User reviews

Certainly there were any number of reasons for me to not like 'Eight Legged Freaks' before I watched it. I'm not a spider guy so I wasn't really interested in the first place. As far as actors go, I can't stand David Arquette. Generally I find him aggravating in the extreme and his characters highly unlikeable -- but more on that in a moment. And to paraphrase Val Lewton about his own RKO films: "It's hard for critics to give positive reviews to films called 'I Walked With a Zombie.'"

At the time of this review's writing, the film has a rating on the IMDb of 5.5/10. I'm actually quite surprised by that because despite my own personal biases, the film proved me wrong. I had no level of expectation for it and really no desire to watch it in the first place. I was wrong and I admit it. It was truly funny with some great sight gags and lines. There are definitely some decent scares and a pretty competent job of raising the level of tension in the film to a steady and consistent level. David Arquette surprised me and this might be the best performance he's ever put in. My personal bias against him was dead wrong in this movie.

'Eight Legged Freaks' is a throw back to creature films of the 50's and, as some other reviewers have alluded, to more contemporary films like 'Gremlins' and 'Tremors.' Horror-comedy is a difficult genre to work within but 'Eight Legged Freaks' manages to pull it off. The acting all around is good. A lot of the film is satirical (Doug E Doug's conspiracy guy) and the cgi is so obvious and over the top that, while it might be aggravating in a movie that took itself more seriously, you can't help but admire and respect the results.

That really is the strength of the movie -- it doesn't take itself as seriously as a lot of its critics did. 'Eight Legged Freaks' does what the best films should do: for two hours you forget you're watching a movie and you just enjoy yourself. I hope that time will be kind and maybe people will come around and give the movie another chance. Had this film taken itself seriously we would have ended up with a spider version of 'Bats.' This version and its self-deprecation are much worthier of your time.

Unlike many modern-day movies that revolve around CGI and special effects, this one succeeds purely on the quality of the production and acting. There are some excellent effects indeed, but also some really dodgy ones. No matter when you have the likes of Arquette, Johansson, Wuhrer, Arlen Jones, and many more fine character actors on show. It must be very difficult to act with CGI, yet there are rarely, if ever, occasions when you see this cast looking even slightly lost.

It may be a parody, it may be silly, but it's apparent that a lot of care went into making this, and the cast look like they're having fun - which always creates a good impression. There is nothing remarkable here, or particularly scary, but it does what it's supposed to do - entertain the audience. One of those movies that seems to go by quickly, and during which you won't find your mind drifting off to another place. Not sure what to rent for the evening? This is definitely worth a look - unless spiders make you nervous!

This is one of those films that you can see over and over, and finding new things to enjoy. The story is simple, and similar to many other horror films, where insects/spiders for some reason become unnaturally big and prey on man. Great spiders, good acting, not that bad dialog, and a lot of humor.

Many films in this class take themselves totally serious (like the abysmal Alien vs Zombies), which this does not - a big plus in my book. That a Taser should be able to fire up an entire electrical grid (if small), is just about the only total slip-up - the rest is fairly good in both continuity and SFX. Some guy is waving an unloaded crossbow at the spiders, and still he can fire it, and nobody collects any fired bolts (the missiles a crossbow is bolts, not arrows), also quite questionable.

Well worth watching, and great fun!

If the movie "Arachnophobia" made you jump, gave you nightmares, or disturbed you enough that you are afraid to feel for a lightswitch in a dark,don't see "Eight Legged Freaks". This one has the feel of late 50's -early 60's horror/sci-fi movies without the phony looking monsters. These spiders looked REAL and their movements were orchestrated in such a way that you felt like you were really watching giant spiders on the screen. I can't say any of the human actors had really stand-out performances, because the spiders were the stars of this one. I will say that this movie and "Spider-Man" have the potential to interest young budding arachnophiles to take a serious look at the scientific side of spiders. Each of these movies gives the scientific names and characteristics of the different spiders involved(before the radiation takes effect),and does a super job of presenting their habits and idiosyncrasies. The only thing that might be questioned in either movie is the aggressiveness of the arachnids portrayed(perhaps this is the fault of the radiation as well). I give this movie "eight digits up" for sheer entertainment value.

With David Arquette starring you would immediately think this to be a stupid movie. Well, it is a stupid movie with a horrid script. But the F/X, namely the eight legged freaks, makes this flick a hoot to watch. A tribute, albeit on the silly side, to those great mutant creature features of the 50s. Arquette and Sheriff Sam(Kari Wuhrer)summon help in fighting off the toxic waste induced giant spiders wreaking havoc on their tiny town in Arizona. Also in the cast are Doug E. Doug, Rick Overton, Leon Rippy and the charming Scarlett Johansson.

