Scarlett Johansson’s spider-infested horror movieEight Legged Freakswas met with negative reviews on its initial release in 2002, but it remains an underrated gem. These days, Johansson is known for starring in giant blockbusters likeAvengers: Endgameand Oscar-winning dramas likeMarriage StoryandJojo Rabbit. But early in her career, she appeared in a wider range of projects — and that includes some ofJohansson’s best movies. She appeared in critical darlings likeLost in TranslationandVicky Cristina Barcelona, but she also starred in her share of B-movies.
Johansson co-starred with Ewan McGregor inMichael Bay’s sci-fi thrillerThe Island, she played Alex Pruitt’s older sister inHome Alone 3, and she played the sheriff’s daughter in Ellory Elkayem’s horror comedyEight Legged Freaks. This movie sees a swarm of spiders getting exposed to mutagenic toxic waste, growing to kaiju size, and attacking a small mining town. It was poorly received by critics, earning a “rotten” score of 48% on Rotten Tomatoes, but it’s a ton of fun.
Eight Legged Freaks Is Ridiculous, But Is Still So Much Fun To Watch
Eight Legged Freaks Has All The Fun Of A Goofy Monster Movie Like Critters Or Tremors
A lot of the critics who gaveEight Legged Freaksa negative review probably wrote half of their review before they even saw the movie. As a monster movie with a far-fetched premise and no substance beneath its surface-level entertainment value,Eight Legged Freaksis an easy target for snobbish film critics. But it needs to be taken on its own terms. Compared toCitizen Kane, it’s a terrible movie. But compared totheCrittersfranchise, it’s another fun entry in the monster movie canon.
Eight Legged Freaksgrossed $45 million against a budget of $30 million.
Eight Legged Freaksdoesn’t take itself too seriously, but it takes itself seriously enough to be scary. It hasa nice balance of self-aware laughs, poking fun at its own ridiculousness, and genuine thrills, wringing every possible fright out of the premise of giant spiders attacking people. It’s a great addition to the spider subgenre along withInfestedandArachnophobia. It might not be the finest film ever made — or anywhere close to Johansson’s best work — but it’s a boatload of fun.
Why Eight Legged Freaks Has Become A Minor Cult Classic
It’s The Epitome Of Early-2000s Creature Features
In the years since its release,Eight Legged Freakshas become a minor cult classic. It’s not the cornerstone of cult cinema thatPlan 9 from Outer SpaceorThe Rocky Horror Picture Showare, but it has been reappraised. With its shaky CG effects and over-the-top acting,Eight Legged Freaksexemplifies all the so-bad-it’s-good qualities of early-2000s creature features. It embodies that bygone era so well that it’s weirdly nostalgic for millennials and Gen Z kids who grew up in the ‘00s.
Eight Legged Freaks
Cast
Eight Legged Freaks is a horror-comedy film that takes place in the Arizona town of Prosperity, where toxic waste dumping has caused spiders to grow to enormous size and become aggressive. The spiders begin to attack the town’s residents, and a group of survivors, including a spider expert and the local sheriff, must band together to stop the eight-legged menace.
