The original Twilight Time swore off horror films after the reactions they got to some of their titles, so it was quite surprising to see the new Twilight Time come back with an Ozploitation title, and a horror film. Venom – Legend of the Spider Forest is an early 1970’s British horror film from Australian director Peter Sykes who would go on to direct the underrated Demons of the Mind and To the Devil… A Daughter for Hammer.

Before this was announced I had not actually heard of it, but all indicators pointed it toward the folk horror genre so I was quite a bit excited for it. The film opens with a green-tinged skinny dipping moment that leads us into a bit of horror with a young man being seduced and killed in the forest surrounding the Bavarian mountains. We then follow a photographer Paul who becomes obsessed with the region, and the “Spider Goddess” who haunts the forest. This leads Paul to investigate, and find some very very strange things about the area.

The film has a solid horror film opening, and some interesting community building, before going wild off rails. In a way I had fun with it, but this was not what I had expected from a film of this sort with the setup I had. I expect if I watch it again in the future, I’ll be ready for the twists it has it store and might enjoy it more.

Twilight Time’s Venom Blu-ray through is a bit of a mixed bag. It’s 2:35:1 and looks solid, but the overall look of the transfer tends to shift here and again throughout the film, as it a variety of sources were used to cobble this together. Regardless, it is decent and quite passable. There is an English 2.0 audio track that sounds quite solid without issue. No extras are present. I guess I can RECOMMEND this one for fans of folk horror.