NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Kino Blu-ray (July 2022): Kino have transferred Stuart Hagmann's Tarantulas: The Deadly Cargo to Blu-ray. It is cited as being from a "Brand New 2K Master". The image is restrained by its TV limitations and modest single-layered transfer. It actually looks okay - consistent and clean with decent, if flat, colors and unremarkable contrast. Considering its made-for-television roots, the 1080P visuals may actually exceed expectations. 

NOTE: We have added 50 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Kino use a DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel track (24-bit) in the original English language. Tarantulas: The Deadly Cargo has aggressive moments that come through with passive depth and a, rather decent, score by Mundell Lowe (Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex, Billy Jack)  sounding clean with consistent dialogue in the lossless transfer. Kino offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

The Kino Blu-ray offers a new commentary by the trifecta of Amanda Reyes (author of Are You In The House Alone?: A TV Movie Compendium 1964-1999) , Daniel Budnik (author of '80s Action Movies on the Cheap: 284 Low Budget, High Impact Pictures) and fellow 'Made for TV Mayhem' podcaster Nathan Johnson. Despite there being very little documented about Tarantulas: The Deadly Cargo they cover a number of topics including the director E.W. Swackhamer (Night Terror, one of the 1990's Columbo movies), the proliferation of insect-horror genre of the era, Amanda quotes from Katarina Gregersdotter + Nicklas Hållén's Animal Horror Cinema: Genre, History and Criticism book, degrees of separation with the cast and crew in related films, actress Penelope Windust, Charles Siebert plus many others. They kind of drift around but it is still very informative. Nice to hear such positive enthusiasm for Tarantulas: The Deadly Cargo and its TV ilk in general. There are trailers for Fear No Evil and Scream, Pretty Peggy but none for this TV movie. The package has a nice O-card slipcase.

Stuart Hagmann's Tarantulas: The Deadly Cargo is another of the intensely 'suspension-of-belief requiring' CBS made-for-television 'bug vs. human' horrors - but I found it more believable than Ants! - which, to be honest, isn't setting the bar extremely high. It came out the same year as Kingdom of the Spiders with William Shatner that, at least, has camp value. Tarantulas' greatest appeal may be nostalgia - for those who want to drift back to 1977 TV and indulge in this sub-genre with poisonous spiders killed by... wasp sounds (eyebrows raised). Give me Jack Arnold's 1955 Tarantula any day. The Kino Blu-ray has another highly pleasing commentary and Tarantulas fans know who they are. Late Friday night Double Feature fodder, for sure - popcorn optional.

Gary Tooze