History Film / EightLeggedFreaks

-->'''Chris''': (completely fed up with Harlan's insistence) ''Okay, they are spiders from Mars! Satisfied''?!?//

%%* VaporWear

* ARareSentence: When Sam makes her emergency broadcast to warn everyone, she gets to "the town is being overrun by giant spiders," and the look on her face clearly says "I can't believe I just said that" and "no one is going to take this seriously" simultaneously.

* ARareSentence: When Sam makes her emergency broadcast to warn everyone, she gets to "our town is being overrun by giant spiders," and the look on her face clearly says "I can't believe I just said that" and "no one is going to take this seriously" simultaneously.

%%* RuleOfScary

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Bret starts off as a [[AllMenArePerverts sex-obsessed]] JerkAss, but ends up as a much nicer guy and even gets back together with his girlfriend. He plays SupportStaff to the Hero. Perhaps the taser [[GroinAttack to the balls]] acted as electroshock therapy.

* KarmaHoudini: Subverted with Mayor Wade. After building a useless mall, trying to turn the town into a toxic waste dump, and locking the survivors in the mall when the spiders attack, Chris saves him, but at least his stupid mall blows up.

* KarmaHoudini: Mayor Wade. After building a useless mall, trying to turn the town into a toxic waste dump, and locking the survivors in the mall when the spiders attack, Chris saves him. At least his stupid mall blows up.

%%* GroinAttack: With a taser.

* {{Expy}}: Chris bears a few similarities to Dewey from the ''Franchise/{{Scream}}'' films, another character played by David Arquette.

* TheCavalry: After Chris initially fails to convince the authorities of the graveness of the situation via 911, a small army of cops and firemen later waltzes in just in time to... do nothing - the spiders have already been defeated by that point.

* ThisLoserIsYou: David Arquette plays Chris [=McCormick=], a well-meaning, sensitive schmuck just trying to save what's left of his hometown and pour his heart out to his high school crush. Actually a rather respectful application of the trope; he listens carefully to the ChildProdigy, and runs right to him once he gets real evidence. He never fails to fight hard for the town. Result? ''KarmicJackpot.'' The girl, after one too many CanNotSpitItOut moments, exasperatingly admits that yes, she knows he beat up her philandering husband for her, came back to town because he genuinely wants to help, that he loves her, and that she loves him back. ''And then he finds the Mother Lode and makes the entire town filthy stinking rich!'' ''(Too bad a large majority of townspeople have become spider food by that point...)''

* NeverTrustATrailer: The trailer portrayed the film as some sort of action-horror title with a lot of focus on scary parts. Cue the actual movie being a horror-comedy.

* AttackOfTheKillerWhatever: Attack of the Killer]] [[AttackOfThe50FootWhatever five-foot]] (for starters!) {{Giant Spider}}s!

** While the survivors escaping in the mine tunnels, at one point a man tosses his ''loaded crossbow'' at the sheriff so she can shoot a giant spider, while they are grouped in an enclosed space. It's unclear why he has to take the risk of tossing the crossbow in the first place rather that making the shot himself beyond TheMainCharactersDoEverything; she might have a clearer shot from her spot, but it's not evident at all.

* ArtisticLicenseGunSafety: Most people of Prosperity obviously never learned how to properly handle a loaded gun, but the mall's janitor is easily the worst offender. When he's given Lee Harvey Oswald's rifle, he constantly keeps his finger on the trigger and the gun itself pointed at whoever's currently standing in front of him. Sam has to actually push the barrel out of her face so they can talk when she turns around to him.
* [[AttackOfTheKillerWhatever Attack Of The Killer]] [[AttackOfThe50FootWhatever five-foot]] (for starters!) {{Giant Spider}}s!

''Eight Legged Freaks'' is a 2002 horror-comedy film directed by Ellory Elkayem, executive produced by [[Film/{{Stargate}} Roland]] [[Film/IndependenceDay Emmerich]], and starring Creator/DavidArquette, Creator/KariWuhrer, Creator/ScarlettJohansson and Doug E. Doug. The plot concerns a collection of spiders that are exposed to toxic waste, causing them to grow to gigantic proportions. Yeah. It's a 50s monster movie made with 21st century visual effects, and it's '''exactly''' what you're expecting.

It's set in [[Film/{{Them}} an Arizona nowhere town called "Prosperity"]] - which [[Film/DawnOfTheDead1978 just happens to have a mall, just so survivors can battle spiders with improvised weapons]]. There are mine shafts for that SurvivalHorror feel. There's even a [[ExtremeSportExcusePlot scene where jumping spiders chase dirt bikers]]. Get some popcorn and watch spiders gobble bystanders and get squished by the heroes! NarmCharm!

* FunnyBackgroundEvent: during the rush to the mall after the spiders ZergRush, one man can be seen doing GoodOlFisticuffs with a spider, which then proceeds to beat him to a pulp with funny sound effects if you are listening closely.

* GroinAttack: With a taser.

* RuleOfScary

* TeenPregnancy: Creator/KariWuhrer was 35 at the time of filming, but her character, Sheriff Samantha Parker, doesn't really look the part. It gets some explanation when her teenage daughter Ashley (played by then-18-years-old Scarlett Johansson) reveals during an argument between them that Sam got pregnant with her at age 16.

* SpiderSwarm: Par for the course.