Tarantulas: The Deadly Cargo

Some animals just lend themselves to horror movies, and as movies such as Tarantula, Kingdom of the Spiders and Arachnophobia have proved; big spiders are one of them. Tarantulas: The Deadly Cargo was made for television, so it's probably unfair to expect great things from it; and while the film does have its moments, I really wouldn't add it to the list of films that prove spiders are prime candidates for having horror films made about them. The plot is pretty simplistic, which isn't really surprising considering the television origins and basically focuses on a bunch of tarantulas from South America being released in a town in California. We focus on a small airplane carrying coffee beans that have spent a lot of time in storage. Unbeknown to the crew, these particular beans have become infested with huge spiders that kill some of the crew and cause the plane to crash in the aforementioned Californian town. It's not long before the spiders have got off the plane and begin killing local residents; causing the authorities to take action.

Most horror films about spiders have the antagonists with something about them - perhaps they're genetically modified, a new type of spider, absolutely huge or maybe there's just thousands of them - this film doesn't bother with all that, all we get is just a bunch of pretty average looking spiders, and it's really not all that menacing - I constantly wondered why the lead characters didn't just put on a big pair of boots and go round stomping on them all. The film was obviously a pretty cheap production as there is no special effects and the sets are very minimal. Unfortunately it would seem that they couldn't afford to hire someone to write an imaginative screenplay either, as despite some standout moments - there aren't a lot of them, and the main sequence in a warehouse, while well done, is really too silly to take seriously if you take a minute to think about it. The conclusion to the film includes an interesting method of getting rid of the spiders - I have no idea whether or not it would work in real life, but one thing is for sure - a big pair of boots would have worked better and wouldn't have involved so much messing about. If only I were there to lend a hand

A plane carrying a payload of Ecuadorian coffee beans bound for the US, plunges into a field in the struggling town of Finleyville. When rescuers discover that two survivors appear to be afflicted by a deadly plague-like condition, the townspeople are quick to respond to the threat. It takes the tenacity of local GP (Hingle) and occupation unknown jack-of-all trades (Frank) and his girlfriend (Winters) to determine that the mysterious deaths are attributed to a particularly toxic breed of Tarantulas that have stowed away on the doomed flight. Director Haggman applies a very matter-of-fact treatment to this above average thriller, with great attention to detail and a well paced continuity that builds to a satisfying climax.

A capable cast of familiar faces portray likable characters, who band together to solve their own problems and save the town from socioeconomic devastation, proving that necessity is the mother of all invention. Frank is an affable leading man well supported by durable character actors like Akins, Hingle and Remsen in sizeable supporting roles. John Harkins also has a key cameo identifying the aggressive arachnids as the most venomous of their species, sending the town into a virtual state of emergency. Mature, intelligent dialogue is sometimes too functional, but realistic and well delivered. It's just a pity that the rather vapid climax wasn't more rousing, as the impetus was there throughout the movie for a satisfying resolution.

There's an absence of smoke and mirrors to this small screen production that rejects the temptation to sensationalise the subject matter, focusing instead on the logical and convincing storytelling that saw this minor matinée nominated for two Emmy awards. Overall, while there's the obvious constraints of a television scale, and a curiously inapt jazz soundtrack bookends, this remains a taut, mature, well conceived little critter of a spider movie, and well worth a look.

Two would-be coffee exporters / human traffickers (Tom Atkins and Howard Hesseman) run into trouble when they discover some unexpected, eight-legged stowaways on their cargo plane. It seems that the hairy arachnids of the title have decided to forfeit their native Ecuador for the good old USA. Going from bad to worse, the ill-fated flight crashes just outside of the small town of Meadowmere, California.

When the tiny, fanged passengers fan out on their mission of destruction, it's up to the crusty town doctor (Pat Hingle) and cranky fire chief (Claude Akins) to combat this horde of creeping doom.

There's also a big orange crop that simply must be harvested, or it's greedy owner will have an aneurysm. His blindness to the unfolding tragedy around him is reminiscent of that exhibited by the soulless mayor in JAWS.

As made-for-TV movies go, TARANTULAS: THE DEADLY CARGO isn't bad, though the cheeeze-factor is quite high. Some of the death scenes are surefire chuckle-inducers! Of course, several unbelievable / absurd events take place for no discernible reason, including the explosive "motorcycle jump" sequence. Still, it's all a lot of fun to watch, as long as you have a hankering for enjoyable nonsense...

Released to TV 1977 and directed by Stuart Hagmann, "Tarantulas: The Deadly Cargo" stars Deborah Winters, Charles Frank (her fiancé) and Claude Akins as citizens of a small orange-producing town in Southern California who have to deal with an invasion of deadly banana spiders, which are unleashed when a cargo plane from Ecuador crash lands in the fields. Pat Hingle plays the doctor, Bert Remsen the mayor and Sandy McPeak the police chief. Howard Hesseman & Tom Atkins appear in the opening act as pilots of the doomed plane. Cutie Noelle North is also on hand.

I'm sure the filmmakers used tarantulas in replace of the similar-looking banana Spider (aka phoneutria or armed spiders), but they're close enough and, besides, this was the pre-CGI era and the producers had no other choice.

In any case, the first hour or so is surprisingly good, considering this is a TV-budgeted nature-runs-amok flick. The cinematography features numerous aerial shots of the shooting area, which is in the semi-arid sticks 20-25 miles NW of Los Angeles. Claude Akins is surprisingly effective as one of the protagonists while Deborah Winters and Noelle North shine on the female front, both in form-fitting jeans from beginning to end. While Noelle's character may seem to be around 16 she was actually 27 during filming. The movie works as a 70's period piece, showcasing a nice cross-selection of the demographics & styles of any Southern California town of that era. Also, there's a nigh-shocking death scene considering this was made in the mid-70s, which I wasn't expecting in a TV flick.

Unfortunately, the last act that revolves around extinguishing the spiders at an orange factory is decidedly dull compared to the first two acts. This portion is packed with filler to complete the overlong runtime. But at least Winters & North are there to somewhat hold the male viewer's attention, lol.

The film runs 95 minutes and was shot in Piru & Moorpark, California. WRITERS: Guerdon Trueblood & John Groves.

GRADE: C+ (5.5/10)

I love all the 1970's "animals run amok" movies and was really pleased when I found that this TV movie had finally made it onto DVD.. This film is certainly not on a par with the fabulous KINGDOM OF THE SPIDERS. The acting is rather wooden even by B movie standards ! I must admit the scenes with the spiders deliver the goods and the scenes inside the dark warehouse work well. I do feel more scary scenes involving spiders attacking the cast would have added more tension. The overall direction is rather poor and fails to raise much tension. Too much "talk" and not enough spider action !im glad I bought this film to add to my "creature flix" collection but I certainly would not recommend unless you are a hardcore fan of these kinda B movies. 5/10