Directed by:
Ellory ElkayemCinematography:
John S. BartleyComposer:
John OttmanCast:
David Arquette, Kari Wuhrer, Scott Terra, Scarlett Johansson, Doug E. Doug, Rick Overton, Leon Rippy, Matt Czuchry, Riley Smith, Eileen Ryan, Tom Noonan (more)VOD (2)
Plots(1)
Set in the nearly bankrupt mining town of Prosperity, Arizona, the film opens with the timely return of Chris McCormack (David Arquette). On the outskirts of town, a spider-loving eccentric discovers that water from a nearby river has a steroid-like effect on his tiny creatures. Unfortunately, that's because it has been contaminated by a toxic substance. It isn't long before the now-monstrous spiders are terrorizing Prosperity's townspeople. Taking refuge in the Prosperity Mall, Chris and his fellow cohorts--the beautiful Sheriff Sam Parker (Kari Wuhrer), her kids Mike (Scott Terra) and Ashley (Scarlett Johansson), Deputy Pete (Rick Overton), and paranoid radio DJ Harlan (Doug E. Doug)--search for a way to destroy the gigantic monsters before they are destroyed. (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (7)
I don't know why, but I kind of like this wacky craziness. Had the filmmakers decided to make a deadly serious action horror film with this premise, it would have been a guaranteed uninteresting piece of crap. Eight Legged Freaks is able to lean fully on its comedic side, which makes almost all of the action scenes and the shots of the giant spiders entertaining and the film as a whole a slightly above average horror comedy. In addition, the casting of David Arquette, as with the other actors, was a hit. The spiders themselves look a bit ridiculous at times, but on the other hand, maybe that was the director's intention, and it actually works very well in several moments. And the scene of the spider's nest full of cocoons is awesome!
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A perfect combination of the poetics of "1950s" monster movies with the stupid aesthetics of German-American co-productions. Though it doesn't always work, Eight Legged Freaks artfully combines homage with parody, capturing the audience’s heart with perfect characters, a lethal dose of clichés and, most importantly, grinning spiders that are a joy to behold, especially when the special effects artists gave them a nice "look." Emmerich and Devlin didn't make a lot of money from it but I want to thank them for the desire to release this into the world.
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It wasn't bad, but as a horror movie (which it shouldn't have been) it wasn't scary enough and as a comedy it wasn't funny enough. But overall, I found it "not stupid enough". Still, it's watchable and pretty cool entertainment, but I was expecting something a little different, maybe a little more wacky.
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By re-watching Eight Legged Freaks, I've realized not only that I simply adore these B-movies but also why I've always liked Scarlett Johansson. It’s too bad she's become such a star lately. Somehow, she hasn't been a good fit in recent movies. Eight Legged Freaks works as a B-movie, but it's a shame there isn't a bit more humor in it. Then it would be absolutely excellent.
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I HATE SPIDERS! Seriously, I can't see, hear, just anything (including Spiderman) involving those eight-legged bastards. I didn't mind them here, though, because fear is the last thing that you will find in Eight Legged Freaks. The whole film is about exaggeration, action, more or less good digital effects... And that was fine with me. Undemanding fun with likeable actors and a good Ottman.
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Gallery (24)
Photo © 2002 Warner Bros.
![Eight Legged Freaks - Lobby Cards](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w663/files/images/film/photos/159/351/159351268_e2272b.jpg)
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