"8-Legged Freaks" - accuracy?

[abstract]

Allright - so my no longer new-found spider obsession has resulted in me renting and watching the absolutely cheezy David Arquette horror movie known as "8-Legged Freaks" - just to see the bugs.

The opening scene had me hooked, before the spiders became CG graphics - pinktoes running around and the like....Overall, not a TERRIBLE movie - kept me entertained.

To all you that have seen it, how accurate did you think it seemed? Most of the spiders didn't have any too unrealistic powers (other than the "screaming" they would do when shot, burned, or jumped etc...) I did question one of the spiders that flung web at it's victims - it appeared to come out it's mouth, but upon closer inspection I thought it was actually kicking the web off it's spinnerets with its back legs. Can't some spiders do that?

Anyway - if you've seen it, what did you think?

 

[Professor T]

Originally posted by abstract
Allright - so my no longer new-found spider obsession has resulted in me renting and watching the absolutely cheezy David Arquette horror movie known as "8-Legged Freaks" - just to see the bugs.

The opening scene had me hooked, before the spiders became CG graphics - pinktoes running around and the like....Overall, not a TERRIBLE movie - kept me entertained.

To all you that have seen it, how accurate did you think it seemed? Most of the spiders didn't have any too unrealistic powers (other than the "screaming" they would do when shot, burned, or jumped etc...) I did question one of the spiders that flung web at it's victims - it appeared to come out it's mouth, but upon closer inspection I thought it was actually kicking the web off it's spinnerets with its back legs. Can't some spiders do that?

Anyway - if you've seen it, what did you think?

I thought the movie rocked. The scene with the guy getting bit on the back by the T was great, and then falling into the other glass tanks and releasing all the other T's ...reminded me of Tom Green in Road Trip with the python.

It was very accurate, as we have spiders that big that chase people on motorcycles in my neighborhood.

 

[skadiwolf]

waaaaaaaaahahahhaaa...(falls out of chair)

dude, i want to see a pic of T herders on motorcycles. i must, i must!

 

[invertepet]

Needless to say, the movie wasn't terribly accurate. I usually like camp in a film, but this was a BIG 'leap' of the imagination. Not just the idea that spiders would mutate into gigantic things, but how they would bark like dogs when chasing cars, and make anthropomorphized noises like mewling and growling. The 'pre mutant' spiders were shown doing pretty unrealistic stuff, as well.

Overall, I didn't care for it. There were maybe two scenes in all I was interested in - the rest were so cliche that it seemed like they just substituted spiders when they could've been using just about any computer generated beasties...

No big deal, as I'm sure most won't be checking 8LF out as a documentary per se, but anyone looking for accuracy there would be a bit disappointed.

bill

 

[Immortal_sin]

Re: Re: "8-Legged Freaks" - accuracy?

Originally posted by Professor T

It was very accurate, as we have spiders that big that chase people on motorcycles in my neighborhood.

yep, so do we, but since none of us own Kawasakis, we are able to actually get away from them heheheeh!

 

[Arachnopuppy]

Before the movie, I had no idea that avics could kill a person in that manner. I also had no idea that the jumping spiders could actually continuously jumping like that without resting. The best part of all, I had no idea that spiders can work together like that, with the giant avic acting as the bulldozer while the others acting as soldiers, instead of trying to kill each other off like the way we observe them in nature.

Oh, by the way, was that an avic that jumped on the bird at the beginning?

 

[Grael]

Originally posted by lam
Before the movie, I had no idea that avics could kill a person in that manner. I also had no idea that the jumping spiders could actually continuously jumping like that without resting. The best part of all, I had no idea that spiders can work together like that, with the giant avic acting as the bulldozer while the others acting as soldiers, instead of trying to kill each other off like the way we observe them in nature.

Oh, by the way, was that an avic that jumped on the bird at the beginning?

yea its stupid, the fact the spiders work together ,and actually seem to "talk" to eachother even from differant species........

 

[Mojo Jojo]

This was absolutely positively one of the worst movies that I have ever watched! It was horrible! It was wretched! I don't even like thinking about it! ARGH!

Jon

I hate campy! (Tollerable if in a movie theatre and involves 3-D glasses)

AAAARGHHH!!!

 

[Action Jackson]

The acutal movie title, if I remember, wasn't even hyphonated, meaning that it was actually about eight freaks who each have at least one leg, instead of any number of freaks who each happen to have eight legs.

If the masterminds behind the film won't figure out how to write "Eight-Legged Freaks" without looking like idiots, I doubt they'd take the time to learn about spider behavior.

 

[Mendi]

I thought the movie was pretty hilarious mostly, and the spiders were helped out by one of our own certified arachnodealers Darrin Vernier or gphx of Golden Phoenix Exotica. He happened to be the spider wrangler/consultant for the movie

 

[Tranz]

Originally posted by invertepet
but how they would bark like dogs when chasing cars, and make anthropomorphized noises like mewling and growling.
bill

Yes.

