Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.5

Eight Legged Freaks Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf July 17, 2021

The 1950s were a fertile period in horror, introducing audiences to the simple pleasures of Atomic Age nightmares, which included a subgenre involving “big bug” pictures. These efforts turned everyday critters into city-smashing threats, eventually inspiring generations of filmmakers to try their luck at reviving the big screen experience. In 2002, producers Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich aimed to recreate B-movie mayhem from a bygone era with “Eight Legged Freaks,” a decidedly high-tech version of monster mayhem, with copious amounts of CGI used to bring a giant spider invasion to life. Director Ellory Elkayem makes his helming debut with the feature (also co-scripting with Jesse Alexander), and he’s never exactly sure what kind of endeavor “Eight Legged Freaks” is. There’s an uneasy blend of frights and funny business to process, with jokes lacking definition and terror muted by attempts at zaniness. There’s some fun to be had with the premise, but the production ultimately doesn’t know what it wants to be, resulting in a mediocre attempt to revive big bug thrills and chills.

When toxic waste works its way into the environment of Prosperity, Arizona, a local spider dealer unknowingly feeds polluted crickets to his collection of exotic creatures, creating an increase in size and appetite. Returning to the dying mining town is Chris (David Arquette), who’s ready to do something with his late father’s gold mine, coming up against Mayor Wade’s (Leon Rippy) attempt to sell the community to outside interests. Hoping to reconnect with his lost love, Sheriff Samantha (Kari Wuhrer), Chris takes tentative steps back into his old life. However, such peace is shattered when the spiders mutate into enormous predators, bent on taking over Prosperity to feast on the locals, including conspiracy radio host Harlan (Doug E. Doug), Deputy Pete (Rick Overton), and Samantha’s kids, Ashley (Scarlett Johansson) and spider expert Mike (Scott Terra).

“Eight Legged Freaks” has to deal with several character introductions in its first act, but the writing isn’t quite up to the challenge. Instead of gracefully exploring motivations and personal histories, Alexander and Elkayem offer clumsy exposition dumps instead, trying to get the feature up and running as quickly as possible. This approach creates some awkward interactions, and character connections aren’t all that interesting anyway, finding Chris’s arc a weak summary of nobility and mine reclamation, with his interest in hunting for deep pockets of gold merely employed to establish a methane issue in the area, helping set-up the grand finale. The subgenre isn’t known for refined screenwriting, but “Eight Legged Freaks” feels particularly plastic when it comes to organizing personalities, making any sort of dramatic connection to the players difficult to achieve.

The “arac attack” nature of “Eight Legged Freaks” is quickly unleashed, with tiny pets growing into a large threat for Prosperity, which is home to unhappy residents and a giant mall that never attracted customers. Elkayem offers more assured direction with chase sequences, including an amusing pursuit in the desert as a collection of spiders try to hunt an extreme sports enthusiast. And the mall setting offers the production room to move around, playing with different levels of aggression as the enemies try to break through thin barriers and devour armed residents. “Eight Legged Freaks” is clearly more interested in creature mayhem, offering the effort adrenalized sequences of pursuit and capture, presenting a mix of practical effects (including crazy web shooting) and CGI, which doesn’t look convincing for most shots, exposing budgetary limitations as the production bites off more than it can chew when summoning a frame packed with swarming monsters.

Eight Legged Freaks Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (2.39:1 aspect ratio) presentation is sourced from a "New 2K scan of the interpositive." Detail is appreciable, offering textured sets as the action enters a gold mine and runs around a shopping mall. Practical effects retain their goopy, webby, and hairy particulars, and facial surfaces are clear. Desertscapes are dimensional, along with expansive interiors. Colors are direct, with hot reds for lighting and signage, joined by crisp greenery and blue skies. Skintones are natural for the actors, and darker spider hues are equally defined. Delineation is satisfactory. Grain is fine and film-like. Source is in good condition, with a just a few brief elements of mild damage detected.

Eight Legged Freaks Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA sound mix offers an immersive understanding of the chaos found in "Eight Legged Freaks." Dialogue exchanges are sharp and varied, with different performance styles coming through with clarity. Scoring is crisp, with strong instrumentation and position, supporting suspense sequences without overwhelming them. Music carries into the surrounds, which also handle location atmospherics well, including spider and vehicle movement. Sound effects are active, with some inviting separation elements. Low-end is active, handling explosions and hard hits from the creatures. Roaring engines also deliver.

Eight Legged Freaks Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary features director Ellory Elkayem, producer Dean Devlin, and actors David Arquette and Rick Overton.

• "It's an Invasion" (41:27, HD) is the making-of for "Eight Legged Freaks," featuring video conference interviews with producers Dead Devlin and Roland Emmerich, director Ellory Elkayem, creature effects artist Bill Johnson, animal trainer Cris Rankin, composer John Ottman, and actors Doug E. Doug and Rick Overton. The filmmaking adventure began with Devlin's discovery of Elkayem's spider attack short, "Larger Than Life," which offered a chance for the producers to realize a lifelong dream of making a '50s throwback horror movie. Genre fandom is recalled and personal connections are identified, as Overton's friendship with Devlin dates back to their stand-up comedy days. Arizona locations are detailed, with the production taking over a dead mall, turning it into a studio. Most interestingly, Devlin and Emmerich admit taking control of direction from first timer Elkayem, with three units creating three different features, making a consistent tone hard to find. Practical effects, CGI, and live spiders are assessed, along with rabbit wrangling stories from Rankin. Accidents were plentiful during the shoot, keeping danger levels high. The post-production journey for "Eight Legged Freaks" involved a title change (from "Arac Attack") and a last-minute summer release date (moved up from Halloween), where the endeavor died at the box office. An understanding of cult longevity closes the documentary.

• Deleted Scenes (13:12, SD) are offered.

• "Larger Than Life" (13:37, SD) is Ellory Elkayem's original 1998 short film, which provided inspiration for "Eight Legged Freaks."

• And a Theatrical Trailer (1:15, HD) is included.

Eight Legged Freaks Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There's enough evidence present in the feature to suggest "Eight Legged Freaks" would've been just fine as a straightforward horror picture. Elkayem and the producers want more of a comedy, and they push silliness through the creation of dim-witted characters and feeble improvisations. There's a constant need to make this thing funny (1990's "Arachnophobia" is a better example of tonal balance and better writing), but there's no game plan for jokes, making comedy emerge randomly and never successfully. Highlights are present in "Eight Legged Freaks," including a nice authoritative turn from Wuhrer and the aforementioned attack sequences, but the film has an unevenness that distracts from its primary goal to frighten its audience. It goes cute instead of ruthless, delivering more of a cartoon viewing event.