Spider Baby

The three Merrye children have grown up regressing mentally because of a disease particular to their family, and now behave like children in adult bodies, with games that include killing. Bruno, the chauffeur who looks after them, tries to keep the family's secret from the outside. Then distant relatives after the inheritance arrive at the house. Jack Hill made it on a very small budget and, unable to find a distributor for years, could only release it in 1968. It holds horror and black comedy together and presents the family not as monsters but as people nobody knows what to do with. Lon Chaney Jr. plays Bruno and sings the opening song. It became a cult film later. Who it is for: viewers who like sixties independent horror and black humour. Who it is not for: anyone troubled by sexual and violent implication delivered through childlike characters.