Oh my god, the tarantula... but what really scared me when I was a kid was the dread sense he feels when he is small enough to fit through that small fence, and starts wondering where will it end. What an existential horror.

The Vincent Price one is probably the most faithful to the book, but it seems like done on a severe budget with no passion. Probably a product of its time, as you say.

The Charlton Heston one is the most different. Basically, the "new people" are mostly proto-goth vampire/zombie mishmash. Mr. Rifle shoots them from a car while driving. Very forgettable.

I may be a little rude on the 2007 one, but all Will Smith movies feel the same to me. This one deserved to be better, but the end is so disappointing.