EMPIRE OF THE ANTS (1977)

EMPIRE OF THE ANTS (1977)

Tagline: For they shall inherit the earth…sooner than you think!

(Horror, SciFi, Giant Ants Will Eat Your Face) [PG] 

Oh my God! They're herding us like cattle!

In this one, a shady realtor named Marily Fryser (played by Joan Collins) tries to sell crumby land to some potential investors in Florida. Not long after arriving in the area the group she has with her discovers the whole freakin place has been taking over by giant ants. This group of ants however aren’t just out to kill you…they have a mission. 

So interestingly this movie claimed to be the work of H.G. Wells, but barely resembled anything he did. Director Bert I. Gordon worked on THE FOOD OF THE GODS, VILLAGE OF THE GIANTS, KING DINOSAUR, and WAR OF THE COLOSSAL BEAST among dozens of other films. Some of which were pretty jacked out. This one regarding the effects is rough as heck when you are looking at anything far away. They just took footage of real ants and blew it up in some cases which actually at times looks more out of place and lame than if they had just done this all with guys in ant-suits. 

The acting is actually pretty decent. Pamela Susan Shoop (who played Karen in HALLOWEEN II) is pretty solid but was given a pretty goofy script. Joan Collins is perfectly recidivous as Marily but set against the weirdness of the film's plot as the movie moves along, she actually seems more and more normal. Everyone else is pretty good as well, but unfortunately, the script includes a completely out-of-context and weird near-rape scene which detracts from the larger story completely.

I love older giant anything movies, terrible effects and all, but there are parts of this movie that didn’t sit well with me not because they were shocking or terrifying, but because they were just so terribly written and took away from the flow of the film. There are even a few scenes where there seems to be zero conclusion at all as to what happened with ant-x was chasing person-x or person-x was trapped etc. 

What did work to an extent was the crazy twist that is strangely given away in the previews and hinted at in the opening scene, but still gives this movie more than just a straightforward plot. I also actually liked the giant ant props in regards to looks. They were actually well designed. I guess the actors hated them though, and Collins even complained about them scratching her. 

Overall this thing lands at a 3 out of 7 for me. If you are doing a “giant ants will eat your face” marathon, this should be part of that, but it’s not a movie executed either so badly that it’s good, or worthy of being called a must-see even for crazy sci-fi fans like myself. 

GRAPHICS ARE THE PROPERTY OF AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL PICTURES AND ARE USED FOR REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY.  

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