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| Poster. |
Although this film is essentially about an invasion of giant ants, it is in fact far better than you might think. Sure enough the large rubber ants are cheesy and over the top but the story, theme and the acting make this film a very gripping and enjoyable watch.
Set during a time when the threat of nuclear bombs seemed imminent and no one really knew what the effects of radiation would have on people (or ants), this film is all about entering into the fearful abyss. The threat of atomic bombs and the paranoia surrounding new technology created an air of the fearful and ominous 'unknown', in the 1950s this scary new step into the atomic age was here personified by giant ants. The opening to the film is scary and eerie even by today's standards, it starts when two police men find a caravan in a remote stretch of desert. The caravan has been torn apart from the inside, they then find a little girl who is wondering the desert all alone, her face is wide eyed and staring and she is unable to speak. The police realize she is in shock and take her away to get help.
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| Her doll is dead |
In the 50s this was a far more terrifying experience, especially when we learn that the cause of the horror is back ground radiation from the first atomic bomb. As with a lot of films of this era there is a heavy focus on the military who are called upon to fight the ants, this movie wasn't long after the war and so it would have been a popular theme to have soldiers fighting monsters in an attempt to 'save America'. This has become steadily less of an occurrence in film today as the army are seen less as a defensive and more as an invading force who are violent and greedy (Avatar is a god example of this) but in this movie there's no oil to be had just a nest of large and dangerous killers.
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| The army enter the ant nest |
Once the first nest has been destroyed it seems like the threat is eliminated, until the scientist points out that the queen ants (or flying ants) will have flown across the country and started new ant nests. It then takes a lot of searching and a lot of gun power to save America and the world from the ants. The first half of this film is definitely better than the second and many of the initial opening scenes set in the desert hold an air of creepy and unknown danger made all the more suspenseful by the strange sound the ants make. This eerie noise echos across the desert and serves as a warning that the ants are near by.
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| You must be joking! |
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| We're not going down there! |
Perhaps not as famous as some other atomic age monster movies, e.g. Tarantula, this one is is still definitely worth a watch. I found that when I saw this film it was incredibly immersive and despite being rather dated it never became dull or boring. All in all it's a pretty good SciFi classic that is engaging but unsurprising, does what is says on the tin.
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