A crime fighter known as The Spider battles a villain called The Octopus, who is out to sabotage America and install his own government. A crime fighter known as The Spider battles a villain called The Octopus, who is out to sabotage America and install his own government.
Filmed on location in England and Morocco, the story concerns 13th-century Saxon nobleman Walter of Gurnie, who, after sparking an unsuccessful rebellion against the Norman conquerors of his homeland, sets out to seek his fortune in the Far East.
Alexander Saxton (Christopher Lee), a brilliant British anthropologist researching in the Russian Far East, boards the Trans-Siberian Express with his latest discovery, a frozen specimen he hopes to prove is the missing link. But en route to Europe, passengers begin to turn up dead, and terror engulfs the train as Saxton and his partner, Dr. Wells (Peter Cushing), struggle to contain a mysterious -- and increasingly murderous -- force with the power to control minds.
Martian ruler Kimar (Leonard Hicks) is upset that the children of Mars are lazy and under the influence of too much pop culture from Earth. They are obsessed with the planet's television programs and don't want to do much of anything. In an attempt to get the kids peppy again, Kimar orders the kidnapping of Santa Claus (John Call), hoping that the jolly old toymaker will know how to cheer the children up again. But two Earth children are also nabbed, and this complicates things for Kimar.
Elizabeth Barnard Medina (Barbara Steele) has died in the prime of life, and her brother, Francis (John Kerr), wants to know why. Elizabeth's husband, Nicholas (Vincent Price), and her doctor offer differing explanations, but when Francis learns that Nicholas' mother may have been buried alive, he begins to wonder if his sister met the same fate. And when he comes to believe that Elizabeth's spirit wanders about Nicholas' castle, Francis investigates -- and is stunned by what he finds.