Eight Legged Freaks (2002)

Directed by Ellory Elkayem [Other horror films: They Nest (2000), Return of the Living Dead: Necropolis (2005), Return of the Living Dead: Rave to the Grave (2005)]

While not necessarily an amazing movie, simply put, Eight Legged Freaks is a fun one. It’s a decent mixture of humor and suspense, and while there might be a couple of silly scenes, for the most part, they do a good job of trying to keep things even.

I think one reason this works would be the characters, many of which are quite good. Some movies give you protagonists that just don’t cut it, and may be difficult to connect with, but the characters here are mostly grounded enough, and some of them are more memorable, at least more memorable than what you might expect from a movie like this.

Kari Wuhrer (Hellraiser: Deader, Thinner, Final Examination) and David Arquette (Scream, Ravenous, Riding the Bullet) make good leads, Wuhrer’s character reminding me a bit of Elisabeth Shue from Piranha. Doug E. Doug’s character was a lot of fun, what with being a conspiracy theorist, and for a younger actor, I liked Scott Terra. Rick Overton had a bit of a rough start, being mainly comedic relief, but I grew to enjoy him, and of course, we have a younger Scarlett Johansson to keep things interesting.

Honestly, a lot of the CGI is quite iffy, but I don’t really think it takes much away from the film. Personally, I dug seeing the different types of spiders attack – who doesn’t like the trapdoor spiders taking out ostriches, or the hella cool motorbike chase with the jumping spiders? So if the effects have aged poorly at times, I don’t think that makes Eight Legged Freaks any less entertaining.

I also liked the background story about whether or not the townspeople should agree with selling their land, given the town’s desperate economic situation. It makes the final scene a bit more emotionally satisfying. The fact Leon Rippy’s character never got comeuppance (at least on screen – I like to think that he wasn’t re-elected as mayor) was sort of troublesome, but most of the finale was pretty solid and, again, fun.

And really, that’s what Eight Legged Freaks has to boast. It’s not a great movie, but if you’re looking for something that’s not too deep, it can be a pretty fun time. For a more comedic and less terrifying spider adventure than what you could get from Arachnophobia, this movie is worth it.

7.5/10