Horrors of Spider Island
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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A Corpse Hangs in the Web is the literal translation of Ein Toter hing im Netz, title of a German-Yugoslav sci-fi film, a 1960 film directed by Fritz Böttger. The film was subsequently dubbed and released in the United States as an adult-only feature titled It's Hot in Paradise in 1962, and later re-issued in 1967 in a slightly edited version called Horrors of Spider Island. The film is about giant spiders terrorizing plane crash survivors that consist of a talent agent and seven gorgeous girls.
Plot
The film begins with a scene in the talent office in New York City, where girls try out for a job in a nightclub in Singapore by dancing for Gary, the manager. Some are chosen (including one who strips in the office), and others rejected before they start their journey to Singapore with Gary. While flying over the Pacific Ocean, they are involved in a horrific plane crash subsequent to their plane spontaneously splitting in half and falling into the sea while spewing fire. Miraculously, all but the pilot survive and get in a life raft.
After five days at sea with no food and little water, they spot land. Gary literally drags the helpless females onto the beach. He discovers a waterfall, but only lets the severely dehydrated girls drink out of it for a minute before taking them into the island to search for signs of life. On the way, they discover "a hammer, with a long handle...probably for excavating some metal, most likely uranium!" as Gary puts it. Soon after they find a cabin, and inside to their horror is a man hanging from a gigantic spider web. By the next scene the man disappears and Gary and the girls move into the cabin. Next there are a few scenes involving most of the girls putting some type of move on Gary, to which he responds, "The heat, I can't think straight anymore!" He then proceeds out onto the island where he is bitten by the giant spider, turning himself into some type of spider-man beast. The girls hear gunshots from the cabin, but can't find Gary.
The next day, Gary kills one of the girls. They begin to get scared, and two have a lengthy wrestling match in the cabin while wearing little clothing. Soon a couple men show up on the island in a small rowboat to help the professor with research. Even though the professor is dead, they are not disappointed, as they have their choice of 6 scantily clad, desperate girls. Joe cannot make up his mind, and tries his luck with most of them. Bob has his sights set on Ann, a girl from Minnesota. One thing leads to another, Joe and one of the girls are killed by Gary, and they finally figure out that "the only thing that will destroy him is fire!" This is basically the end of the movie, as Gary is chased into quicksand, sinks, and dies. A ship comes the next day to save the rest of the living.
References in pop culture
The Horrors of Spider Island edition was featured in the tenth season of movie-mocking television series Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K).
DVD releases
- The film has been released by numerous companies as a "bargain bin" disc.
- The MST3K version of the film has been released by Rhino Home Video as part of the Collection, Volume 11 box set.
