Giant mutant spiders attack a small Southwestern town in this tongue-in-cheek homage to 1950s monster-bug movies that lives up to its inspiration (specifically 1954's Them!) with creepy scares that startle, silly boos that get a laugh, and moments that make you go "ewww!" Director Ellory Elkayem never aspires to anything more than eventually getting the entire (surviving) population (including B-list stars like David Arquette and Kari Wuhrer) into a rundown shopping mall, where they try to beat down enormous arachnids with sporting goods and mannequins. But Elkayem knows good sight and sound gags (the spiders make little "woo-hoo!" and "yeee!" noises when they attack and when they die), and he's smart enough to temper the camp value with fine special effects that make the spiders look real enough to get your skin crawling. Eight Legged Freaks is not a great monster movie, but there's guilty fun to be had here. Chomp chomp! A strong optional purchase. [Note: DVD extras include audio commentary by director Ellory Elkayem, stars David Arquette and Rick Overton, and producer Dean Devlin; 13 minutes of (eight) additional scenes; the text and photo essay "Creepy Crawly Giants"; and Elkayem's 12-minute "Larger Than Life" short that inspired the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a guilty pleasure title.] (R. Blackwelder)
Eight Legged Freaks
Warner, 100 min., PG-13, VHS: $62.99, DVD: $26.98, Oct. 29 Volume 17, Issue 6
Eight Legged Freaks
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