The abrupt escapes may be explained readily as missing footage rather than a lapse in narrative or editorial incompetence. The Spiders apparently has not survived the years intact or in best condition. The video transfer, which has recently been digitally remastered, has utilized a speckled, worn print, which looks like a 17.5mm or 16mm reduction print. We can assume that, since The Spiders was previously considered a lost film, the original print used for restoration in the 1970s is the only surviving print. The print itself is damaged throughout, with blotches, frame jitters, and with scratches that perhaps could have been helped by wetgate printing in print duplication.
Some sections are contrasty and some have a respectable amount of tonal range.
The contrasty footage is helped marginally by the edition's color tinting, which at least fills in color where highlight details have been blasted out. The video transfer image framing is generous, but the transfer speed appears at times to run too fast. There appears, at times, to be missing footage which is bridged by an intertitle, and there are small snippets missing throughout the film, which could be missing footage or could be where original German intertitles were located and were not replaced by corresponding English intertitles in the original print. Overall, there are many distracting flaws in the original print but that print appears to be largely intact and remains quite viewable. This edition, with its shortcomings, is far from an ideal presentation.