This is better than I expected. The giant spiders are decently done; they even look creepier when they die. The guy transformed into a spiderman is fairly wild-looking too. He looks more like wolfman than a spider, but that's ok, at least he's suitably freaky.
The girls act about half their age; in fact, there's a goofy tone throughout. That's quickly established by the cheesy audition scene. I can't decide if the movie's supposed to be a send-up of swinging early 60s pop culture, or if it's actually meant to be cool. The premise is a bit elaborate for the plot. Why can't the girls just have their bus (on tour as a swinging 60s all-girl group) break down in the California desert, find their spiders/spidermen there, etc?
At least the plane crash over the Pacific sets up the memorable little scene where the impatient guy explains to a worried caller that the girls are okay, you know, because "all I know is, the plane caught fire, and we lost radio contact." Yeah, what's the big deal? At least he didn't let on that it dove straight into the ocean; that might've sounded harmful...
Strangely, guys keep showing up on the 'isolated' island to keep the girls amused, and also to replace spider casualties. The denouement in the quicksand is something unique.
A couple of things were a little off, even with disbelief fully suspended. Once the guy is turned into a spiderman, why do the giant spiders disappear? They should converge on the building where the original victim, the scientist, was caught in their web. If you've got some decent special effects on-hand, why not keep using them? In one spiderman v. normal guy fight, the guy picks up a gigantic boulder, but then we see the spiderman actually throw it.
But the greatest mystery of Horrors of Spider Island is that it looks like it's an American movie, but it's actually German. Ok, that explains the dubbing, but why shoot scenes on the West Coast of the U.S. (complete with streets full of American cars, etc.)? I just discovered the tons of reviews under its other title, Body in the Web.
Who cares about the title: this is definitely watchable. The girls are gorgeous; it's amazing that there was so much shown. Maybe the censor got bit too.
The girls act about half their age; in fact, there's a goofy tone throughout. That's quickly established by the cheesy audition scene. I can't decide if the movie's supposed to be a send-up of swinging early 60s pop culture, or if it's actually meant to be cool. The premise is a bit elaborate for the plot. Why can't the girls just have their bus (on tour as a swinging 60s all-girl group) break down in the California desert, find their spiders/spidermen there, etc?
At least the plane crash over the Pacific sets up the memorable little scene where the impatient guy explains to a worried caller that the girls are okay, you know, because "all I know is, the plane caught fire, and we lost radio contact." Yeah, what's the big deal? At least he didn't let on that it dove straight into the ocean; that might've sounded harmful...
Strangely, guys keep showing up on the 'isolated' island to keep the girls amused, and also to replace spider casualties. The denouement in the quicksand is something unique.
A couple of things were a little off, even with disbelief fully suspended. Once the guy is turned into a spiderman, why do the giant spiders disappear? They should converge on the building where the original victim, the scientist, was caught in their web. If you've got some decent special effects on-hand, why not keep using them? In one spiderman v. normal guy fight, the guy picks up a gigantic boulder, but then we see the spiderman actually throw it.
But the greatest mystery of Horrors of Spider Island is that it looks like it's an American movie, but it's actually German. Ok, that explains the dubbing, but why shoot scenes on the West Coast of the U.S. (complete with streets full of American cars, etc.)? I just discovered the tons of reviews under its other title, Body in the Web.
Who cares about the title: this is definitely watchable. The girls are gorgeous; it's amazing that there was so much shown. Maybe the censor got bit too.