Eight-legged freaks is both a comedy and some not-really-horror with a dash of romance and a big debt to the monster B-movies of the sixties.

It plays as a kind of cross between the tv-series Eerie Indiana and every small-town attacked by (birds, bats, bugs - take your pick) film that you have ever seen. You know, kid sees giant spider, no-one believes him and people start disappearing...

But for this reason it doesn't fit comfortably in any genre category and possibly this is why it was fairly unsuccessful at the box office because it couldn't easily be marketed (like Clive Barker's Nightbreed - Walt Disney meets Elm Street+Friday 13th! - really!)

However, this shouldn't distract you from it being an enormously enjoyable movie for boys (big and small) with giant bugs, shot-guns, and gallons of green spider-goo (rather than gore).

It's funny (spider attacks guy dressed up in Jason Vorhee mask), stupid (spider fights cat in wall cavity resulting in cat-shape bashed in the wall Tom and Jerry style), and whimsical (spiders make silly little noises when running and getting hurt).

The special effects are so good you'll hardly notice them (that's a compliment) and the actors make a good job of what is really a hammy script playing next to CGI.

It's not perfect, and gets a little formulaic towards the end but all in all it's a delight to see a film that enjoys itself and has obviously been made by people who love the idea of their big sister almost getting eaten by a 10ft Orb Weaver Spider....don't tell my sister.

Douglas Cartwright