|
|
|
A DVD Review of...
  
Images (C) Warner Bros. |
Genre: Sci-Fi/Comedy
Cast: David Arquette, Kari Wuhrer, Scott Terra, Scarlett Johansson, Doug E. Doug
Synopsis: The residents of a rural mining town discover that an unfortunate chemical spill has caused hundreds of little spiders to mutate overnight to the size of SUVs. It’s up to mining engineer Chris McCormack (David Arquette) and Sheriff Sam Parker (Kari Wuhrer) to mobilize an eclectic group of townspeople into battle against the bloodthirsty eight-legged beasts. With state-of-the-art visual effects, Eight Legged Freaks updates such inspired genre classics as Them and Black Scorpion into a terrifyingly fun experience.
Film Review: Despite having one of the worst set-up first acts of any monster movie in history, ELF does redeem itself slightly towards its middle when for a few minutes the wild FX-filled comedy proves to be what it sets out to be - a wacky tribute to the totally B-grade cheesy monster movies of the 50's. However it's all too brief a respite from the otherwise disappointing effort from Kiwi helmer Ellory Elkayem. This lacks both the laughs and chills that you can find in superior films like "Arachnophobia", and surprisingly for its first thirty minutes feels like a bad student film as proceedings move with such a deliberately tired and predictable pace your saying "bring on the giant spiders already". When they do start bringing them in though, it involves lame visual gags at first (such as a cat/spider fight in a couple's walls), then follows that with a sequence involving 'jumping spiders' which is freaky at the start but as the logistics of the scene play out the threat is gone as it feels so artifical (the critters can jump vast distances yet always see to be just one metre behind a kid on a motor bike).
The spiders themselves are so animated they aren't particularly creepy at all, especially the bigger they get the less and less of a threat they seem. Some of the opening scenes with the normal sized creepy crawlies in the spider farm shop are far more spine tingling than the larger FX creations to come. Its only in the middle section as the residents flee to a shopping mall for cover that things turn for the better. In a film which seemed to go out of its way to be polite and politically correct at first it comes as a surprise to see some rather violent bloodthirsty action as the creatures pounce, rip open car doors and leap onto their victims with real savagery. A linking with an underground mine subplot stretches credibility but it leads to the inevitable showdown with the single big mama spider which is odd because it completely defies the logic of the setup (which had many spiders of different types all being affected by the growth).
Wuhrer is a likable female lead in a pseudo-Linda Hamilton style tough girl role and whilst its fun seeing Arquette in a darker and more serious tone than usual, even he struggles with some painful dialogue. Both however are well chosen for such weak material and for the most part are convincing throughout. The rest of the cast from the idiotic sheriff to the over-paranoid radio announcer are so annoying your glad when the spiders come for them, and one wonders why the talented Scarlett Johanssen ever agreed to be a part of this tripe. The score and FX are fine but so much more could've been done with a better script and a more savage satirical tone in regards to those old B-movies, instead we've got a very kiddie-safe, almost animated disaster movie. Video rental at best. - Garth Franklin
"Eight Legged Freaks"
DVD Details In Brief (Region 1)
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 99mins
Versions: 16:9 Enhanced Widescreen, 4:3 Letterboxed
Aspect Ratio: 2.35: 1
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
Language & Sub-Titles: English, Spanish, French
Audio: Commentary Track by Director Ellroy Elkayem, Producer Dean Devlin, Actors David Arquette & Rick Overton.
Clips: Additional Scenes, "Larger than Life" Short Film, Trailer
Other: Insect Movie Essay, Filmographies
Region 1 vs. Region 4: No Region 4 Available. |
 |
DVD Review: A simple music-backed menu is slightly unsettling which helps with this ulra-fast DVD release of the spider comedy which considering its box-office flaying is no surprise. Things must have been pushed fast through Warners Home Video to get this baby out so quick and it shows. The transfer is quite ordinary - despite some good use of colour and blacks, the video suffers from not only quite a bit of grain but edge enhancement too. Audio is better with a very interesting surround sound mix which does make arachnophobics like myself a little nervous, though the dialogue seems a little canned at times. The commentary is kind of different - they at least don't take any of it seriously except maybe Elkayem whose kind of nervous throughout. Arquette and Overton are only there to have fun, same with Devlin whose got some good stories and knows his material which the other two expand on to give us a some good laughs.
"Addiitonal Scenes" is 13-minutes of new segments in rough quality video including what happened to the toxic waste truck driver, more character growth scenes such as David Arquette visiting his dad's grave to the kid finding stuff that adults seem to ignore and a visit into the creature's lair. There's also a somewhat dumb alternate ending where the townsfolk walk down an empty highway. "Larger than Life" is Ellroy Elkayem's 12-minute New Zealand short film which was what brought him to the attention of Dean Devlin and co. who then recruited him for this. Its a testament to that in many ways as this cheesy over the top B&W flick about a woman whose house is suffering from a giant spider problem is actually a better satire than 'Eight' is with its much bigger budget.
"Creepy Crawly Giants" is a short essay but a good reference for some of the most famous B-Grade monster movies of the 50's and 60's which this film is obviously satiring such as "Them", "The Deadly Mantis" and "Tarantula". Simple animations of the arachnids cross the screen regularly and if you manage to select one it'll give you some detail on a specific type of spider. Finally there's the fun but short teaser trailer and rather standard filmography lists for some of the cast and crew. There's some good stuff here for fans but that's about it. - Garth Franklin
 .
|
|
|
|
|
|
