Redundant and unnecessary.

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Judging from what has been said from other commentators I was expecting one of the worst movies ever made. Make no mistake The Giant Spider Invasion is a bad movie- very bad in fact, the 2.7 rating is about right for it- but not atrocious and a long way from one of the worst movies ever made. Barbara Hale and Steve Brodie are decent, there is some unintentional entertainment value and a couple of the attacks are appropriately gruesome. To say that The Giant Spider Invasion is poorly made though is an understatement, often what is seen is close to incoherent. The spider is not a convincing threat at all, more goofy than menacing and the cheap puppet-like design is no help. The music sounds stock and inappropriate, when you can hear the dialogue you are kind of glad actually that the sound is poor and the story is thinly plotted, completely lacking in atmosphere and predictable. Apart from Barbara Hale and Steve Brodie, the acting is so terrible- especially from Alan Hale- that it's not worth any comments. All in all, not as atrocious as heard and expected but very bad. 3/10 Bethany Cox

First of all, I did not see this film when it was originally released, though I would have been at exactly the right age to have my childhood completely and utterly warped by its low budget charms. I didn't see it until well into the DVD revolution, when I snapped up the disc released by Fred Olen Ray's Retromedia outfit. So my opinions are in no way colored by nostalgia. However, having grown up scarfing down the offerings of Godzilla Week and Edgar Allen Poe/Vincent Price Week on WABC-TV's "The 4:30 Movie," as well as frequent viewings of Hammer Studios product on WOR-TV, I had all the necessary childhood exposure to shlock to appreciate this work of monster mastery by the Inoshiro Honda of Cheesheads, Bill Rebane. Having continued my education thanks to the VHS and DVD revolutions, exploring further down the pile, and finally having committed the complete works of Ed Wood to memory, I was probably finally prepared to consume the cinematic leavings of Mr. Rebane.Fortunately, this was the first of Rebane's works to meet my uncomprehending eyeballs. Good move, because if I had watched any of his other productions, I don't know if I would have bothered with TGSI. Anyway, here Rebane has some actual professional Hollywood actors on hand in the form of The Skipper and that lady that played Della Street. This helps matters immensely, and believe me, Rebane needs all the help he can get. When your monster is a beat-up VW Beetle covered in black shag carpeting and bendy straws (I'm probably making it sound more convincing with that description than it actually is), you really have to make up the difference somewhere else.Anyway, the plot unfolds pretty predictably for a story like this, and we are treated to some fun, rollicking low-budget monster action. If you go into this with a way-open mind and a sense of fun, (and perhaps some adult beverages), you might find some enjoyment here. But I would stay away from Rebane's other works---"Invasion From Inner Earth," "The Legend of Bigfoot" and several others too sad to even mention.Okay, I will mention Rebane's involvement in the worst excuse for a movie ever made, "Monster-A-Go-Go," which started off as an aborted project that Rebane never completed, and was "finished" by Herschell Gordon Lewis in one of the most cynical cash grabs ever in the history of filmmaking. But Rebane is not entirely culpable on that score, so I will give him a partial break on that.

I think calling this my favorite Bill Rebane film is like saying I have a favorite way to be tortured but it's true,I love this movie. This one rises above the slag heap that is the Bill Rebane catalog.First the plot. It's a standard man vs nature type. Meteor strikes a north central Wisconsin town. Hollow rocks contain small spiders that start to grow. As with any movie like this, law enforcement or scientists team up to stop the threat and that's true in this film. Soon a scientist from NASA(Steve Brodie) comes to investigate and teams with local doctor(Barbara Hale) to try to solve the problem. The spiders get bigger until the climax of the movie, which is an invasion of the local town celebration. Ultimately, Dr Vance and Langer(Brodie and Hale) come up with a far-fetched solution and the day is saved. If you've seen some of the 50s movies like Giant Gila Monster or even the Blob then you won't see anything new here.Yes it's not groundbreaking but it seems to work out O.K. That however, is not what makes this film so appealing. It's not a masterpiece by any means but it is a cult classic that is worth the time to see. It has been panned on MST3K but try to see the non-mysted version if you can. It's still just as fun.It's my understanding that Rebane wanted this movie to be a serious one but Robert Easton, who is credited as a writer, realized that people wouldn't buy it so some comedy was written in. That is one of the reasons I like this movie so much. The characters are laughable. The sheriff, the farmer and his wife, and the NASA scientist are hilarious. The self-effacing humor really makes it worth seeing. Humorous subplots, such as the farmer collecting "diamonds" from the stones and the sheriff who never seems to leave his office are great. In addition, the role players are awesome. Cousin Billy, Dutch, Helga, and many others are fun to watch. I have to say that, as a Wisconsinite growing up in the 70's, I think Bill Rebane really nails the way people were at that time(no offense to people of Merril and Gleason). This movie really brings me back. Gleason days is just like any other small town carnival I went to when I was growing up.In short, I think fans of the genre will like this and I would recommend it. It doesn't take itself too seriously so you shouldn't either. Just sit back and enjoy.

Spiders as big as Volkswagens come to Earth and wreak havoc in a small town in this cheesy but rather enjoyable flick. The arachnids are up to no good, as is usually the case, and before long they're munching on the locals. The town's sheriff, played by Allan Hale Jr. enlists the aid of a scientist(Barbara Hale)in order to get to the bottom of all the eight legged nastiness. Unlike some B films, The Giant Spider Invasion doesn't try to hide its low budget heritage and, in this case, that works to the films' advantage. The pacing is good, the acting is restrained and the cinematography is effective more often than not. Like many other films of its type, The Giant Spider Invasion relies on your willingness to squint a bit at the watery special effects and uneven story. If you can do that, you'll have a good time.