The Giant Spider Invasion Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

The Giant Spider Invasion Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov March 21, 2020

Bill Rebane's "The Giant Spider Invasion" (1975) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Dark Force Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include archival interviews with director Bill Ribane and actor Robert Easton as well as a vintage music promo video. In English, without optional English SDH subtitles. Region-Free.

Run, run, run

Below are a couple of indisputable facts about Bill Ribane’s film The Giant Spider Invasion that should help you decide whether it is worth your time:

It is a cheapie, but not poorly made. That’s right, it was shot on a budget, with Ribane doing the best he could to impress, and the end product is a perfectly coherent film.

Everyone that signed up to do the film knew exactly what type of project was being put together. How do we know this? Attitudes don’t lie. The actors are having a ball before the camera and it is plain as day that they aren’t taking their roles too seriously. However, they aren’t fumbling their roles either – they are in the story, not just passing through it. So, there was a team of actors working in unison under Ribane’s direction.

The film’s story is goofy. Not bad, just goofy, of the kind that late ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s American horror films are now remembered for. So, The Giant Spider Invasion is a goofy horror film that it just as effective as a whacky low-budget black comedy. (Even though it comes from a different decade, Joe Dante’s Matinee is exactly the same type of goofy horror film. It was made with a much bigger budget, much better cast, and by a much more skilled director, but it offers the exact same type of entertainment).

This fact could make or break the film for different groups of viewers. The special effects add flavor to the story, not visual thrills of the type that technicians and nowadays computer wizards use to impress. It is why Ribane’s camera spends as little time as possible on the spiders after they begin attacking the sleepy Wisconsin community. So, the paranoia and chaos are far more terrifying than the big creatures and their exploits.

This is it. Now you should have a crystal clear idea what to expect from The Giant Spider Invasion. And this is what matters the most -- your expectation, which has to be defined by your clear understanding of what Ribane did in the film and for what purpose. Vintage and current promotional materials for The Giant Spider Invasion could be awfully misleading because they hype up a film that quite simply does not exist. Yes, it is how the game is played, but they are doing a huge disservice to the film because they aren’t selling it right. Go in for the silly atmosphere -- which is awfully good for an American cheapie from the ‘70s -- and you will have a great time watching a bunch of cheeseheads getting chased and terrorized by a couple of fluffy ‘monsters’. It is a bad film, for sure, but it is so bad that it is actually pretty darn entertaining.

Ribane’s cast included plenty of serious actors, such as Bill Williams (Hell’s Horizon), Barbara Hale (TV’s Perry Mason), Steve Brodie (Out of the Past), Alan Hale Jr. (TV’s Gunsmoke), Leslie Parrish (The Manchurian Candidate), and Christiane Schmidtmer (Ship of Fools.

*Dark Force Entertainment’s Blu-ray release of The Giant Spider Invasion is sourced from an exclusive new master that was struck from the 35mm original camera negative.

The Giant Spider Invasion Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, The Giant Spider Invasion arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Dark Force Entertainment.

The release is sourced from a new master that apparently was struck from the original 35mm camera negative. The technical presentation definitely has that type of rich and nicely detailed and nuanced look that proper new masters deliver. Clarity, delineation, and especially depth range from very good to excellent. (There is one nighttime sequence that appears slightly softer than the rest of the footage, but it appears that it was shot that way). Fluidity is also very pleasing, and on a larger screen the technical presentation easily rivals the type of quality that usually the majors offer when an older film is properly restored. The color grading job is convincing. The primaries are solid and lush, plus the supporting nuances appear properly balanced. There are no distracting age-related anomalies. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

The Giant Spider Invasion Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 24-bit). Optional English SDH subtitles are not provided for the main feature.

The recording equipment that was used to do the sound on The Giant Spider Invasion was probably not particular good because there are a few sections of the film where clarity and balance become unconvincing. I also had to turn up the volume a bit to hear exactly what was being said. However, clarity and overall stability are excellent. Optional English subtitles should have been included.

The Giant Spider Invasion Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Giant Spider Music Video - a vintage promo video. (3 min, 480/60i).

• Interview with Bill Rebane - in this archival interview, director Bill Ribane discusses the many challenges he faced while preparing to shoot The Giant Spider Invasion. There are some particularly interesting comments about the 'special effects' that are seen throughout the film. The interview was conducted in 2014. In English, not subtitled. (11 min, 480/60i).

• Interview with Robert Easton - in this archival interview, actor Robert Easton recalls how he became involved with The Giant Spider Invasion and what it was like to work with director Bill Rebane. The interview was conducted in 2005. In English, not subtitled. (26 min, 480/60i).

The Giant Spider Invasion Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I had a great time with The Giant Spider Invasion but I knew exactly what to expect from it, which was goofy entertainment. Believe it or not, the film actually has a pretty darn good sense of humor, so if you approach it with the right mindset it can be a lot of fun. Dark Force Entertainment's Blu-ray release is sourced from a gorgeous recent master that was apparently struck from the original 35mm camera negative, so it should remain the definitive presentation of the film on the home video market. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.