Ultra Q Episode 9 "Baron Spider" Review | Godzilla Island Archive

Note: This article was originally published on Godzilla Island in 2017, all views and opinions may have since changed.

In this episode, a group of friends out driving get lost and pull over, only for a few of them to fall into a swamp. One almost drowns, so they decide to search for a nearby place to stay. They discover an old, abandoned mansion and opt to spend the night there.

As they explore the house, they notice it is filled with spider webs. One of the friends tells a chilling story about a wealthy man who was obsessed with spiders. His daughter was bitten by one of his rare spiders, died, and returned as a giant spider. The baron went insane afterward, eventually dying and transforming into a spider as well.

Soon, the legend proves true the mansion is home to two giant tarantulas. The friends are attacked, and one manages to kill a spider with a knife he finds. They flee the mansion, chased by the second tarantula through the swamp. When they reach their car, they run over the remaining spider, which dies writhing on the ground. The mansion burns and sinks into the swamp shortly afterward, likely due to a flaming candelabra thrown at the first spider.

I really enjoyed this episode, it leans more into horror than sci-fi, with a dark and memorable backstory for the giant tarantulas. While the spiders weren’t enormous, they were still kaiju-sized in my book. Honestly, this story could have translated really well into a feature film. This episode ranks as one of my favorite Ultra Q stories so far.