I do not like spiders . . . so you can just imagine how I felt whilst watching a whole kingdom of them . . .
. . . yep, you guessed it, creeped right the heck out. That's how I felt as I watched
Kingdom of the Spiders.
When I found this one in my brother's DVD collection, I wasn't holding out much hope. I mean look what happened the last time I picked something from his stash -
The Horror Within!! But I was pleasantly surprised by this spidery little cheesefest.
Right from the get go, I felt very attached to the character of Rack Hansen (
William Shatner) who is basically a small town veterinarian loved and respected by his whole town. Also known as quite a lady's man, he further endears you to his character with his unselfish care for his sister in law Terry (Marcy Lafferty) and niece Linda (Natasha Ryan) who lost their husband and father in the war.
But this is not a story about a man and his family, it is a story about killer spiders who have been driven to new food sources due to man's incessant eradication of bugs by spraying
DDT and other pesticides. If you kill off a spider's food supply, it has to adapt. And adapt these spiders have as they go through livestock and pets and eventually work their way to the people of this small town.
Diane Ashley (
Tiffany Bolling), a big time entomologist from Tempe University, comes along to try and help with the spider problem and ends up falling for Rack (I mean come on this is William Shatner we are talking about here - who could resist?). As the spiders descend on the small town this pair of scientists along with Sheriff Gene Smith (
David McLean) and local innkeeper Emma Washburn (
Lieux Dressler) try to keep the spiders at bay while they find a way out for themselves.
With a truly fantastic (and unexpected) ending,
Kingdom of the Spiders is a definite watcher for any fans of cheesey horror, William Shatner and/or spiders.
Kingdom of the Spiders Movie Cast and Credits
Directed by
John 'Bud' Cardos
Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Alan Caillou
Stephen Lodge story
Richard Robinson
Jeffrey M. Sneller story
Cast (in credits order)
William Shatner .... Dr. Robert 'Rack' Hansen
Tiffany Bolling .... Diane Ashley
Woody Strode .... Walter Colby
Lieux Dressler .... Emma Washburn
David McLean .... Sheriff Gene Smith
Natasha Ryan .... Linda Hansen
Altovise Davis .... Birch Colby
Joe Ross .... Vern Johnson
Marcy Lafferty .... Terry Hansen
Adele Malis-Morey .... Betty Johnson (as Adele Malis)
Roy Engel .... Mayor Connors
Hoke Howell .... Earl Forbes
Bill Coontz .... Clyde
Whitey Hughes .... The Baron
Jay Lawrence .... Deputy
Bettie Bolling .... Mildred Cobb
Anita Merritt .... Waitress (as Juanita Merritt)
Nadia Caillou .... Screaming woman
Valla Rae McDade .... Screaming woman
Jon-Jon .... Injured boy
More Kingdom of the Spiders Movie Reviews
Kingdom of the Spiders Movie Review from They're Coming To Get You BarbaraMovie Review of Kingdom of the Spiders at Castle Dracula
