Eight Legged Freaks
Parents say
Kids say
Searching for streaming and purchasing options ...
Common Sense is a nonprofit organization. Your purchase helps us remain independent and ad-free.
Get it now on
Searching for streaming and purchasing options ...
Did this review miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive, diverse representations in books, TV shows, and movies. Want to help us help them? Suggest a diversity update
Suggest an update Eight Legged Freaks
A lot or a little?
The parents' guide to what's in this movie.
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that despite the smart-alecky title, this movie is not a comedy. It's a straight-out scarefest, and right up to the farthest edges of the PG-13 rating, with very explicit and gross violence and a lot of jump-out-at-you surprises. Characters are killed and eaten. In addition, a character chain-smokes, and there's some alcohol and some strong language. There's a reference to a teen pregnancy and to adultery. A teen girl is extremely clear about not being ready to have sex, despite pressure from a boy she likes very much, but parents may be concerned about her use of a stun gun to make her point. The female characters are tough and brave. One of the main characters is black, and although he's portrayed as a little paranoid and crazy, he's also brave and loyal.
Stay up to date on new reviews.
User Reviews
- Parents say
- Kids say
One of the best comedy horror movies ever
I love this movie,who says it not for kids? Oh yeah,CSM does.
Dumb movie
Great movie
What's the story?
In EIGHT LEGGED FREAKS, a small Arizona town is on the verge of going under, about to vote to sell the entire place for what the mayor says is a highway. But he has bad teeth and icky hair and is mean to his stepson, so don't believe him. Chris (David Arquette), the son of the man who owned the now-abandoned mine, has come back after 10 years, hoping to realize his father's dream of tapping into a gold vein and his own dream of finally telling the girl he loves (Kari Wuhrer), now the town sheriff, how he feels. A chemical spill and some undisclosed toxic waste transform an entire zoo of 200 exotic spiders into huge, hungry monsters the size of an SUV. The giant spiders chase the people, catching and eating many of them. At first, no one believes it, then they run away, try to hide, and then fight back.
Is it any good?
Eight Legged Freaks is essentially a cheesy 1950's sci-fi drive-in movie with un-cheesy special effects. There's no sense of irony and not much of a sense of humor. Instead, it has a rather sweet sense of pleasure in its own conventions, a sure sense of pacing, and some very impressive huge spiders. The plot is very simple, more computer game than story, but really a classic re-creation of movies like The Blob and World Without End.
And I guess we found out where that surprising hyphen came from in "Spider-Man." It's missing from the title of this movie, which makes it appear to be about eight creatures with legs.
Talk to your kids about ...
Families can talk about the different kinds of spiders, which are actually fascinating creatures who benefit humans by eating mosquitoes.
Movie details
- In theaters: July 19, 2002
- On DVD or streaming: October 29, 2002
- Cast: David Arquette, Doug E. Doug, Scarlett Johansson
- Director: Ellory Elkayam
- Studio: Warner Bros.
- Genre: Thriller
- Run time: 95 minutes
- MPAA rating: PG-13
- MPAA explanation: vivid, gross violence
- Last updated: September 20, 2019
Our editors recommend
Top advice and articles
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
Streaming options powered by JustWatch