IT CAME FROM THE DESERT (2017)

IT CAME FROM THE DESERT (2017)

This movie was inspired by a cult classic video game called IT CAME FROM THE DESERT. Imagine that. So at some point, the people that named this movie decided to get really creative and call the movie the same thing they called the video game.  The movie’s plot is probably just as simplistic as the game. In this one, we have some giant mutated ants grown to giant size after some crazy damn scientist’s spliced tarantula DNA with alien DNA. Yep…according to this movie, that’s how you get ants. IF you want to have any SCI-FI tribute to the ’50s, you need to have some crazy damn scientist’s around doing stupid things or you just won’t get very far. Anyway, this is all going on in some rural area in New Mexico so of course, all the dudes in this have motocross bikes. You can’t kill giant ants with bikes though, so after Brian’s soon-to-be girlfriend “Lisa” is captured by giant ants it’s time to find some experimental weapons to take em down.

Unlike a lot of sci-fi flicks that land themselves in straight to video central, IT CAME FROM THE DESERT is actually loaded with some pretty funny dialog. If the movie doesn’t have your style of humor, at least it does have some car-sized mutant ants, like I said before, so you have that at least. How can you go wrong? The movie even mentions the “THEM!” project, which is a nod to the 1954 movie also about giant ants. That movie also takes place in New Mexico.

Effects wise the far shots look pretty weak when it comes to the ants, but a few of the close-up shots are decent. We also get some pretty bad editing particularly in a scene near the end. The movie also overplays the lead actor's attachment to a movie character called “The Eradicator”. Acting-wise no one is winning an Oscar here, but you could do worse Vanessa Grasse (who plays Lisa) is pretty good in this and both Alex Mills and Harry Lister Smith are likable enough. The camera work is iffy, so don't expect to have your mind blown here either.  

I am not going to say this thing is as good as EIGHT LEGGED FREAKS because it falls short of that, but it is a pleasant surprise somewhere in the same range as INFESTATION. I also should warn you that you might have to like the song “River Phoenix” buy Santa Cruz because they play that freakin thing like 20 times during the movie. By the way, the band isn’t from New Mexico, their Finnish.

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