A Corpse Hangs in the Web
Encyclopedia
A Corpse Hung in the Web is a 1960 German-Yugoslav science fiction film directed by Fritz Böttger. The film was 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 was featured in the tenth season of the movie-mocking television series Mystery Science Theater 3000
(MST3K).
to dance in his club in Singapore
. While flying over the Pacific Ocean
, their plane catches fire, splits in half, and plummets into the ocean; oddly enough, no one in Gary's group is killed, while no one (pilot, stewardess, etc.) who was not in Gary's group survives. We next see the group days later, suffering from dehydration on a life raft, when they finally spot a small island and spend the night on the beach.
The next morning, they discover fresh water and decide to go exploring. They are quickly amazed and excited to find a cabin, but delight turns to horror when they open the door to discover a dead man hanging from a gigantic spider web
. According to his journal, the man was a professor mining for Uranium, but he feared something terrible was about to happen to him. There's no indication how long the professor planned to be on the island, but the women estimate there is enough food to last them about a month.
That night, Gary proceeds alone out onto the island where he is bitten by a giant spider and turns into some type of spider-man beast. He flees into the woods, leaving the women to wonder what has happened to him. The next day, seemingly possessed by uncontrollable violent urges, Gary kills one of the girls. The remaining women, still unaware of what has happened to him, have no idea that he is the one who has done this.
A month passes, and the women are running low on food when they spot a ship on the horizon. They are unable to signal it before it leaves, but two men arrive in a rowboat with supplies for the professor. They soon find the women, who tell them the professor is dead. As they all wait for the ship to return, they celebrate their last night on the island with a wild party. One of the men sneaks off to rendez-vous with a woman, but both end up being killed by Gary. Finally aware of Gary's fate, the remainder of the group hunts him down with torches until he flees into quicksand and dies.
In the Mystery Science Theater 3000 mockery of the film, the riffers mocked the facts that there appeared to only be one actual spider on spider island which had less than two minutes of screen time, and that Gary looked nothing like a spider after being bitten. In their parody, one of the characters was supposedly bitten by a spider, but the only visible changes were that his skin turned orange, one of his hands turned into a gorilla hand, and he grew a pair of goofy teeth.
as part of the Collection, Volume 11 box set.
Mystery Science Theater 3000
Mystery Science Theater 3000 is an American cult television comedy series created by Joel Hodgson and produced by Best Brains, Inc., that ran from 1988 to 1999....
(MST3K).
Plot
Gary, a nightclub manager, flies a group of women from New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to dance in his club in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
. While flying over the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
, their plane catches fire, splits in half, and plummets into the ocean; oddly enough, no one in Gary's group is killed, while no one (pilot, stewardess, etc.) who was not in Gary's group survives. We next see the group days later, suffering from dehydration on a life raft, when they finally spot a small island and spend the night on the beach.
The next morning, they discover fresh water and decide to go exploring. They are quickly amazed and excited to find a cabin, but delight turns to horror when they open the door to discover a dead man hanging from a gigantic spider web
Spider web
A spider web, spiderweb, spider's web or cobweb is a device built by a spider out of proteinaceous spider silk extruded from its spinnerets....
. According to his journal, the man was a professor mining for Uranium, but he feared something terrible was about to happen to him. There's no indication how long the professor planned to be on the island, but the women estimate there is enough food to last them about a month.
That night, Gary proceeds alone out onto the island where he is bitten by a giant spider and turns into some type of spider-man beast. He flees into the woods, leaving the women to wonder what has happened to him. The next day, seemingly possessed by uncontrollable violent urges, Gary kills one of the girls. The remaining women, still unaware of what has happened to him, have no idea that he is the one who has done this.
A month passes, and the women are running low on food when they spot a ship on the horizon. They are unable to signal it before it leaves, but two men arrive in a rowboat with supplies for the professor. They soon find the women, who tell them the professor is dead. As they all wait for the ship to return, they celebrate their last night on the island with a wild party. One of the men sneaks off to rendez-vous with a woman, but both end up being killed by Gary. Finally aware of Gary's fate, the remainder of the group hunts him down with torches until he flees into quicksand and dies.
In the Mystery Science Theater 3000 mockery of the film, the riffers mocked the facts that there appeared to only be one actual spider on spider island which had less than two minutes of screen time, and that Gary looked nothing like a spider after being bitten. In their parody, one of the characters was supposedly bitten by a spider, but the only visible changes were that his skin turned orange, one of his hands turned into a gorilla hand, and he grew a pair of goofy teeth.
Cast
- Alexander D'ArcyAlexander D'ArcyAlexander D'Arcy was an Egyptian actor with an international film repertoire.Born Alexander Sarruf in Cairo, Egypt, D'Arcy, variously credited as Alexandre D'Arcy, Alex D'Arcy, Alexandre Darcy and Alex d'Arcy appeared in some 45 films, mostly as a suave gentleman or smooth rogue...
as Gary - Rainer BrandtRainer BrandtRainer Brandt is a German film actor. He appeared in 40 films between 1959 and 1986. He was born in Berlin, Germany.- The Persuaders! :...
as Bobby - Walter Faber as Mike Blackwood
- Helga Franck as Georgia
- Harald Maresch as Joe
- Helga Neuner as Ann
- Dorothee Parker as Gladys
- Gerry Sammer as May
- Eva Schauland as Nelly
- Helma Vandenberg as Kate
- Barbara ValentinBarbara ValentinBarbara Valentin was an Austrian actress. She worked in film, often with Rainer Werner Fassbinder.-Biography:...
as Babs - Elfie Wagner as Linda
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 VideoRhino Entertainment
Rhino Entertainment Company is an American specialty record label and production company. It is owned by Warner Music Group.-History:Rhino was originally a novelty song and reissue company during the 1970s and 1980s, releasing compilation albums of pop, rock & roll, and rhythm & blues successes...
as part of the Collection, Volume 11 box set.