Aaron Dane Shanley’s review published on Letterboxd:
💀 NUMBER TWENTY 💀
💀 TWO INSECT CENTERED FILMS 💀
"Kingdom Of The Spiders" (1977)
* dir: John "Bud" Carlos
* Horror / Science Fiction / "The Birds" Meets "Phase IV" Meets A Metric Ton Of Sweat
[ ★★★½ / ★★★★★ ]
Is it surprising that William Shatner gives his career-best performance in a film where he's attacked by coordinated swarms of venomous tarantulas while working as a dusty cowboy veterinarian in the late-70s Arizona countryside?
I mean, probably not. He seems like a pretty weird dude
But more importantly, that goddamn finale puts "Kingdom Of The Spiders" firmly into one of my all-time favorite subgenres: movies where the last few minutes feel like the beginning of the end of the world.
Effortlessly eerie and unsettling on an almost primal level, like an ancient icy wind whispering across your grave to drag its visage down your spine. Man. What an ending.