geminiredblue Yeah, yeah. By now, you should know I'm a die-hard Mysty (MST3K fan for the uninitiated.) Without their comments and riffs, this movie strangely enough holds it own. First off, let me warn you that it is another Bill Rebane flick! Yes, the man who brought us MONSTER A-GO-GO! And yes, we're treated to his usual trademarks: bad acting, long stretches of tedious dialogue, pointless scenes that meander, and humor that falls flat. However, occasionally there will be a gem that shines through. This time around, the budget must've been slightly bigger because we have a few veteran character actors. In the very first scene, we're introduced to Alan Hale as the sheriff and his first line is "Hey little buddy!" How can we not instantly love him? He's the jovial kind of sheriff everyone wants to have. Unfortunately, he's also pretty incompetent. A few moments later, we're treated to the most disgusting character: Mr. Kester, played by the wonderful Robert Easton. Let me pause for a minute and salute him, I think it takes a really brave actor to play someone so reprehensible. Anyway, he's disgusting because not only is he a fat, back brace-laden slob who cheats on his wife, but he also makes a few lecherous passes at Terry, his teenage sister-in-law. Though I admit, that scene is kinda funny with DELIVERANCE-style banjo music playing in the background. Finally, we also get Steve Brodie as a NASA expert of something and Barbara Hale as a stargazer. Oh did, I mention that a large comet/ meteorite lands in Mr. Kestor's backyard that spouts out tarantulas in geodes? By the way, the scene of the comet/ meteorite crashing looks oddly like a similar scene from MEN IN BLACK some twenty years later. Just thought I'd mention that. Anyway, as you can guess, the "giant spiders" crawl around and people randomly scream and/or die. As if to make matters worse, a VW Beetle (haha!) covered in brown fur, pipe cleaner legs and fangs, with giant light bulbs for eyes, begins stalking the quiet countryside. Yes, that's the "giant spider" in the title. I believe everyone involved was treating it half-seriously. It's definitely a curiosity. So I'd highly advise you watch this flick anyway you can, with Mike and the Bots or not. Their comments only help to add to the cult status of this one!

byname992000 All I can say is, this has to be one of the lousiest sci-fi films ever produced. It was obviously shot on a shoestring budget, but you have to ask, why bother?Visual effects are so dreadful they make me wonder if professionals were involved in creating them.The script is incoherent. Competent actors like Alan Hale Jr. and Steve Brodie are completely wasted.Profane language is thrown in to spice it up.Don't waste you time on it. Read a good book. Or if you must sink to the bottom of the film making rung, watch an Ed Wood film.

dirk275 I think calling this my favorite Bill Rebane film is like saying I have a favorite way to be tortured but it's true,I love this movie. This one rises above the slag heap that is the Bill Rebane catalog.First the plot. It's a standard man vs nature type. Meteor strikes a north central Wisconsin town. Hollow rocks contain small spiders that start to grow. As with any movie like this, law enforcement or scientists team up to stop the threat and that's true in this film. Soon a scientist from NASA(Steve Brodie) comes to investigate and teams with local doctor(Barbara Hale) to try to solve the problem. The spiders get bigger until the climax of the movie, which is an invasion of the local town celebration. Ultimately, Dr Vance and Langer(Brodie and Hale) come up with a far-fetched solution and the day is saved. If you've seen some of the 50s movies like Giant Gila Monster or even the Blob then you won't see anything new here.Yes it's not groundbreaking but it seems to work out O.K. That however, is not what makes this film so appealing. It's not a masterpiece by any means but it is a cult classic that is worth the time to see. It has been panned on MST3K but try to see the non-mysted version if you can. It's still just as fun.It's my understanding that Rebane wanted this movie to be a serious one but Robert Easton, who is credited as a writer, realized that people wouldn't buy it so some comedy was written in. That is one of the reasons I like this movie so much. The characters are laughable. The sheriff, the farmer and his wife, and the NASA scientist are hilarious. The self-effacing humor really makes it worth seeing. Humorous subplots, such as the farmer collecting "diamonds" from the stones and the sheriff who never seems to leave his office are great. In addition, the role players are awesome. Cousin Billy, Dutch, Helga, and many others are fun to watch. I have to say that, as a Wisconsinite growing up in the 70's, I think Bill Rebane really nails the way people were at that time(no offense to people of Merril and Gleason). This movie really brings me back. Gleason days is just like any other small town carnival I went to when I was growing up.In short, I think fans of the genre will like this and I would recommend it. It doesn't take itself too seriously so you shouldn't either. Just sit back and enjoy.

MartinHafer I saw this movie right after the god-awful MONSTER A GO-GO, but unlike this other film, THE GIANT SPIDER INVASION was bad but also kept my interest because it was so silly and a bit trashy--just the sort of film you and your friends can enjoy laughing at because it's so dopey.The worst thing about this film are the special effects. The outer space shots were just terrible and later in the film, the giant tarantula scenes were incredibly silly--not 100% bad--just very, very silly. Seeing the legs bobbing up and down was a hoot.The next worst thing is the White Trash aspects of the film. Although shot in Wisconsin (a veritable film mecca), many of the main characters are trashy hillbillies that seemed a bit out of place. But they were so badly overplayed and such terrible stereotypes that they looked more like characters from the game "Redneck Rampage" or perhaps guests on "The Jerry Springer Show" than real people. Such terrible writing and acting has to be seen to believed.Now this is a very bad film but not quite bad enough to make the hallowed pantheon of badness. A few scenes (not many, of course) were pretty good and the story, while dumb, is watchable. Plus, it's kind of fun to watch Alan Hale, Jr. playing one of the laziest and least effective sheriffs since "The Dukes of Hazzard". Once, early in the film, he called a kid "little buddy" because he appears to have forgotten that "Gilligan's Island" had been canceled.Overall, this isn't Shakespeare, but with the title of this film you certainly couldn't expect anything different.FYI--There is a tiny bit of nudity in the film. It's gratuitous and parents are cautioned about letting younger kids view this film--not just because of the nudity but because a film this stupid might just have serious long term effects on a young child's brain!!