MovieChat Forums > Spider Baby or, the Maddest Story Ever Told (1967) Discussion > How could the disease be spread thru the...

How could the disease be spread thru the uncle?

posted 16 years ago by charlesadams1
6 replies | jump to latest

How did the Uncle and the AUNT (for that matter, not sure which of them was a blood relative and which one married into the family) have the disease if it started with Titus Merrye and spread to his offspring? It's Uncle Ned I'm talking about.

How could it spread to Titus's brothers and/or sisters? That's one (of the many) huge plot gaffes in this otherwise funny film.

Of course if the bald son was the first one to actually get the disease how could there be any research into it either? Seems like they made alot of assumptions from such a small pool of subjects to study.

I assume the disease had to have been written about by the "hero" of the movie...well, at least the survivor of the movie cause nobody else was alive to do it. Who else would bother writing about a disease that only affected five people anyway?

[–] VinnieRattolle 15 years ago

The family genealogy is never fully explained. It's the descendants of Ebenezer Merrye who are afflicted, and they give no explanation how he's related to father Titus W., brother Nedrick, sister Clara, etc. Nor is it explained how they are cousin to the Howes (and it's rather strange that their cousins are referred to as Uncle Peter and Aunt Emily).

[–] gribfritz2 11 years ago

Not strange at all. Back when kids were taught to respect their elders, they often called even close family friends "Aunt" and "Uncle". When you have a "removed" cousin that is older than you, do you call him by his first name? Or do you actually say "Cousin Joe" for example? I can't imagine being 8 and having a 90 year old cousin and calling him by his first name as I do with cousins that are my age.

[–] MIchiganJFrogg 14 years ago

I strongly doubt that they gave any thought to scientific accuracy when they were making this. Nevertheless, it is actually plausible from a genetic standpoint. It would be consistent with an autosomal dominant disease with incomplete penetrance. As a medical researcher, I am embarrassed to admit I wasted 90 minutes watching this.

[–] KimberlyNitro 14 years ago

Bruno says that the 'retardation' is due to generations of inbreeding. The disease didn't start with the father. Also, it's a low-budget 60's horror movie; don't hurt yourself trying to make sense of it.

[–] quorum-1 12 years ago

The uncle may not be the father of the creepy little girl seen at the end - who definitely suffers from Merrye Syndrome - since her mother might have been raped by Ralph (he grabs her and next time we see them, her clothes are in disarray).

[–] stitchesaresore 9 years ago

Yeah, I always assumed that was implied.

Can I trade in the children for more cash?