Horror movie.

I'm drinking Arizona Sweet Tea, suddenly not tired, watching Halloween on IFC, and I'm very much feeling in the spirit of the season. I'll take this time to recommend a great watch, perfect for this time of the year.

Jack Hill's Spider Baby, or the Maddest Story Ever Told (1968)

In a run down mansion way out in the country live the last remaining descendants of the depraved Merrye family: victims of a degenerative brain disease that causes its sufferers to, with age, regress to a state of violent instinctual behavior. They are watched over by the family caretaker, a kind-hearted gent named Bruno (in a sunset performance by Lon Chaney, Jr., and a touching, majestic performance at that), who, bound by his word, is forced to cover up their wrongdoings. When some distant "normal" relatives arrive to claim the Merrye family fortune, things begin to get even more troublesome.
While the material sounds fairly serious, don't let that fool you. The film is rife with screwball humor, quirkiness, and latent sexual tension.
In this campy horror masterpiece, we enjoy a wide spread of appeals. These include fantastically fun performances, including (other than Chaney, of course):

• Carol Ohmart as one of the greedy family members, particularly malicious and cunning.
  
• Jill Banner as Virginia, youngest daughter of the Merrye family, and one of the most violent. A favorite game of hers to play is the eponymous "Spider," in which she slices her playmate with two butcher's knives. She plays this role with a peculiar intoxicating quality. She is basis for most of the film's sexual undertones.
  
• Sid Haig as Ralph, eldest brother of the Merrye family. He drools a lot, wears funny clothes, and gropes Carol Ohmart's face, much to her dismay. Mostly he seems harmless, and is the most charming character in the entire film.

The most fascinating aspect of this movie, though, is its intentional naivety and innocence. There is really no objectionable content whatsoever, and in fact today would most likely get an upper PG, maybe lower PG-13 rating, even despite the sexual undertones. This juxtaposition makes for some incredibly unique and engaging character development and character relations, not only between the characters in the film, but between the audience and the characters as well.
Thanks to Hill's light-handed direction and obvious loving touch (a profound respect for the genre and the actors with whom he's working), and the performances (of course), there's such an incredible atmosphere produced it's quite easy to get sucked into this one.
And just to make it clear: while Spider Baby is certainly silly, campy, and fun, it has its share of genuine creepiness, too!

This for sure is one of my top 20 favorite horror movies ever, which is really saying something.

So if you're looking for something to really compliment the feel of the Hallowe'en season, or just a great (horror) film altogether, I highly, highly recommend this one.

Enjoy the trailer:


Netflix it!