You could either be really harsh and say the film is a stupid and completely unnecessary CGI-playground or….you could sit back, relax and search for all the adorable references towards the delightful monster-movies like they could only make them in the 50's. In fact, that's all Eight Legged Freaks represents! A spoof slash tribute, updated with the latest and most expensive computer techniques. All the typical cliché aspects are there: the isolated little town with the ironic sounding name, the unfortunate hero and all the charming (slightly retarded) redneck town-inhabitants. And of course the giant, mutated spiders complete with ludicrous ‘yummy-noises. The ways these spiders are hunting they preys is funny instead of scary with complete over-the-top situations. You should already be warned…a film that stars David Arquette as the heroic savior can't be taken too seriously. Present in Eight Legged Freaks as well: two generations of stunningly beautiful actresses. Kari Wuhrer and Scarlet Johanssen. The latter is working her way up to the highest regions of Hollywood these days through starring in Oscar-favorites like ‘Lost in Translation' and ‘The Girl with the Pearl Earring', whereas Wuhrer is fixing her career as a B-movie queen. After Eight Legged Freaks, she starred in (mediocre) films such as King of the Ants, The Hitcher II and another Hellraiser sequel.

I shamelessly admit I had a great time while watching Eight Legged Freaks. It reminded me of ‘Tremors' a bit…even though that one is better. Nonetheless, it's fun and a nice change from all those irrelevant and dull teen-slashers. If you're looking for a real tribute to the 50's monsters, check out the short film `Larger than Life' by the same director. That little film really breathes the monster atmosphere and formed the inspiration (and budget) to shoot Eight Legged Freaks.

It is OK to make a spoof movie. I am not a great fan of these, but it is a - lazy - genre. Now I really hate it when they switch horses in midstream with tongue-in-cheek jokes taking over. You cannot sell the real stuff and its spoof at the same time.

Eight-legged Freaks (not 8 legged freaks; see Goofs to see that Studios find it difficult to speak English) starts out pretty good for an horror movie. It is a well travelled road, so it is not actually original, but that is fine with me for the genre. The usual characters are in place and it is quite enjoyable to follow. Then, either it takes too long to establish the little community or it unfortunately switches from building up tension to unleashing hell. I reckon Roland Emmerich as a producer doesn't help maintaining subtlety as a motto.

Once the spiders are all over the place the movie becomes a "family horror roller-coaster". You don't have to care for the characters anymore: it is all just for a laugh! With all those CGI spiders everywhere they simply stop being scary. Pity since there were good ideas at first to make the story real creepy. The cat fighting with a spider behind plaster walls was a great idea, but it already got stretched beyond the point of goofiness. Same for the motocross chase in the desert: fine idea which eventually turns cartoonish.

The final act at the mall is a total mess. At this point every character is a puppet. Extras and background characters get killed, top-billed get to live whatever they do. Bottom line: Arac-attack/Eight-legged Freaks does not deliver on its promise of being an impressive horror movie. And it fails too as a spoof since the first part is seriously developing a scary plot.

EIGHT LEGGED FREAKS was not well received by the critics and it did poorly at the box office--and frankly I'm surprised. Obviously we're not talking about "deep meanings" in reference to this film, but what it does, it does extremely well: part homage, part spoof, part horror, part comedy, and all of it a tremendous amount of fun! The film is essentially the classic 1950s "big bug" movie brought up to date and given a comic spin. A truck driver skids on the road and accidentally releases toxic chemicals into a pond; unfortunately, an "exotic spider farm" happens to be nearby, and when the spiders are contaminated by the chemicals they explode into creatures of monstrous proportions, nasty dispositions, and insatiable appetites. Cats, dogs, and even the occasional ostrich goes missing--can human victims be far behind?

The cast plays expertly, and two deserve special mention: Doug E. Doug, who is hilarious as the independent radio station broadcaster obsessed with UFOs, aliens, and government cover-ups, and Eileen Ryan as the chain-smoking, drop-dead-talking Aunt Gladys. But although every one does well with their often-comic characters, the emphasis isn't on the cast: it's on special effects, sight-gags, and a traditional "big bug" plot played at a breakneck speed. It's all smoothly, slickly done, and the special effects are terrific without going into overkill.

