LEGS AND CO: Spiders on film

Spider-Man got his powers from genetically engineered arachnids in Marvel blockbuster Homecoming (8pm, Sky Premiere). Here are a few more on-screen spider shows…

Arachnophobia (1990) A rare and highly venomous breed of spider sets up home in a small California town after hitching a ride there from the Amazon rainforest. After it mates with a domestic spider, its offspring have a deadly bite – and it’s Jeff Daniels’s phobic doctor (above) who must overcome his fear to destroy the nest and stop the threat from spreading. James And The Giant Peach

(1996) Thankfully, not all spiders are nasty. In this adaptation of Roald Dahl’s 1961 book, Miss Spider (left, voiced by Susan Sarandon), Mr Centipede and Glowworm are three of the friendly arthropod inhabitants of a flying peach, helping young orphan James to find a new home.

Eight Legged Freaks (2002) A bigger-budget horror comedy in a similar vein to cheap and nasty monster movies such as Arachnoquake

(2012) and Lavalantula (2015). Toxic waste exposure makes a range of spider species grow to gigantic size, and also develop a terrifying need to feast on human prey.

Charlotte’s Web (2006)

Hankies at the ready. This adaptation of the classic

1952 children’s novel by E.B. White follows a kindly barn spider called Charlotte, who helps to save pig Wilbur (right) from the butcher’s block.