"Eight Legged Freaks" features lots of nudge-nudge jokes and pretty cool spider effects, but, as most self-aware genre hybrids do, runs out of gas in the third act
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07/17/02
Eight Legged Freaks (2002)
48
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:141
Fresh:67
Rotten:74
Average Rating:5.5/10
Consensus: This homage to the B-movies of the '50s has a promising first half, but runs out of ideas in the second.
Runtime: 1 hr 39 mins
Genre: Comedies
Synopsis: New Zealand-born Ellory Elkayem's EIGHT LEGGED FREAKS is a ridiculously irreverent romp that pays homage to American b-movies of the 1950s. Set in the nearly bankrupt mining town of Prosperity,... [More]
Starring: David Arquette, Kari Wuhrer, Scarlett Johansson, Scott Terra
Director: Ellory Elkayem
Reviews for Eight Legged Freaks
If all of Eight Legged Freaks was as entertaining as the final hour, I would have no problem giving it an unqualified recommendation.
07/17/02
The film makes a joke, then nudges you in the ribs, saying, 'Hey, that was funny, right?' 'Right?' Um, no.
07/17/02
These spiders can outrun a motorcycle and wrap a person in a sticky cocoon in seconds, but they fall short of being interesting or entertaining.
07/17/02
Plays more like a cross between "Starship Troopers," "Wild Wild West" and "Dawn of the Dead" than the '50s flicks it's supposed to be parodying.
07/17/02
Popcorny-good, but with a lot of unpopped kernels and unfortunate gobs of Golden Topping(TM) lurking at the bottom.
07/17/02
It's crap on a leash--far too polite to scale the lunatic heights of Joe Dante's similarly styled Gremlins.
07/17/02
Too silly to be frightening, too stolid to be funny, it projects the same lazy affability as its nominal star, David Arquette.
07/16/02
So crummy that you might feel like squishing it underfoot when it's over.
07/16/02
We're treated to bad digital effects attacking even worse actors.
07/16/02
Somewhere short of Tremors on the modern B-scene: neither as funny nor as clever, though an agreeably unpretentious way to spend ninety minutes.
07/16/02
Hey, it's not Shakespeare, but it doesn't need to be...
07/16/02
Arquette makes for a thoroughly boorish hero, his delirious 'They're here! They're here!' outcry suggestive of the film's failed potential.
07/15/02
It's not a great monster movie. But if you've paid a matinee price and bought a big tub of popcorn, there's guilty fun to be had here. Chomp chomp!
07/15/02
A silly and fun B-movie that's best when it's the most ridiculous.
07/14/02
The CG sucks, the script is laughable and you don’t get to see Scarlett Johansen have sex. And you're going to have a great time at the movies!
07/14/02
The trouble is, its filmmakers run out of clever ideas and visual gags about halfway through.
07/14/02
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