The greatest movie ever!

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Imagine a cheesy, low budget '70s remake of '50s giant spider flick TARANTULA and you'll get a good idea of what the enjoyably terrible GIANT SPIDER INVASION is like. Director Bill Rebane specialised in his own unique brand of 'backwoods' creature flicks during the 1970s, and this particular film is remembered as the one which dresses up Volkswagen Beetles to look like the titular critters! If there are elements which can be said to define the 'backwoods' or 'hicksploitation' horror film, I guess they'd include scenes set in small convenience stores, feature a lot of redneck characters, plenty of driving around the hills, woods and fields, and have people finding unpleasant things in bushes. Most of those sequences appear in this film, which features on a particularly unlikeable redneck (Robert Easton) who has a meteor land in his field one night. Cue a burst of quite awful back projection effects and a hilarious follow-up in which his character says he's too tired to check it out – he'll go to bed instead.Soon, lots of mysterious nodules are turning up and depositing tarantulas around the place. They have a tendency to menace the sometimes-nude female cast members in a few effective scenes. There's also a lot of boring talk from a couple of scientists who turn up to investigate 'gamma rays'. Eventually, a huge spider shows up via laughably bad special effects, attacking a crowd at a baseball game and trashing a house in one scene.This film's ain't a patch on similar B-movie KINGDOM OF THE SPIDERS, with Bill Shatner. It's poorly-made and badly-acted, despite one or two professionals in the cast. Much of it is boring and none of it can be taken seriously. The brief nudity and cheap gore effects sit oddly with a film I would have marketed squarely at kids (at least on the strength of the special effects). But it does have a certain ambiance – call it so-bad-it's-good film-making if you will – that meant I didn't dislike it: instead I found it faintly enjoyable.

A black hole hits northern Wisconsin and opens a door to other dimensions. Giant 15-meter spiders emerge from it, who have an appetite for human flesh! Dr. Jenny Langer and Dr. Vance from "the NASA" try to save the world.First, I must confess it was a huge oversight on my part not to have seen this film sooner. As a fan of "bad movies" and a Wisconsin resident, I should have watched this many years ago. But, I just never did. Sorry, Bill Rebane, you cantankerous old coot.That being said, this is not a bad film. I mean, you know, it is far from a good film. But the acting is actually quite good, and it is immensely entertaining, which counts for a lot. Is the lighting atrocious? Yes. Are the giant spiders a bit cheesy? Certainly. And there are sound issues. But at its heart, this is a fun creature feature and one I could enjoy on repeat viewings, which is more than I can say for most turkeys.

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!

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.