The Film:

Spiders are probably the most feared animal ever. The prickliness, the way they swarm, and the all in all creepiness of these eight legged creatures can just make your skin crawl. The 1977 movie Kingdom of the Spiders launched a movement for future generations plagued with a fear of spiders. In the small town of Verde Valley, Arizona, local veterinarian, Dr. Robert “Rack” Hansen (William Shatner) and an out of town entomologists, Diane Ashley (Tiffany Bolling) discover a recent surge in animals that have suddenly died. During their tests they discover that they are in the path of a massive spider migration as a result of the lack of food for the spiders. Now their town is infested with spiders and they have to find a way to escape the spiders before they become the spider’s next prey.

I will be the first to admit that spiders give me the creeps. This movie of course was one of the first of its kind to bring fear to the masses by focusing on a creature that is already in nature (similar to the way Jaws did). The difference between the spiders and the sharks are that if you are lucky enough to kill one shark, you might be safe; but with spiders they come in the millions in this movie. No there aren’t the graphic effects that we are so accustomed to in this generation, but the movie keeps it very simple and creepy. The performance of Shatner played as a springboard to the legendary career we know of now. In the end, there was not much the characters had to do because of the simplicity of the story. It left the mind to be able to wonder about being in that situation.

Conclusion:

It does not come with the graphics and effects of movies we are used to, but if you like being creeped out, Kingdom of the Spiders will still do the job despite the age of the movie.

Rating:

Tags: Kingdom of the Spiders, Tiffany Bolling, William Shatner