space
head
head head head
Home Contact RSS Feed
COMICS   •   MOVIES   •   MUSIC   •   TELEVISION   •   GAMES   •   BOOKS
Blu-ray Review: Tarantula!
space
Adam Frazier   |  @   |  

Blu-ray Review: Scream Factory's Tarantula!

Tarantula!
Blu-ray
Director: Jack Arnold
Screenwriter: Robert M. Fresco, Martin Berkeley
Cast: John Agar, Mara Corday, Leo G. Carroll
Distributor: Scream Factory
Not Rated | 81 Minutes
Release Date: April 30, 2019

Directed by Jack Arnold (Creature from the Black Lagoon, It Came From Outer Space, The Incredible Shrinking Man), Tarantula! is a 1955 science-fiction monster movie about – you guessed it – a Big Ass Radioactive Spiderâ„¢ lookin’ for love in all the wrong places.

Leo G. Carroll (Strangers on a Train, North by Northwest) stars as Gerald Deemer, a biochemist with a plan to feed the world by using a growth formula on plants and animals. Instead, he creates a Big Ass Radioactive Spiderâ„¢ that feeds on the cattle, horse-ranchers, and hobos of Desert Rock, Arizona.

Joining Deemer on his quest to stop the eight-legged menace is John Agar (The Mole People, Attack of the Puppet People) as Dr. Matt Hastings, who proclaims “Give women the vote and what do you get? Lady scientists”; and Mara Corday (The Black Scorpion, The Giant Claw) as said Sexy Lady Scientistâ„¢ Stephanie “Steve” Clayton. Also appearing, a young Clint Eastwood – who got his start in Arnold’s 1955’s Revenge of the Creature – in an uncredited role as a jet squadron leader.

Blu-ray Review: Tarantula!

Following in the massive footsteps of Godzilla (1954) and Them! (1954), Tarantula! is a solid entry in the subgenre of Giant Insects Gone Wildâ„¢ flicks. Like the best sci-fi films of the Atomic Age, Arnold’s creature feature explores man’s uneasy relationship with science. What’s most interesting about this film – aside from the matte effects used to bring the monster to life – is that the big ol’ bug is a result of a well-intentioned scientist, rather than nuclear weapons or a mad megalomaniac.

As for this new Blu-ray release, Scream Factory has done an excellent job of restoring Arnold’s 1955 drive-in classic with a new 2K scan of the original film elements. The film looks and sounds great – as good as a low-budget movie about a hobo-eating Big Ass Radioactive Spiderâ„¢ can look.

Also included is a new audio commentary with film historians Tom Weaver, Dr. Robert J. Kiss, and David Schecter, as well as a theatrical trailer and still gallery. While this release is a little light on bonus features, the new scan and audio commentary – not to mention the gorgeous cover art (pictured below) – are more than worth the price of admission.

If you’re a fan of monster movies and ’50s sci-fi flicks, this is a great grab – I give it two fangs up! [groan, sigh, tumbleweed blows by, giant spider spins me up in a cocoon and drags me away]

Tarantula! is now available at Amazon. For more reviews of Scream Factory releases, click here.

Trailer

Clip: Tarantula Escapes

Clip: Tarantula Cowboy

Cover Art:

Tarantula! Blu-ray Cover Art

Follow me on Twitter and Letterboxd!

No Comments »

No comments yet.

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URL

Leave a comment

space
space
Previous Article
space
Next Article
«
»
space
space
space
Amazon.com
space
You may have noticed that we're now AD FREE! Please support Geeks of Doom by using the Amazon Affiliate link above. All of our proceeds from the program go toward maintaining this site.
space
Geeks of Doom on Twitter Geeks of Doom on Facebook Geeks of Doom on Instagram Follow Geeks of Doom on Tumblr Geeks of Doom on YouTube Geeks of Doom Email Digest Geeks of Doom RSS Feed
space
space
space
space
The Drill Down Podcast TARDISblend Podcast Westworld Podcast
2023  ·   2022  ·   2021  ·   2020  ·   2019  ·   2018  ·   2017  ·   2016  ·   2015  ·   2014  ·  
2013  ·   2012  ·   2011  ·   2010  ·   2009  ·   2008  ·   2007  ·   2006  ·   2005
space
Geeks of Doom is proudly powered by WordPress.

Students of the Unusual™ comic cover used with permission of 3BoysProductions
The Mercuri Bros.™ comic cover used with permission of Prodigal Son Press

Geeks of Doom is designed and maintained by our geeky webmaster
All original content copyright ©2005-2023 Geeks of Doom
All external content copyright of its respective owner, except where noted
space
Creative Commons License
This website is licensed under
a Creative Commons License.
space
About | Privacy Policy | Contact
space