With The Amazing Spider-Man 2 spinning its way into theaters, it's a good time to count down our favorite horror-movie spiders.
8. Arachnid (2001)
A South Pacific island is the source of a deadly virus -- and also the new home for a giant spider with a thirst for blood.
7. Tarantula (1955)
The great Jack Arnold directed this tale of scientific experiments gone wrong, producing a tarantula that grows at an astounding rate. When the tarantula is released into the wild, it quickly develops a taste for flesh. An uncredited Clint Eastwood makes an appearance as a jet pilot.
6. The Fly (1958)
A mysterious murder leads to the revelation that a research scientist has been experimenting with matter transference. Unfortunately, he experimented on himself, with disastrous results, eventually leading to a terrifying encounter on a spider web.
5. Big Ass Spider! (2013)
The military accidently unleashes a giant spider from space upon the unwary citizenry of Los Angeles. It's up to an exterminator and his best friend to save the City of Angels before it becomes the City of Spiders.
4. Kingdom of the Spiders (1977)
William Shatner stars as a veterinarian in a small town in Arizona that has been inundated with tarantulas. It seems that the tarantulas are reacting to the use of pesticides that have killed off their natural food supply. What's a tarantula to do but eat animals and humans?
3. Eight Legged Freaks (2002)
Arizona must be cursed! In another small town in Arizona, a toxic waste spill infects a spider farm, causing the arachnids to grow to unusual size and develop big appetites for tasty people.
2. Arachnophobia (1990)
South America is the source of a deadly spider that is accidentally transported to California, where it mates with a native and gives birth to a new generation of fearsome, eight-legged terrors. A doctor who is afraid of spiders (Jeff Daniels) must overcome his fear to save his family and the town.
1. The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957)
A man begins shrinking, eventually being reduced to a size where an ordinary household insect strikes fear in his heart and requires a life-and-death battle to survive. The effects may be dated, but the premise by writer Richard Matheson -- and the execution here, under the direction of Jack Arnold -- remains absolutely spellbinding.
