Spider Baby

Jack Hill's first feature, and one of the strangest films of its decade. The last three children of a family afflicted by a regressive madness live isolated with their caretaker, and their childlike cruelty turns lethal when relatives arrive to claim the estate. Lon Chaney Jr, in one of his last good roles, plays the devoted chauffeur trying to protect them.

It is macabre, funny and unexpectedly tender toward its monstrous children, shot in eerie black and white with a gleeful theme song sung by Chaney himself. Nothing else quite looks or feels like it.

A genuine one-off, and long overdue for its cult reputation.