Actuakers One of my all time favorites.

Softwing Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

Brendon Jones It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Phillida Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

ben-grunert1 One of my favorite classic sci-fi horror flicks of all time. My dad and I have watched it probably about 200 times. The somewhat cheesy acting of John agar combined with the more serious tone of Leo g Carroll makes for an awesome satisfying blend. The characters and the plot in itself make for a great watch as a scientist (Carroll) named professor Deemer is using some kind of serum to grow animals in his lab that have grown well above their usual size and grow at a faster pace. Of course the tarantula is injected with this and escapes as one of Deemer's students who injected himself with it for some reason and is totally mutated fights with Deemer and knocks him out and injects him with the serum then dies. Deemerwakes up and slowly becomes mutated throughout the flick. Of course there is also a love interest between a woman who is staying at Deemer's lab as a student (Corday) and the main hero (Agar) who ends up saving her from the tarantula who kills Deemer towards the end by knocking down his house. Many random deaths ensue as the spider wreaks havoc until finally the Air Force comes in and destroys the monster after several attempts including sticks of dynamite are used to try and kill the monster. One aspect of the movie that makes all the more better is that the seemingly evil professor actually is a tragic character who didn't mean for his colleagues to suffer from the serum and didn't want all of this to happen and just wanted to increase growth of animals and food. Overall the plot and acting is great for a movie of this type/genre and of this decade of horror movies and goes down as one of my favorites and one that I would recommend for any people who love classic horror/sci-fi flicks and are looking for an entertaining watch.

poe426 Jack Arnold was undoubtedly one of the very best of the 50s sci-fi directors; and, like his eventual successor, John Carpenter, he toiled tirelessly in the Fantasy Field. Consequently, he covered (as has Carpenter) a lot of ground. In TARANTULA!, decades prior to David Cronenberg's "reimagining" of THE FLY, Arnold gives us scientist Leo G. Carroll as an AcroMan- part bug, part human. As a kid reading FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND, I would pause and stare at the black and white photos of Carroll in mid-transformation. When I finally saw the movie on television, many years later, I wasn't disappointed: I'd seen lots of transformations in horror and sci-fi movies prior to that one, but there was- and still IS- something that strikes a nerve about it. Long live the AcroMan!

skybrick736 I went into Tarantula without some of the expectations that I've had from other classics giant monster movies and it took me by surprise. I dug the characters being the doctor, professor, sheriff, and the main lead actress named "Steve". Yes you heard that right her name was Steve. Anyway, the movie has a great premise and really takes its time to develop with good filler scenes before it gets to the meat and potatoes about the giant tarantula. The tarantula scenes gave me the heebie jeebies knowing that it was a real spider with zoomed in shots. Tarantula coming out a year later after Them! might have outdone it which I'm surprised to admit, it's a must see.

sddavis63 My only real criticism of this movie (just to get it out of the way) is that it seemed to try to hold together two plot elements rather than one - and the two didn't fit together all that well (and one wasn't really necessary and I was less than clear on why it was included.) Let's talk about that first.It was a little disconcerting to watch a movie called "Tarantula" and yet in the opening scene to see what looked at first glance to be a primitive cave-man type of creature come stumbling across the desert in his pajamas! It got my attention, yes, but it also made me start out confused by what was going on here. Wasn't this supposed to be about spiders? The man, as it turns out, was stricken with a mysterious condition that caused his face and hands to enlarge and mutate, but the town's doctor (John Agar) was baffled, because this condition is usually a chronic one lasting for years before it kills, whereas the man who died had been perfectly normal just a few days before. This leads Agar's Dr. Hastings to the laboratory of Professor Deemer (Leo G. Carroll), for whom the man had worked and who was experimenting with a new type of nutrient that caused rapid and abnormal growth in animals. That, of course, ties the spider part of the story in, as a tarantula was one of the animals being injected with the nutrient. The movie becomes basically the fight against this behemoth of a spider that's wreaking death and destruction across this part of Arizona.Having a person (and eventually Prof. Deemer) injected with the nutrient and become deformed wasn't really necessary. But if you set that aside, you have a better than average film - actually pretty good for this genre. The special effects were quite well done for the era. The gigantic spider was well photographed, and even though it was clearly a normal spider superimposed on a background landscape, it actually worked pretty well. Agar was a busy enough actor in his day, and you can see why. His performance was really quite decent, Carroll's makeup - once his deformity began - was startling without being as hideous as the man in the opening scene, and the final battle against the giant tarantula as it approached the town was pretty well portrayed. It's a fun 50's creature feature. (7/10)