This is a great episode about a newlywed couple on short-lived honeymoon who are about to find out that old saying "if it's too good to be true than it probably is" just might be correct. They check into their hotel room in the basement of the establishment only to discover that there's nothing inside but concrete walls, a mysterious elevator on the far wall and a giant spider web in the middle of the room. To make things worse, the door has been locked behind them. The special effects aren't great but it's a nail-biter of an episode...that's for sure. Horrific stuff for TV in the 80's and one of the better episodes of the series!
5 Reviews
A simple story, well told
Leofwine_draca2 August 2015
A BOND OF SILK is a thoroughly simplistic episode of the MONSTERS TV show and one of the many TV episodes made throughout the decade to deal with the evil of giant spiders. You can't get more straightforward than the one-line plot here, which involves a couple entering their hotel room only to find out that it's already occupied by a giant arachnid.
Saying that, the execution here is pretty good, which is a surprise given the usual quality of the MONSTERS TV episodes. The writers wisely keep the spider off-screen until the last moments so there's plenty of suspense and build-up to foreshadow her arrival. When we do finally see her, there's some delightfully old-fashioned stop motion effects that made this viewer very happy.
Saying that, the execution here is pretty good, which is a surprise given the usual quality of the MONSTERS TV episodes. The writers wisely keep the spider off-screen until the last moments so there's plenty of suspense and build-up to foreshadow her arrival. When we do finally see her, there's some delightfully old-fashioned stop motion effects that made this viewer very happy.
A tangled web we weave. Good episode.
b_kite30 June 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Our episode starts out as a newlywed couple enter a hotel for there honeymoon. The first thing they find strange is there is no inhabitants or anyone to check them in for that matter. They make there way to a room were they enter, the husband character seems to be annoyingly ditsy, having somehow fell into what looks like a giant spiders web, after thinking more along the lines it was just a strange bed of some sort. The wife who seems to have more sense to her tries to get him out, but, they discover there problems are only beginning. This is a pretty fun episode I always remember watching it when reruns would air on the now defunct Chiller horror channel. The stop motion effects are cool to look at and well done, and the final battle between the wife and giant spider is good as well. Overall season two seems to be starting off on a really good note.
Along came a giant spider
Woodyanders16 August 2019
Warning: Spoilers
A newlywed couple find out much to their horror that the basement honeymoon suite of a fancy hotel they are staying at is actually the lair for a giant man-eating spider.
Director Ernest Farino keeps the enjoyable and absorbing story moving at a constant, builds a good deal of tension, and stages the exciting climax with skill and flair. The fine acting by the two personable leads helps a lot: The fetching and appealing Lydia Cornell delivers a winning performance as the smart and resourceful Portia while Marc McClure contributes an amusing turn as the dim-witted Nash. The stop-motion animation oversized arachnid looks pretty funky and there are a few nice bits fairly icky gore, too. A worthwhile show.
Director Ernest Farino keeps the enjoyable and absorbing story moving at a constant, builds a good deal of tension, and stages the exciting climax with skill and flair. The fine acting by the two personable leads helps a lot: The fetching and appealing Lydia Cornell delivers a winning performance as the smart and resourceful Portia while Marc McClure contributes an amusing turn as the dim-witted Nash. The stop-motion animation oversized arachnid looks pretty funky and there are a few nice bits fairly icky gore, too. A worthwhile show.
Another very entertaining episode but lacking a little something.
poolandrews25 May 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Monsters: A Bond of Silk is set in New York where newlyweds Portia (Lydia Cornell) & Nash (Marc McClure) check into a cheap honeymoon suit in an old factory that is apparently being converted into a hotel & only the honeymoon suit is currently ready. Portia is a bit sceptical but Nash reckons it's alright, Portia becomes even more worried when instead of a bed there's what looks like a huge Spider's web. Nash say it's OK but when he jumps on it he gets stuck, neither Portia or Nash want to believe that a giant Spider made the web but soon find out that one did & it's hungry for human blood...
Episode three from season two of Monsters this originally aired in the US during October 1989, directed by Ernest D. Farino this is one of the most remembered episode of Monsters amongst those who saw it first time around & is one of the most liked for reasons I can't quite grasp. Sur it's a good episode with a nice dark & somewhat creepy plot that uses most people's irrational fear of Spider's as it's basis & pulls out the old giant Spider cliché. The action is confined to two rooms & the script is fairly tight, taught & tense as our couple struggle for their lives against a giant killer Spider. However the ending isn't anything special, the plot is quite predictable, the story doesn't really kick on after the initial reveal of the Spider's web, there's no explanation to the relevance of why the Spider eats newlyweds or how or why the Spider exists or why the travel agent who sold Portia & Nash the holiday serves it. A decent enough episode if you don't start asking too many questions because if you do then A Bond of Silk falls apart completely & doesn't really satisfy beyond seeing a woman fight a giant Spider.
A Bond of Silk looks pretty good with some nice moody lighting & a half decent build-up to the Spider's reveal, there's no gore in this episode. The monster in A Bond of Silk is obviously the giant Spider & the special effects used are actually rather good, it looks as if stop-motion animation was used & while the Spider model itself looks a little basic it has good movement & looks impressive considering the time period & the low budget TV limitations of the production. Give give some sort of comparison the giant Spider here looks a hell of a lot better than most CGI computer monsters seen in just about any Sci-Fi Channel 'Creature Feature' made within the last decade or so.
A Bond of Silk is yet another perfectly watchable twenty odd minute horror short that any lover of the genre should like, for the rest of you out there I would think it would be a lot less satisfying & doesn't really amount to a whole lot & it just lacks a little something.
Episode three from season two of Monsters this originally aired in the US during October 1989, directed by Ernest D. Farino this is one of the most remembered episode of Monsters amongst those who saw it first time around & is one of the most liked for reasons I can't quite grasp. Sur it's a good episode with a nice dark & somewhat creepy plot that uses most people's irrational fear of Spider's as it's basis & pulls out the old giant Spider cliché. The action is confined to two rooms & the script is fairly tight, taught & tense as our couple struggle for their lives against a giant killer Spider. However the ending isn't anything special, the plot is quite predictable, the story doesn't really kick on after the initial reveal of the Spider's web, there's no explanation to the relevance of why the Spider eats newlyweds or how or why the Spider exists or why the travel agent who sold Portia & Nash the holiday serves it. A decent enough episode if you don't start asking too many questions because if you do then A Bond of Silk falls apart completely & doesn't really satisfy beyond seeing a woman fight a giant Spider.
A Bond of Silk looks pretty good with some nice moody lighting & a half decent build-up to the Spider's reveal, there's no gore in this episode. The monster in A Bond of Silk is obviously the giant Spider & the special effects used are actually rather good, it looks as if stop-motion animation was used & while the Spider model itself looks a little basic it has good movement & looks impressive considering the time period & the low budget TV limitations of the production. Give give some sort of comparison the giant Spider here looks a hell of a lot better than most CGI computer monsters seen in just about any Sci-Fi Channel 'Creature Feature' made within the last decade or so.
A Bond of Silk is yet another perfectly watchable twenty odd minute horror short that any lover of the genre should like, for the rest of you out there I would think it would be a lot less satisfying & doesn't really amount to a whole lot & it just lacks a little something.
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