 

[abstract]

maybe not the most accurate....

Allright - so now that you point it out there was a good amount of unrealism, endurance, etc. I was just happy none of them were spitting flames out of their fangs or anything of the like.

Those trapdoor spiders looked cool in that movie though - if they are even remotely similar to that in reality - I would be interested.....

 

[partsman]

entertainingly corny, i saw it just as i was getting into spiders i was shocked to see how big they got! lol.

 

[Arachnopuppy]

One thing that they never explained. In reality, exoskeletons cannot support such big creatures. The surface area would increase by an exponent of 2 while the volume would increase by an exponent of 3. In other words, those spiders should have crumbled on their own weight.

Oh, considering that their body volume had increased tramatically, how did they supply themselves with enough oxygen? Booklungs can't do that much work.

 

[ithuriel]

i thought the movie was very realistic , so realistic in fact i went down to my local T store and enquired about buying such beasties they said they could not get any in just yet but i have been given a nice one bed apartment , the colours a bit dull though being all white , plus ive got some nifty new strap on pyjamas and a butler who gives me free drugs;P who,d a thought it

 

[Arachnopuppy]

Originally posted by ithuriel
i thought the movie was very realistic , so realistic in fact i went down to my local T store and enquired about buying such beasties they said they could not get any in just yet but i have been given a nice one bed apartment , the colours a bit dull though being all white , plus ive got some nifty new strap on pyjamas and a butler who gives me free drugs;P who,d a thought it

What the hell are you talking about?:? :?

 

[Steve Nunn]

Someone menioned Darrin from Golden Phoenix Exotica was involved in this film. I'd jus like to say in no way does this movie reflect Darrin's expertise, he's one of the best dealers out there, knows his stuff and is one of the few dealers (other then Bill S. and Kelly) actively involved with the keeping community. I know Darrin quite well and he'll get on a level with anybody in the hobby.

Steve

 

[abstract]

Originally posted by ithuriel
i thought the movie was very realistic , so realistic in fact i went down to my local T store and enquired about buying such beasties they said they could not get any in just yet but i have been given a nice one bed apartment , the colours a bit dull though being all white , plus ive got some nifty new strap on pyjamas and a butler who gives me free drugs;P who,d a thought it

Call me crazy - but I think this is an implication that after watching this movie that was "realistic" you were in fact locked up in a mental institution, and you believe that one of the wardens is your butler..... (Which of course you have internet access in in order to post....<technicalities>)

I like it.

 

[Professor T]

16 Thumbs Up

Originally posted by lam
One thing that they never explained. In reality, exoskeletons cannot support such big creatures. The surface area would increase by an exponent of 2 while the volume would increase by an exponent of 3. In other words, those spiders should have crumbled on their own weight.

Oh, considering that their body volume had increased tramatically, how did they supply themselves with enough oxygen? Booklungs can't do that much work.

During the Carboniferous period, there were much larger arachnids than there are today. This is because there was a higher concentration of oxygen in the atmosphere which made large size possible for an open circulatory system. The mutagen that made the spiders large, also served to mutate the dorsal contactile heart into an eight chambered heart, with the hemocoel mutating into some of those chambers. The eight chambered heart is twice as effective as the four chambered mammalian heart at powering blood containing oxygen, and getting rid of waste. This is why those spiders had boundless jumping energy. The book lungs mutated into Encyclopedia Britanica Lungs.

The exoskeleton was not only able to support the weight, but have it move as fast as a motorcycle, because of the biophysics of the muscle attachment internal to the skeleton, gives any arthropod great strength for their size. If anything, the movie understated their strength. I own this movie and watch it once a week with my tarantulas. My G. pulchra and my B. smithi give it 16 thumbs up. My G. rosea thought it had poor editing, and was too choppy. The Rose Hair is more mature.

 

[skadiwolf]

(grin) wow, have they heard the 'pedipalps of love' song? man, my G. rosea LOVED that!

that's really interesting. where can you find more information on that kind of thing? i find stuff like that absolutely fascinating.

when i was young i had an abject obsession with dinosaurs. when we went to the Smithsonian, i got dinosaurs. when i asked for toys, they were dinosaurs. i had this AWESOME set with one of (most) every dinosaur and it came with little pools you could fill with water (much like the 'stone' shallow dishes of today, but plastic). you also got little plastic palm trees and bushes. i would make a convenient landscape on my lovely sand-brown carpet and put them into little herds, etc. the herding dinosaurs you got more of...the solitary hunters, etc. you only got one of...

for the longest time, smilodon, diplodicus, armadon, and eggh, the little small guy with the huge 'fin' on his back were my favorites.

...ahem. :8o now that i've bored you all hideously, i'll shyly creep away...