In particular, their depiction from the 1977 Rankin/Bass adaptation of Tolkien's The Hobbit.
For the most part, these spiders are pretty typical, both visually and plot-wise, although they do have the power of speech. Two things really set them apart from all other depictions, and other spider-themed monsters. First, their faces:
An utterly bizarre mix of goofy and creepy, the face seems to be an exaggeration of a real spider's, the fangs forming a beard and pedipalps become bunny ears.
The other curious aspect is their death. Every time a spider is killed, the screen 'freezes' the image of the dead spider, fractures, and spins wildly, exactly like a kaleidoscope!
The first spider pulls an incredibly terrifying expression upon being killed. A few of the others have similar expressions, but aren't anywhere near as extreme.
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| You'd think this would be an "attack" face, but it's quite the opposite. |
