Eight Legged Freaks

A chemical spill near a small mining town contaminates the water and sets off a chain reaction. In one version of the story, an entomologist has been feeding his exotic spiders on insects from the polluted pond; in another, toxic waste gets into the feed on a spider farm. Either way, the spiders grow at an alarming rate, reaching enormous size, and soon the townspeople are under attack. Mining engineer Chris McCormick and Sheriff Samantha Parker, whose relationship predates the crisis, organize a resistance. They are helped by a paranoid radio announcer, the sheriff's children, and a handful of other locals, including her arachnid-obsessed son. The film follows their efforts to survive and stop the creatures from spreading far beyond the town.

Eight Legged Freaks was released in 2002 and runs 99 minutes. It was directed by Ellory Elkayem, who wrote the screenplay with Jesse Alexander, and produced by Bruce Berman and Dean Devlin. The cast is led by David Arquette as Chris, Kari Wuhrer as Samantha, Doug E. Doug as Harlan Griffith, and Scarlett Johansson as Ashley Parker, with Rick Overton and Matt Czuchry among the credited players; 25 cast members and 141 crew are credited.

Elkayem's first feature, made on a budget of 30 million dollars, it went on to take about 46 million dollars worldwide. Audiences rate it modestly, at 5.5 on IMDb from 63,000 votes and 5.8 on TMDB from 1,391 votes, and critics' reviews land at the same 5.5 average.