Now, the film is rather icky: after all, the spiders jump and bite and slurp, and when the townfolk go after them with everything from guns to pitchforks to chainsaws they also splatter in an appropriately disgusting way. Some viewers will be turned off by the black humor of the piece--particularly as it references the pets that go missing early on in the film. (I admit I winced a bit myself there!) Some viewers may be turned off by the "ick" factor and the violence, of which there is aplenty; others may take issue with the plot itself, which as noted is pretty traditional. But this isn't an Ingmar Bergman or Fellini film we're talking about here, and if you want a modern twist on a classic sci-fi theme, EIGHT LEGGED FREAKS is sure to please. The DVD release has several extras, some of which are fun as well. On the whole, I give it seven big squishes!

Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT, Amazon Reviewer

Who of you out there hate spiders?

if you do, then i would give this one a miss, but if you think your brave enough, its definetly cinema quality, thats if you can stand David Arquette for 1 1/2 hours playing the same character "detective duey" out of scream, also starring are the sexy Kari Wuhrer from "anaconda and Slider the tv series" and a new star to hit the screens, who i see that has alot of potential Scarlett Johansson, watch out for this one.

The graphics in this movie i will give an 8/10, very good except for the jumping spiders, if you see the movie you will no what i mean.

The thing i loved about this movie is that its funny, unique in its own kind of way and action packed all of the last 50 minutes.

And if anything the first 40 minutes is quite slow.

a new director to hit our screens but a word of advice to him is to forget about Arquette. Sorry but i just dont like him.

I hope you movie buffs out there follow my advice and check this one out, its got a 7/10 in my books.

Yeah, Eight-Legged Freaks is supposed to be a tribute to the B-Movies of the 1950's, but watching it, I felt like I was watching a cheesy parody of monster films. While the acting and special effects were good, the writing was below average, mainly because the script is filled with lines taken from other movies, references to other movies, or bringing up the usual tropes used in such films. While I do like references, if you use them too much, they lose their funny factor and become groan-inducing. Also, some scenes are either not funny or not scary enough. Best to watch with the mindset that is a parody.

Giant spiders attack a sleepy Arizona mining town. Zany hijinks ensue.

This movie is a nod--or a series of nods, really--to the classic B-movie "giant insect run amok" genre in the spirit of "Them!", "The Praying Mantis", and especially "Tarantula". A mixture of weird science gone wrong and shady double-dealing turns a local exotic spider collection into rampaging, man-eating monsters.

Is it scientifically accurate? Hell, no. Is it great drama? Afraid not. Is it Academy Award material? I don't think so. Is it *fun*? You bet! Part of the fun of this movie is that it *isn't* trying to educate anybody about the environment, the ozone layer, global warming, or terrorist attacks. It's beautifully brainless entertainment and if you like to laugh--a *lot*--you'll love this movie. Rent it! Now!

It's a monster movie' s homage with gigantic spiders as protagonists . A truck transporting waste crashes and dropping an unfortunate chemical spill in a river . Some spiders are accidentally escaped and the eight-legged beasts increase their weight and wreak havoc , terrorizing and destroying the villagers . Residents of a rural mining town called Prosperity discover that a radioactive stuff has caused hundreds of little spiders to mutate to a giant size . It's then up to mining engineer Chris McCormack (David Arquette)and Sheriff Sam Parker (Kari Wuhrer) to mobilize a diverse group of townspeople , including the Sheriff's young son, Mike (Scott Terra ), her daughter, Ashley (Scarlett Johansson), and paranoid radio-speaker man named Harlan ( Doug E. Doug), into fight against the lethal eight-legged Aracs. Meanwhile the bloodthirsty spiders meet up local citizens and spontaneously catch them and begins to consume people. The spiders rapidly multiplies and the protagonists confronting with them . The eclectic bunch takes refuge at the Prosperity Mall and the little town is devastated by the spiders attack.

This monster/comedy film with quite budget packs thrills, some good action and funny moments. It's a hybrid of monster movies from the 50s such as 'Tarantula' and modern American production plenty of C.G.I. The thrilling screenplay is a bit yawn-inspiring but nifty special effects will keep you from dozing off, with nice creatures designers, created by means of Animatronics and computer visual effects . This is a suspenseful and amusing thriller especially at the amazing ending tableau when Lewis Arquette and Kari Wuhrer have to tackle the gigantic spider at the lair in the final. The flick is lavishly produced by Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin. Emmerich is a good director, writer and producer who founded along with Dean Devlin the company Centropolis Entertainment and expert on making movies for the masses and specialist on large-scale disaster movies ¨Day after tomorrow¨, ¨ 2012 ¨, spectacular stories ¨ Stargate ¨,¨ The patriot¨, ¨Universal soldier ¨ and giant monsters as Mammoth and Sabretooth in ¨10.000 B.c ¨ , aliens in ¨Independence day ¨ , ¨Godzilla¨ and spiders in ¨Eight legged freaks¨. The picture is well directed by Ellory Elkayem with rather too much camera movement and there are also lots of low-angle shots of people hanging around waiting to get bitten by the carnivorous spider. Although nothing which haven't been seen before, this is not the picture to watch if you are scared of spiders , however the movie is quite entertaining. Utterly arachnophobia people must flee this film.

