Kiss of the Tarantula

**
Much like previous Octobers, I often stumble upon another obscure 70s curiosity. Last year there were The Pack & The Strange Possession of Mrs Oliver, and this year I had the chance to watch Kiss of the Tarantula, from 1976, starring Suzana Ling (her one and only film). I won't proclaim this as any startling sleeper but it delivers a lot of crawling tarantulas. And arachnophobia certainly is a viable go-to phobia to keep plenty of eyes away from this bad boy, which features revenge at a drive-in involving the creepy crawlies terrifying some goofs (and the girls they have in the VW bug with them) who intruded upon Ling's mortuary in an attempt at burglary, killing one of her pets. Her ruthless mother (Beverly Eddins, making the most of her minutes devouring the scenery like a rabid mutt) wants her husband (Herman Wallner) to give her more attention than daughter Ling while having an affair with Wallner's brother, played with lots of slathered sleaze by Ernesto Macias. Macias, just to creep us out even more, gets up close and personal with his niece. When a friend of a girl in the hospital, rendered a traumatic catatonic after the drive-in tarantula episode, overhears Ling apologize to her, it encourages an investigation, learning of possible involvement. To keep this would-be sleuth from blabbing to the police about his helping to cover up Ling's crimes, due to his sexually driven, incestuous desire for her, Macias must strangle her after a lengthy, exhaustive pursuit. But Ling has no interest in her uncle, denying his touchy-feely attempt to seduce her, eventually resisting his press by pushing him down the stairs.

During the entire film just about Ling's dad is nowhere to be found...he's completely oblivious to what is happening behind his back. The spiders are noticably absent after Ling leaves several in a ventilation system for Jay Scott, a threat to expose her for the death of his friends at the drive-in. Her entire shocking conclusion to getting rid of the intrusive uncle is methodical and overextended but it leaves an impression as Ling coldly and emotionlessly uses a coffin with a body (ironically of the victim he murdered to help Ling!) to her advantage...the use of her pops' career to conceal her handiwork! The film doesn't indicate Ling wouldn't do it again so the mortician father is clueless to the fact his daughter is a serial killer! Too padded and plodding at times for me personally, but it has that no-budget 70s drive-in aesthetic, with authentic locations and faces unfamiliar to us adding to its independent cult personality. This is something you might find on the B-side of a recognized Something Weird Video cult classic. This actually might work its spell for fans of the odd and strange, just another example of how the 70s gave us plenty to choose from.