- "Our town is being attacked by giant spiders! We need military intervention!"
- ―Chris McCormick
| Eight Legged Freaks | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Credits | |
| Title: | Eight Legged Freaks |
| Directed by: | Ellory Elkayem |
| Written by: | Ellory Elkayem; Randy Kornfield; Jesse Alexander |
| Produced by: | Bruce Berman; Dean Devlin; Roland Emmerich; William Fay; Kelly Van Horn; Peter Winther |
| Music by: | John Ottman |
| Cinematography: | John S. Bartley |
| Edited by: | David Siegel |
| Production | |
| Distributors: | Village Roadshow Pictures Warner Bros. Centropolis Entertainment |
| Released: | July 17th, 2002 |
| Rating: | PG-13 |
| Running time: | 99 min. |
| Country: | USA |
| Language: | English |
| Budget: | $30,000,000 |
| Gross: | $17,322,606 (US) $45,867,333 (Worldwide) |
| Navigation | |
| Previous: | — |
| Next: | — |
Eight Legged Freaks is an American feature film blending elements of horror, science fiction and comedy. It was intended as a humorous send-up to the classic "creature features" of the 1950s and 1960s. The movie was written and directed by Ellory Elkayem and co-written by Randy Kornfield and Jesse Alexander. It was produced by Centropolis Entertainment and Village Roadshow Pictures and distributed through Warner Bros. Pictures. The premise of the film centers around the small mining community of Prosperity, Arizona, who suddenly find themselves victims of a horde of giant, mutated spiders. Actor David Arquette plays Chris McCormick, who returns to Prosperity after having been away for ten years. He reunites with the town's sheriff, Samantha Parker, played by Kari Wuhrer, who not only struggles with raising a teenage daughter and a disobedient son, but now must also defend her town against the rising tide of "eight legged freaks". Other stars in the film include Scott Terra as Mike Parker, Scarlett Johansson as Ashley Parker, Doug E. Doug as conspiracy theorist Harlan Griffith and Rick Overton as Deputy Pete Willis.
Plot[]
Cast[]
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| David Arquette | Chris McCormick |
| Kari Wuhrer | Sheriff Samantha Parker |
| Scott Terra | Mike Parker |
| Scarlett Johansson | Ashley Parker |
| Doug E. Doug | Harlan Griffith |
| Rick Overton | Deputy Pete Willis |
| Leon Rippy | Mayor Wade |
| Matt Czuchry | Bret |
Supporting cast[]
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Jay Arlen Jones | Leon |
| Eileen Ryan | Gladys |
| Riley Smith | Randy |
| Matt Holwick | Larry |
| Jane Edith Wilson | Emma |
| Jack Moore | Amos |
| Roy Gainter | Floyd |
| Don Champlin | Leroy |
| John Storey | Mark |
| David Earl Waterman | Norman |
| Randi J. Klein | Waitress #1 |
| Terey Summers | Waitress #2 |
| John Ennis | Cop #1 |
| Ryan C. Benson | Cop #2 |
| Bruiser | Himself |
| Tom Noonan | Joshua Taft |
Characters[]
- Chris McCormick: Owner of the McCormick Mines; returned after 10 years abroad.
- Samantha Parker: Sheriff of Prosperity. Mother of Ashley and Mike Parker.
- Mike Parker: Child genius, spider enthusiest and son of Samantha Parker.
- Pete Willis: Town Deputy under Sheriff Samanta Parker.
- Ashley Parker: Rebellious teenage daughter of Samantha Parker.
- Harlan Griffith: Radio DJ and conspiracy theorist.
- Joshua Taft: Owner of Taft's Exotic Spider Farm.
- Wade: Ponytailed Mayor of Prosperity and owner of an ostrich farm.
- Bob Miller: Floyd's best customer; found hanging from the ceiling during the spider attack.
- Brian Parker: Sam Parker's ex-husband; punched in the face by Chris when he found out he was cheating on Sam.
- Bret: A teenage motorcycle rider and boyfriend of Ashley Parker; Stepson of Mayor Wade.
- Carol: Waitress at a restaurant who served Wade an ostrich burger.
- Gladys: The chain-smoking aunt of Chris McCormick.
- Emma Willis: Emma was the wife of Pete Willis. She left him after the incident with the cat.
- Larry: Bret's best friend; was present when Sheriff Parker stopped them for racing their motorcycles on the highway.
- Leon: Foreman at McCormick Mines. Was killed by giant spiders after re-opening the mines.
- Norman: Norman was at the Prosperity diner and later survived the attack at the mall. He was killed by a giant spider when the group moved down into the mines.
- Tammy: Tammy was Larry's girlfriend. According to Bret, the two "did it" every night.
Notes[]
- Eight Legged Freaks (2002) redirects here.
Production & Release[]
- Production on Eight Legged Freaks began on January 8th, 2001.
- Eight Legged Freaks was released on DVD in Region 1 format by Warner Home Video (widescreen and fullscreen) on October 29th, 2002. It was re-released on November 3rd, 2009.
Trivia[]
- The term "eight legged freaks" is actually used by Chris McCormick while he is on the antenna on the roof of the mall.
- Harlan Griffith makes references to Mother Teresa, Gandhi and L. Ron Hubbard in this film.
- One of the Prosperity Mall survivors dons a hockey mask and chainsaw, invoking the imagery of Jason Voorhees from the Friday the 13th film series.
- The line that Joshua Taft's parrot keeps intoning, "I see dead people", is a famous line of dialogue spoken by Haley Joel Osment's Cole Sear in the 1999 supernatural thriller The Sixth Sense.
The year in film[]
Other films that were released in 2002 include:
External Links[]
References[]
2000s; 2002; Arachnology; Arizona; Ashley Parker; Axe; Birds; Cats; Chainsaw; Chris McCormick; Cochise County; Crickets; Crossbow; Deputy; Eaten alive; Entomology; Florida; Harlan Griffith; Insects; Joshua Taft; KFRD; Ostrich; Mask; Mike Parker; Parrots; Pete Willis; Phoenix; Pitchfork; Police officer; Prosperity; Prosperity Mall; Rabbits; Radio personality; Samantha Parker; Scientist; Sheriff; Shopping mall; Shotgun; Smoking; Spiders; Stabbings; Tarantulas; Taft's Exotic Spider Farm; Truck driver; Vironanol Corporation; Waitress