As the name would indicate, "Eight Legged Freaks" shouldn't be taken too seriously. It's a horror comedy about a variety of arachnids growing huge due to -- what else? -- accidentally spilled toxic waste. They terrorize the citizens of Prosperity, Arizona, where Kari Wuhrer plays the Sheriff, Scarlett Johansson her teen daughter, and David Arquette the Sheriff's love interest.
The plot of terrorizing arachnids in an Arizona town automatically brings to mind 1977's "Kingdom of the Spiders" with William Shatner, but that movie took the topic serious and the tarantulas were normal size.
The Arizona locations are great and the movie is consistently amusing as "Eight Legged Freaks" is just a fun flick, but the main highlight is the mother/daughter combo of Kari Wuhrer and Scar-Jo. Kari has a strikingly attractive face and personality and Scar-Jo was 17 years-old during filming and looks great in tight pants.
On the downside the film seems too long at 99 minutes because there isn't enough depth to the characters and their story to warrant going over like 85 minutes. As such, the final act in the mall, mines, etc. seems to go on forever. Another criticism is that the spider F/X appear too cartoony (I'm sure they looked better in 2002), but this is hardly a flaw in that the movie itself is cartoony. My main beef is that Scar-Jo isn't prominent enough, but that's likely because she was only 17 and wouldn't become a "star" until her next film, 2003' excellent "Lost in Translation." On the other hand, Wuhrer is very prominent.
GRADE: B-
The plot of terrorizing arachnids in an Arizona town automatically brings to mind 1977's "Kingdom of the Spiders" with William Shatner, but that movie took the topic serious and the tarantulas were normal size.
The Arizona locations are great and the movie is consistently amusing as "Eight Legged Freaks" is just a fun flick, but the main highlight is the mother/daughter combo of Kari Wuhrer and Scar-Jo. Kari has a strikingly attractive face and personality and Scar-Jo was 17 years-old during filming and looks great in tight pants.
On the downside the film seems too long at 99 minutes because there isn't enough depth to the characters and their story to warrant going over like 85 minutes. As such, the final act in the mall, mines, etc. seems to go on forever. Another criticism is that the spider F/X appear too cartoony (I'm sure they looked better in 2002), but this is hardly a flaw in that the movie itself is cartoony. My main beef is that Scar-Jo isn't prominent enough, but that's likely because she was only 17 and wouldn't become a "star" until her next film, 2003' excellent "Lost in Translation." On the other hand, Wuhrer is very prominent.
GRADE: B-