Other movies about those bugs are the following : ¨Tarantula(1955)¨ by Jack Arnold with John Agar; ¨Tarantula: the deadly cargo(1977)¨ with Claude Akins; ¨Kingdom of spiders(77)¨ by John Budd Cardos with William Shatner and ¨Arachnophobia(1990)¨ by Frank Marshall with John Goodman.

I liked this movie back when it came out, probably watched it two or three times. decided to give it another shot. it might have been better in its own time, but it's definitely no good enough now.

it made me laugh a few times but most of the comedy is pretty weak. and some of the spider attack scenes were exactly what i wanted out of a movie like this. but half of it so so goofy and cartoonish, like cat being attacked by a spider and you can see the outline of the cat as it gets thrown into the dry wall... numerous times. i couldn't believe it.

i'm all for a stupidly over-the-top movie about giant spiders attacking a town, but it can't feel like the loony toons. even the spider sound effects were ridiculous (about 4 viewings, 5/28/2020)

This movie isn't as corny as you may think it will be. It does have a lot of wackiness involved, but it's all done intentionally. It doesn't try to portray itself as a high tech, knock your socks off horror or thriller. It's a portrayal of the '50s genre of horror. As Slapsticky as that was, this is as well, in a sense. The spiders look pretty realistic, if you ask me. Of course, they squeak and sputter nonsensical stuff, kind of like the little gremlins did in the 1984 Gremlins, or like Critters. It's a good popcorn, leave your brain at home, make sure to buy a matinee movie ticket type of flick. But heck, it's a lot of fun! This is one of David Arquette's better movies to date. With many duds in the past such as See Spot Run, Ready 2 Rumble, Scream 3, 3000 Miles to Graceland, The Shrink is In, Free Money, RPM, The Alarmist, Wild Bill, Fall Time, Airheads, The Road Killers, The Killing Box, The Webbers and Never Been Kissed, you can tell from this list of duds, that he's grasping for a job in Hollywood. This film also features Scarlett Johansson (The Horse Whisperer, Ghost World), Scott Terra (Daredevil), Kari Wuhrer (Anaconda), Doug E. Doug (Cosby, Jungle Fever), Rick Overton (Mrs. Doubtfire, Groundhog Day) as you can tell, these actors aren't just fresh off the street. It does have somewhat of a B-Movie feel to it, but the spiders don't look low budget. The acting isn't anything to spectacular, but it's good enough to make it effective. I give this movie 2 *'s out of 4's. Recommended as a no-brainer, enjoyable invasion of the giant spiders flick. Rent it today.

This is a parody of the old B-movies of the 50's, concerning gigantic animals, mostly spiders. It's filled with corny humor and cheesy special effects, which only help to make it a funnier spoof movie. It spoofs a few other well-known movies too, there are references to Indiana Jones, Tarzan and the likes. The plot is far-fetched and extremely cheesy, but it's all in context with the very theme of the movie. The acting is mostly not very convincing, but it once again fits perfectly. Half of the actors are not exactly A-list actors, so they did OK, in my opinion. The characters are either cliches, caricatures or stereotypes, which makes sense, considering it's just a spoof movie. The special effects are pretty good, not great, but good. They definitely fit with the movie perfectly. Something I found particularly funny was the cheesy sound effects and the nice touches that contained great humor; most of the spiders seem to have their own unique personality, which is shown by a collaboration of campy sound effects and comical movements by the spiders. I would recommend this to any person who enjoys spoof movies, especially ones which contain campy humor; I'd also recommend it to anyone who's seen one or more of the old "giant spiders" movies, and couldn't take it seriously. 7/10

Anyone who watches this movie as a serious horror/science fiction flick is so dreadfully mistaken, that such a person might even have to consider stopping watching movies altogether. It might lead to some terrible, fatally shocking misunderstanding eventually. This is a genre parody here, and should be enjoyed (and can very much be enjoyed) as such. The gags are great, the visual effects are good enough for a genre parody, and the cast is doing its sympathetic job decently. The only scary moment comes when you have to fear for the safety of a poor little trouble-making rabbit, right at the beginning.

While based on a B-movie collage, this is definitely not a B-movie in terms of quality.

