging the pilot to death, his plane crashes in the middle of town.
Rack, Diane, and some others, including Rach’s young niece, Linda (Natasha Ryan), take refuge at the local lodge, run by Emma Washburn (Lieux Dressler). The plan to evacuate the town in a big camper, but before they can thousands, perhaps millions of spiders close in on Verde Valley, trapping the entire population.
The screenplay credited to Richard Robinson and sometime-actor and adventurer Alan Caillou (but also including an uncredited Steve Lodge) is unexpectedly rich with interesting characters rare for such pictures. Rack, for instance, lost his kid brother in “Nam” and looks after his brother’s widow, Terri (Marcy Lafferty, Mrs. Shatner at the time) and her daughter, but Terri is lonely and vulnerable with that loss, falling in love with Rack and leaning on him a bit too heavily, making their get-togethers awkward, especially once he becomes attracted to Diane. Even lesser characters are made interesting: Emma Washburn long ago was Sheriff Gene Smith’s (David McLean) girl, but they separated, apparently due to his drinking. They remain close, however, and she clearly still loves him. The screenplay is not without humor, either. A funny little scene has an old man with a flat tire adamantly refusing to pay more than $5 for a replacement tire at the local gas station. It adds nothing to the plot but adds local color.
Rack was an almost ideal role for William Shatner at that point in his career. He gets to ride a horse (the actor’s favorite pastime) while playing an overly-confident ladies’ man, flirting with Diane but also professional in his job and resourceful when the spiders threaten to overwhelm the town; the actor is very good at selling the horror of the menace.
Cardos’s direction is efficient and effective. There are spider point-of-view shots, and many low angles suggesting the spiders are dangerously close to unaware characters. The spider attacks are well-edited and increasingly tense—the film is genuinely unsettling at times—yet is never particularly graphic and was released with a PG rating. When the picture debuted on prime-time network television a year or so later, I doubt more than a few frames were cut for broadcast.
Music for the film is commonly credited (as on Wikipedia) to Dorsey Burnette, but he wrote and performed the country music songs for the film. The actual underscoring seems to be entirely stock music, most notably themes written by Jerry Goldsmith, originally for the Twilight Zone episodes The Invaders and Back There. However, this stock music is integrated into the film as well as everything else, even giving the picture the feel of an unofficial Twilight Zone episode.
Not long ago I re-watched the 2003 GoodTimes full-frame DVD release, and wasn’t too keen to see Kingdom of the Spiders again, so soon after. But Kino’s 1920 x 1080p transfer, presenting the film in its original 1.85:1 widescreen aspect ratio, is definitely a major improvement; the widescreen framing alone better serves the film, the tighter, claustrophobic compositions later in the story adding to its effectiveness. The transfer seemed just a tad darker than I would have liked, but the image is clean and sharp, with accurate color and contrast. The DTS-HD Master Audio (2.0 mono) is good for what it is, and optional English subtitles are provided on this Region “A” disc.
Supplements on this “Kino Cult #14” release abound, with no less than three commentary tracks, though many of the extras are repurposed from older home video releases. They include a commentary by the late Lee Gambin (this release dedicated to his memory); a second track with director Cardos, producer Igo Kantor, spider wrangler Jim Brockett, and cinematographer John Morrill, moderated by Lee Christian and Scott Spiegel; and a third track by Kantor and Bolling, moderated by Edward Heuck. Also included are interviews with Bolling and co-writer Steve Lodge. A trailer and radio spot round out the extras.
Not included from the Code Red Blu-ray is the Jim Brockett: Spider Wrangler featurette and Rare Behind-the-Scenes Footage.
One need not apologize for liking Kingdom of the Spiders. For a modestly-budgeted exploitation horror film, it’s very good in just about every way. Highly recommended.
- Stuart Galbraith IV