Kingdom of The Spiders (1977)
Written by Richard Robinson, Alan Caillou, and Jeffrey M. Sneller
Directed by John “Bud” Cardos
Starring William Shatner, Tiffany Bolling, and Woody Strode
Runtime 1 hour and 37 minutes
Available from Kino Lorber on Special Edition Blu-ray here

by Rosalie Kicks, Old Sport and Editor in Chief

Back of box synopsis:
A living, crawling HELL ON EARTH! This classic 1977 creepshow stars the legendary William Shatner (Star Trek, The Devil’s Rain) as veterinarian “Rack” Hansen, faced with the puzzling death of a number of local farm animals. As even greater numbers of the helpless animals meet their deaths it is discovered that hundreds of tarantulas occupy the farm land. This is strange indeed! Tarantulas don’t live in colonies…or do they? An attractive entomologist (brilliantly portrayed by Tiffany Bolling, The Candy Snatchers) is called to the dusty little Arizona town to explain the sudden arrival of the spiders and their unusual behavior. But is it too late? Time seems to be running out as the new species of eight-legged freaks now number in the thousands! Is it even possible to halt this arachnid explosion? The spiders are everywhere—and man is their prey! Directed by John “Bud” Cardos (The Dark, Mutant) and featuring Woody Strode (The Violent Breed), Lieux Dressler (Truck Stop Women) and Altovise Davis (Can’t Stop the Music).

Features that make it special…

Audio commentary by Film Critic/Author Lee Gambin
Audio commentary by Director John “Bud” Cardos, Producer Igo Kantor, Spider Wrangler Jim Brockett and Cinematographer John Morrill, Moderated by Lee Christian and Scott Spiegel
Audio commentary by Producer Igo Kantor and Actress Tiffany Bolling, Moderated by Marc Edward Heuck
Interview with Actress Tiffany Bolling
Interview with Writer Steve Lodge
Theatrical trailer
Dual-layered BD50 Disc
Optional English subtitles
Slipcover
Reversible cover insert

Why you need to add it to your video library…

When cows start dropping dead due to spider venom, the town calls in a highly trained arachnologist Diane Ashley (Tiffany Bolling) to assist. Of course she is met with resistance, particularly from Dr. Robert “Rack” (should be Hack) Hansen (William Shatner). However, it does not take long for the Doc and fellow townies to come around when the spiders start to aggressively organize themselves much like an army.

Even with a hokey premise, Shatner’s on screen pervy antics, and sluggish pacing, I could not help being charmed by Kingdom of The Spiders. There is something I found utterly irresistible witnessing the crisp Blu-ray close-ups of the arachnids. I loved seeing them creeping, crawling, and sinisterly staring into the camera lens. I grew even more enamored with the tarantulas after viewing some of the special features contained on the disc and hearing the tales of on set Spider Wrangler, Jim Brockett. My interest was piqued from the conversation and it led me down a rabbit hole on the internet where I learned that the tarantulas were actually scared of the the film crew. So much so, that in a number of scenes the crew employed fans and air tubes to blow them towards their intended victims. As mentioned in my previous disc dispatch on Squirm, it is hard to imagine a film of this sort being made today, as many motion pictures do not employ the use of practical effects. There is something truly special about the creature features of the seventies as they did not have the ability to fall back on computer generated imagery. Instead it was the use of over five thousand spiders that brought magic to the silver screen.

Kingdom of The Spiders may not be a movie that I am pining to revisit, but it did manage to capture me in its web. If anything, it manages to spin a good yarn in a swift eighty-nine minute runtime. Any frustration had along the way is pretty much absolved by the time that last shot graces the screen. Believe me when I tell you old sport, it is something to behold!

Check back next week for a new installment of Kino Lorber creature features! During the month of October Rosalie Kicks will share some of the spooky critter offerings presently available from Kino Lorber.