Ah, the classics of American International Pictures… nothing quite like them.
The Spider is one of their giant creature features, made with copious amounts of composite shots, theremin-accented music, and familiar settings from the Universal Studios back lot to Carlsbad Caverns.
If you’re not familiar with American International, you’re not familiar with a number of the classic sci-fi and horror flicks of the 50s and 60s (or some of the exploitation flicks of the 70s… or horror again in the 80s and 90s). This is the house where Roger Corman got his start. Their back-catalog is ripe with cheap films with thin plots and lots of thrills.
No one did composite work like the people making pictures at AIP. For what they had to work with, they pulled off near miracles on a regular basis. That special effects artistry coupled with actually stylish cinematography raises the thinly plotted and often questionably acted films to a higher standard that still inspires some film makers today (not a lot, but some).
When it comes to Earth vs The Spider (marketed as just “The Spider” to ride the coattails of the success of The Fly (which wasn’t an AIP picture), what passes for the plot is bog-standard: There’s a giant spider living in an old cavern near a town. People find it, it finds people, conflict ensues.
There panic in the streets, death and destruction, a bit of rock and roll music, and, of course, the requisite speech or two about SCIENCE! (That’s spoken in all caps with an exclamation point, of course!) You’ll never see a woman not in a dress and if a man’s not in a suit, he’s in a leather jacket, a uniform, or a high school letterman’s sweater.
Movies like this are just plain fun. Made, in no small part, to be put on a screen while teenagers did teenager things in the dark of the theater or at the drive in. Then, later, to fill time on TV stations.
AIP knew what they were doing. They were one of the first studios to do market research… and then do the bare minimum to deliver movies with maximum profit.
But, man, did they squeeze some quality talent into those churned out pictures.
Really, if you love some classic drive-in fare, just pick any AIP horror or scifi film and you’re likely set.
- Earth vs The Spider – October 3, 2026
- Parasomnia – October 2, 2026
- Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark – October 1, 2026
Leave a Reply