Eight Legged Freaks (2002)

Director:

Ellory Elkayem

Writers (WGA):

Ellory Elkayem (story) &
Randy Kornfield (story) ...

Release Date:

17 July 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Do you hate spiders? Do you really hate spiders? Well they don't like you either.

Plot:

A variety of horrible poisonous spiders get exposed to a noxious chemical that causes them to grow to monumental proportions.

Plot Keywords:

Spider | Cell Phone | Father Son Relationship | Radio Station | Handcuffs

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

David Arquette	...	Chris McCormick
Kari Wuhrer	...	Sheriff Samantha Parker
Scott Terra	...	Mike Parker
Scarlett Johansson	...	Ashley Parker
Doug E. Doug	...	Harlan Griffith
Rick Overton	...	Deputy Pete Willis
Leon Rippy	...	Wade
Matt Czuchry	...	Bret
Jay Arlen Jones	...	Leon
Eileen Ryan	...	Gladys
Riley Smith	...	Randy
Matt Holwick	...	Larry
Jane Edith Wilson	...	Emma
Jack Moore	...	Amos
Roy Gaintner	...	Floyd

Also Known As:

Arac Attack (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sci-fi violence, brief sexuality and language.

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA | Australia

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #38699) | Iceland:12 (video rating) | Iceland:14 (theatrical rating) | Malaysia:U | Portugal:M/12 | South Korea:12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Austria:10 | Denmark:11 | Finland:K-11 | France:-12 | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:I | Netherlands:12 | Norway:11 | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:14 (canton of the Grisons) | UK:12

Filming Locations:

Arizona, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

When the town's people have fled into the mall, the mayor, Wade, asks the goofy sheriff's assistant Pete what the hell just attacked him. Pete answers: "A spider, man", swallowing the syllable 'a', making it an obvious reference to Spider-Man, Marvel's comic book superhero.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The movie is published with a punctuation error in its title. "Eight Legged Freaks" means "eight freaks with legs" and is pronounced with only three syllables in total. The correct punctuation is "Eight-Legged Freaks" meaning "freaks with eight legs" with four syllables in total ("legged" with two).

Quotes:

[first lines]
Harlan: Do you know fear?

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Troldspejlet: (#29.9)" (2003)

Soundtrack:

Dim Memory

If "Arachnophobia" made you shiver,this one will make you quiver.

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.