When secretive scientist Gerald Deemer’s (Leo G. Carroll) partner turns up dead of an unlikely disease, the local doctor, Matt Hastings (John Agar) gets suspicious. But it is going to be a while before he discovers that a giant Tarantula is now running around the desert, killing cattle and the occasional person. Until then, he flirts with Deemer’s sexy new assistant, Stephanie ‘Steve’ Clayton (Mara Corday) and chats to old-timey Sheriff Andrews (Nestor Paiva).
“I knew Leo G. Carroll was over a barrel when Tarantula took to the hills” — Science Fiction/Double Feature.
Tarantula varies from the formula a bit more than the others, but then it came out only a year after Them! The main difference is the merging in of the ‘40s-era mad scientist story. The monster is not the result of nuclear testing, but of Professor Deemer’s attempt to make a super-food. His food was unstable and we get over-sized rats and guinea pigs before the still growing tarantula escapes. Our triad is Deemer, the local doctor, and the cute assistant, but as Deemer is less help than the scientists in these types of films normally are, the sheriff gets to fill in on the heroic team. It is unfortunate as Carroll is the best thing about the film.
The isolated location is the Arizona desert where Deemer has set up his mysterious lab. We never get to a large city, with the local town having to supply all the panicking civilians. We do get the required stock footage Air Force jets.
Tarantula is mildly enjoyable, and while the best in terms of cinematography and acting, overall, it is the weakest of the three. It is too laid back, taking far too long to get to our giant bug. That gives more time for the romance to develop, which isn’t in itself a bad thing. But if your movie is called Tarantula, no one is watching to see the romantic leads chat while they smoke (they always smoke…), sitting on some desert rocks. There needs to be more monster action than coy smiles and a mad scientist ranting.
Director Jack Arnold is known for his genre work on It Came From Outer Space (1953), the last of the great Universal horror films, The Creature From the Black Lagoon (1954) and its weak sequel Revenge of the Creature (1955), along with The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957).