Watch this film in the company of friends. Normally you shouldn't be any more afraid of spiders afterward than before.

I saw Arachnophobia when I was a kid and I remember it giving me creeps. I´ve always been to all kinds of weird creatures (I study biology and I love snakes, lizards, spiders...) and that´s why I found this little movie exciting. Whether all that could possibly happen wasn´t important at all, I was a kid! I´d sure love to see the good old Arachnophobia again, just to see if it´s still enjoyable. In the meantime I decided to check a movie called Eight-Legged Freaks which couldn´t be titled Arac Attack because the word Arac reminds every American of Iraq... That´s just so stupid, but back to my review...

Eight-Legged Freaks was a very mediocre movie. It´s not a movie that´ll be remembered because it has nothing it could be remembered for. Sure, those spiders look nice (I guess they´re supposed to look a little fake), but they are neither scary nor funny and I suppose they were meant to be both. Those tiny killer spiders in that good old Arachnophobia were a lot scarier because they were more realistic.

Eight-Legged Freaks lacks a real momentum and it runs out of steam after one hour. The plot is as simple as it could possibly be and you couldn´t care less about the characters. Since this is a part-comedy the characters are meant to be funny, but compared to John Goodman´s exterminator in that older spider movie I´ve mentioned so many times they don´t come even close to being funny. There are some amusing moments, but after sometime all that trying becomes very tiresome. I won´t say anything about the cast because there really isn´t anything to say.

If you want to see this movie turn your brain off for 90 minutes and try to enjoy the ride. Perhaps this movie just wasn´t for me. It just made me miss Arachnophobia even more.

The only way I gave this a look was that someone loaned it to me for free. I now own it! This looked like it would be a stupid movie, and it some scenes it certainly was, but it was so entertaining that I know I will watch this a number of times.

This is a 1950s-type sci-fi flick with modern-day special effects. In fact, if you liked "Them!" you'll get a big kick of out of this film. The difference is the much- better special-effects but some low-grade attitudes and some profanity. The characters are dumb but they were dumb in the '50s, too.

The story starts off a bit slow but once the overgrown spiders emerge, the film goes full bore and gets extremely entertaining. It's almost too much action. One needs a break! By the end, you're glad it's over. Thus, if they had chopped 5-10 minutes off this, it would have been much better. Nonetheless, it's a fun ride with some genuinely scary parts and some humor, too. Since "entertainment" is the name of the game, this gets 8 stars even though it's lower-grade material.

It flat-out entertains.

A bio-hazard chemical spills into a lake which makes tiny little spiders turn into huge creepy predators. They roam a town as the town tries to stop the "invasion".

This film did not do well in the box office. With the film it is, it should be watched by a lot more people, even people who are afraid of spiders. The actings are okay by the actors/actresses but with a film this entertaining, who cares?

If this film would be as entertaining as the second half of the film, I would've liked it more. Still, it's enjoyable with clever jokes and funny sound effects with okay special effects.

This film makes fun of many clichés in B-movies and that's why it's so funny. If you would like to see a witty, fun, fresh, satirical, and entertaining film, this is the film to see! It's PURE FUN!

The reviews on this movie compared it to Tremors. I liked Tremors so I thought I would give this one a try. Big mistake! I'm not sure how to be this criticism, so I'll do by comparing the aforementioned, Tremors, with this...flick.

Mood: Tremors - With a little imagination you could get caught up in the mayhem against the creatures. 8LF - With hallucinogenic drugs - this movie still had no atmosphere.

Music: Tremors - Tried to add to the tension. 8LF - Carnival style music detracted from tension.

Creature Sounds (although neither subterranean beasts or spiders have vocal chords): Tremors - Creature screams fit their appearance. 8LF - Kiddie voices saying "ouch" when they get blown away.

How bad is it? I'm willing to give the DVD away for free and nobody wants it!

Have to feel bad for those of you who didn't like this movie. Is it a great "thinker"?? Nah; doesn't try to be. Just a good, sit down with the big bucket of popcorn, and have at it kind of flic. Good looking people, funny as hell, enough great quotes to fill a notebook... I like a movie that doesn't try to be anything more that it is, and this one you just take at face value. If you like to pick at things, you'll find a lot here, but me?? I just want to be entertained for a while, and in this I was; totally!!!!!!!!!!!!! Do have to say one other thing, tho, just *have* to:-) As a lover of old monster movies, and imho, this was a great homage to such, the only - only thing that annoyed me was that when they showed clips of "Them" on the son's tv, one of my favorite movies of all time, they showed the scenes out of order. But, I can live with it!!