Sci-Fi had it's golden era during the 1950s with films like Invaders From Mars, War Of The Worlds and Tarantula!. Shawn Francis brings us his look at low-budget B-Movie homage, The Giant Spider from director Christopher R.Mihm. Check out Shawn's review after the jump...
Written By Shawn Francis
When
I first heard about this it was in its infancy, with nothing but a
black and white screenshot of a tarantula (Earth Vs. The Spider, Tarantula) by making his own, but
keeping it as authentic as possible, which meant he was going to make
it a period piece (aka the 50s), film it in black and white and most
importantly of all do the FX the way they did it back then by super
imposing a live tarantula into the movie.
Unless
I’ve missed some crucial news somewhere, filmmaker, Christopher R.
Mihm, is the first to do it this way. Unfortunately, it fails to live
up to those two movies. Visually, yes, it’s perfect, but like so
many filmmakers who love these 50s science fiction movies and end up
making their own versions, Mihm does not take the material seriously,
instead what we get, and what I was expecting, but hoping it wouldn’t
be, is a spoof.
This
has been my one major complaint about these kinds of
filmmakers. I can, on one level, understand why they would rather
spoof it, but if you look at Earth Vs. The Spider (1958) and
Tarantula (1955), no one is winking at the audience, the
characters and plot are presented straight-faced and as serious as
possible, and when the spider attacks actual terror can be seen on
the victim’s faces. Larry Blamire (Trail Of The Screaming
Forehead) is another filmmaker who does the same thing, and for
the life of me I can’t figure out why they feel making them
comedies is the right direction to go.
I
still maintain you can homage these kinds of films, linking them
visually, but still do a straight-laced production that does not
involve tongue in cheek. I’m not sure Mihm and Blamire understand
that when those movies were made they were not designed to be laughed
at. I understand some of them are unintentionally funny due to the
state FX was in at that time, but the operative word here is
“unintentional.”
In
the end, I give Mihm and A for effort, but it took me two days to get
through this movie.
I
actually had more fun with the extras on the DVD (standard DVD only).
Before I get to them, the movie itself is anamorphic and in what
appears to be a 1.78:1 aspect ratio. The audio is English Dolby
Digital and Esperanto Dolby Digital, with subtitles for English and
Esperanto as well.
Okay,
now, the extras. You get two commentaries. One with the director,
Christoper Mihm and another with Mihm, his wife, Stephanie Mihm,
Mitch Gonzales, Mark Haider, and Cherie “Rhuby” Gallinati. I’m
sure these are fine and informative commentaries, but for me to
comment on them, I would have to watch the movie two more times, and
I just don’t have that kind of endurance.
The
‘Blooper Reel (5:00)’ is good. Bloopers are always good no
matter what the movie is. There’s also another set of bloopers. A
hidden one. If you hit the left arrow button on your remote, when
you’re on the PLAY option, it’ll highlight the spider’s
stomach. Clicking on that highlight will bring you to a set of
bloopers that highlight the troubles caused by the period motorcycle
that was used in the movie. I also found this quite humorous as well,
for the damn thing just refused to start.
There’s
also a ‘Photo Gallery (8:14),’ which highlights the
behind-the-scenes action. You also get ‘Commander Lambent: Space
Explorer . . . In Space!,’ a radio serial Mihm created that can
be played in parts—there are 5—are all together. Rounding out the
disc is a trailer for the movie and previews of four other movies
Mihm has made (House Of Ghosts, It Came From Another World, Cave
Women On Mars, Destinatination: Outer Space).
If
you’re curious about any of these movies, or The Giant Spider,
you can order them from Mihm’s website:
http://www.sainteuphoria.com/
You're not quite correct in saying that old sci-fi films "were not designed to be laughed at" - exhibit A: "Forbidden Planet" with the comedic relief cook playing against Robby the Robot; or "Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein" which very successfully merged humor and horror. And while I agree that many of the films of the time "played it straight", it doesn't necessarily make them better films because of it. Look at the ridiculous "The Giant Claw" to see how being serious backfired in the face of the actors once they saw they they were fighting a laughable bug-eyed Vulture, or similarly the awful googly-eyed beastie in "The Black Scorpion".
ReplyDeleteAnd comparing Mihm's films to Blamire's is not accurate - Blamire *deliberately* spoofs sci-fi conventions, whereas Mihm throws in humorous moments and characters, but never slights the source material. "The Giant Spider" is far more effective as a monster movie because it had some light moments thrown in with the horror. I LOVED it, and think you probably brought a few too many of your own expectations to the viewing...
Yes, certain movies I'm very critical of. Lovecraft adaptations is one, though I've eased up on them in the last few years. Big Big movies is another. The humor in this just rubbed me the one wrong way. It's a shame because visually it's a perfect homage to EARTH VS. THE SPIDER & TARANTULA, and I really wanted it to be just like them in the tone category, too. I have nothing against comedy/horror, it's just with some movies I don't want to see comedy mixed in. This was one of those movies.
ReplyDeleteIt haunts me that I adore Blamire's TRAIL OF THE SCREAMING FOREHEAD. It really does.
The problem with these types of movies where someone cranks out a parody of old b movies is the joke wears thin after about 3 minutes. You can only laugh at over the top acting, cheesy special effects and funny reactions for so long. The director doesn’t understand comedy or the movies he is parodying. I would also point out that his fans don’t understand those things either, and that is why his films will remain obscure. Comedy is a subtle thing. The remaking of Ed Wood, William Castle and creature features is difficult to do right as most of the time it ends up being single joke spread over 90 minutes. Often these odes to whatever end up being a mockery of them, The Giant Spider is no different.
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ReplyDelete