Horrors of Spider Island, Norman Vincent Peale's Favorite Movie

In 1955, Norman Vincent Peale wrote "The Power of Positive Thinking."  Yugoslavians were so inspired by this work, that they made "Horrors of Spider Island" in 1960.  This film, which contains blood-curdling, hair-raising, and spine-chilling horror (as noted on the DVD case) never deviates from the teachings of the Reverend Peale's book.  Is this a good movie?  A better question would be, is this a movie you will enjoy?  Yes it is!

The plot:  Gary, a talent scout in NYC, needs 12 beautiful dancers for a show in Singapore.  As the movie opens, him and his beautiful secretary (Georgia) are auditioning and interviewing them.  Brains and cheerfulness are put aside for beautiful legs.  Soon afterward, they are all on a DC-3 on the way to Singapore.  The next scene has the plane turn into a fireball and plunging straight down into the Pacific.  As it hits the water a huge explosion ensues.  What a miracle, all survive without a scratch and use a life raft to make it to a seemingly abandoned island.

Gary's partner in NYC must console relatives of the beauties.  Fortunately, this fellow has read Reverend Peale's book and tells them, "There is absolutely no reason to fear the worst, all we know is the plane caught fire and we lost radio contact."  One can imagine how consoled the relatives were to hear this.  The girls are lucky, as Gary turns out to be a genius.  On the island, he finds a long-handled hammer and tells them it must be used for excavating uranium.  Of course, what else would this tool be used for?  Then the team finds a shack, but to their horror it's resident is a corpse hung in a huge spider web.  The girls, all positive thinkers, put their horror aside and they occupy it.

The genius then goes out to explore.  Unfortunately a spider the size of a German Shepherd attacks him, turning Gary into a half-man/ half-spider creature who subsequently picks off the beauties.  When Linda's body is discovered, instead of mourning, the dancers use positive-thinking and seize the opportunity to go skinny-dipping.  As each act of horror occurs we are treated to cat-fights that include hair-pulling, and the ripping off of clothes.  These bouts usually end with semi-nude sun-bathing.

Which of the girls will survive and make it off the island?  Will the former Gary and the giant spiders eat them all?  In Singapore, will the show go on?  The dubbing is bad, and so is the acting.  Perfect for a B movie.  You will enjoy this one way more than any Cate Blanchett film.