Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich can burn. After what they did to Godzilla, they deserve to suffer. But, anyone can redeem themselves and both of them did, lending their services to Eight Legged Freaks. Easily one of the best (and entertaining) giant bug movies ever, this is not only a nearly flawless tip-o-the-hat to the classic 50's genre, but a wild ride on its own.
Toxic waste is once again the catalyst in the small town of Prosperity. Fed radioactive crickets by their owner, a large number of spiders grow to ridiculous proportions and begin to lay waste to any small animal. At the same time, Chris McCormick (David Arquette) returns to the small town after a 10-year absence. Reunited with the sheriff who is also a lost love (played by Kari Wuhrer) and her spider-loving son (Scott Terra), they begin to pick off the creatures while trying to save the inhabitants of the town.
Though not exactly a major studio hit, Eight Legged Freaks did manage to cause a small buzz in 2002. This is a wonderful, tongue-firmly-in-cheek monster movie that never lets up. Rarely will you find giant bugs and major laughs in the same film, but director Ellory Elkayem knew exactly how to handle this type of film and it shows through here.
Most directors who tackle this genre in a comedic way just toss in some terrible effects and acting, believing that this is what the genre is all about. It's not. Freaks has some really nice effects, especially considering the overwhelming use of CGI. The acting is par and occasionally cheap, but never overblown. The comedy mostly comes from the spiders themselves, who can almost "talk," Gremlins style. This is an absolute blast to watch and if you go in with the right mind set, you're guaranteed to have a great time. (**** out of *****)
Two version of the film are available. First is a 2.35:1 widescreen (reviewed here as always) and a pan & scan version for those who have yet to move into the true DVD generation. The transfer used here is hit or miss, usually due to some annoying film grain. It's most likely the extensive use of CGI that causes this, but the darker sequences are just overflowing with it. Otherwise, this is a clean print with solid color and deep black levels. Some minor color bleeding occurs with the deeper reds and some flicker is evident as well, but these are minor issues compared to the grain. (***)
Article comments
1 - Aaron, Duke De Mondo
matt, i totally agree. 8 Legged Freaks is one of the most enjoyable flicks in a long time. I liked it so much, i even bought the damn thing even though the cover was one of those cardboard clip-case deals what i hate ever so much.
The extras are great too, especially the short, as you mentioned.
Good stuff.
2 - Matt Paprocki
Well, if this helps, Warner is dumping the cardboard snapper cases. Most of their new release have been in normal amaray cases including Blazing Saddles. They finally figured out people don't like the cardboard ones. Took 'em long enough.
3 - RJ
"Arquette sounds like he is either drunk or high on something"
He always does... :-/
4 - RJ
"Two version of the film are available. First is a 2.35:1 widescreen (reviewed here as always) and a pan & scan version for those who have yet to move into the true DVD generation."
Ouch!
Hey, I much prefer Full-screen to Wide-screen. Am I some kind of troglodyte or something? :-/
5 - RJ
"This is an absolute blast to watch and if you go in with the right mind set"
Dontcha mean, "stoned out of your gourd"? ;-)
6 - Chris Kent
This movie was only fair, and reminded me of the much, much better film Tremors. I do like how this is a sort of tribute to those great Jack Arnold horror/sci-fis of the 1950s, most famously Tarantula. It's a tough line to walk when you mix comedy and horror and this film did not always succeed - Tremors, An American Werewolf in London and Scream I think are examples where the comedy and horror are blended fairly well......Eight Legged Freaks had me rolling my eyes.....
7 - Matt Paprocki
RJ:
WATCH WIDESCREEN! Full screen is an abomination. It's a joke and should have never been created. Start here:
www.widescreen.org
Of course, you can read my thoughts on the subject here:
http://blogcritics.org/archives/2003/11/23/000433.php
8 - Matt Paprocki
Chris: I thought you would be one of those to say I was right on the mark! What about Gremlins? I thought Freaks was much more along the lines of that then Tremors.
Tremors is certainly a better film, don't get me wrong, but Freaks is just non-stop. It has so many of "those" moments you won't catch the first time through that it requires multiple viewings to really absorb it all. I can almost gurantee that if the giant toxic bug craze happened today, we'd get something like this.
9 - Chris Kent
I'm one of those geeks who preferred Gremlins 2 over Gremlins. I thought the sequel blended the comedy, action, horror and satire in a more digestable fashion. The first Gremlins was radically uneven. I would say Eight Legged Freaks was much better than either of the Gremlins films (did they make a Gremlins 3?).
I think the reason I was reminded of Tremors was because of the desert/smalltown locale, the mix of comedy/horror, a colorful cast of supporting characters, a mismatch romance, etc.....Eight Legged Freaks was fun in a comic book kind of way, and I definitely think kids would love it. But when it was over, I found myself wanting to watch Tremors again.....I guess I'm getting old....;)
10 - Aaron, Duke De Mondo
chris, i prefered Gremlins 2 also. They never made a third, and dante insists they never will.
11 - Chris Kent
Thanks for info El Senor Duke. We need to let Dante know we are impatiently awaiting Eerie, Indiana - The Movie......I wonder if they have released that great TV series on DVD yet? I shall go check....