Insects play a vital role in the ecosystem. Ants play an essential role in horror and sci-fi films: to terrify audiences. Ants are everywhere. In fact, ants are the most common residential pest in the US. Once these insects find their way into your home, they search out a food source. Upon finding one, ants won’t leave. Although tiny, ants can be scary looking. Tales of their incredible strength and, in some parts of the world, poisonous bite, frightens people. Is it any surprise that marauding ants star in cult movies?
Phase IV
The notorious poster for Phase IV (1974) depicts a dying hand with an ant crawling through a gaping hole in the palm. And this was a PG-rated film. The movie’s title refers to the “cosmic event” that kicked in evolutionary processes in ants. The insects become smart and more resilient. Strangely, the ants are creating geometric objects in the desert. When a scientific team goes to investigate, they discover the ants possess advanced intelligence and even more aggression. An investigative team out to study the ants finds itself facing the wrath of the ants.
Them!
Them! (1954) stands as an all-time classic science-fiction film. The New Mexico desert provides the setting for the film, a movie featuring gigantic, 8-foot ants. The ants mutated due to nuclear tests in the desert. Them! packs a powerful impact not only due to the terrifying look of the monstrous ants but also from the feature’s themes. Them! serves as a metaphor for the incredible dangers of nuclear weapons.
Empire Of The Ants
Based on a short story by H. G. Wells, Empire of the Ants (1977) also depicts giant ants attacking humans. Toxic waste, not nuclear fallout, creates the mutated insects. The film features Joan Collins before she became a star on the TV series Dynasty. Producer Bert I. Gordon made several fan-favorite horror/sci-fi films in the 1950s. With this film, he combined the “giant monster on the loose” subgenre with a survival-adventure tale.
The Naked Jungle
A mass of ants attacks a cocoa plantation and threatens the very lives of the humans on the land. Starring Charlton Heston, The Naked Jungle (1954) presents the threat of rampaging ants in such a plausible manner that the feature isn’t a fantasy outing. Unlike other “ants attack” films, the audience gets the feeling that the events in The Naked Jungle could happen. Legendary sci-fi filmmaker George Pal served as producer.
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