Eight Legged Freaks (originally titled Arac Attack, The visual effects are provided by CFX.
The film was dedicated to the memory of several people: Lewis Arquette, father of David Arquette, who died in 2001 from heart failure, and Don Devlin and Pilar Seurat, the parents of producer Dean Devlin, who died of lung cancer in 2000 and 2001 respectively.
Filming locations
Prosperity is a fictional town in Arizona, though the film was actually shot in various locations in the state.
- The scenes inside Prosperity Mall were actually shot at Manistee Town Center, a closed mall in Glendale, Arizona. The mall was demolished a year after the shooting was completed and redeveloped; its demolition was featured in the film as a consequence of the tunnel's methane gas explosion.
- The scenes in Aunt Gladys's house in the kitchen and Gladys' basement were filmed at the Manistee Ranch in Glendale, directly adjacent to the mall itself.
- Some of the town scenes were shot in the old copper mining town of Superior, Arizona.
- The gas station scene was shot in Black Canyon City, Arizona.
Spiders used in the film
The following spiders were used in the film:
- Jumping spider
- Orb-weaver spider (Consuela & male Orb-weavers)
- Tarantula
- Trapdoor spider
- Spitting spider
- Tiger Wolf spider
Alternate credits
Alternate beginning
The alternate beginning is an extended version in which Harlan does a broadcast promoting the mall after which Norman sees Wade approaching the driver of the toxic waste barrels before having the barrels put in the basement, directly in the mines.
Alternate ending
In the alternate ending after the mines are blown up, the townsfolk walk down a road to get help. They meet up with Pete and Harlan who were walking through the desert. Pete tries to convince Harlan the spiders were not aliens. Afterward, Sam and Chris kiss as the scene ends.
Release
The teaser trailer debuted in October 2001 attached to Thirteen Ghosts, Scooby-Doo and Queen of the Damned. The film was originally going to be released on March 15, but the date was moved because of the competition of Fox's family-friendly film Ice Age.
Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 48% based on reviews from 145 critics, with an average rating of 5.44/10. The site's consensus states: "This homage to the B-movies of the '50s has a promising first half, but runs out of ideas in the second". On Metacritic the film has a score of 53% based on reviews from 32 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film a grade "B−" on scale of A to F.
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave it 3 out of 4 and wrote: "Has laughs, thrills, wit, and scary monsters, and is one of those goofy movies like Critters that kids itself and gets away with it."
Video game
A video game adaptation titled Eight Legged Freaks: Let the Squashing Begin was released in 2002 for PC and Mac.
Cancelled sequel
On January 5, 2003, the movie news website Moviehole reported that Eight Legged Freaks 2 was in development, but no additional information has come forth since then.
Home media
Eight Legged Freaks was released on VHS and on DVD in both widescreen and fullscreen edition formats on October 29, 2002. Shout! Factory released the film on Blu-ray for the first time on July 20, 2021.