The Empire Of The Ants — The Empire Of The Ants(Blu Ray)
The sub-genre of killer ant movies runs to about twenty or so titles. One of the more well-known is probably 1977’s The Empire Of The Ants, and while it’s far from the best the genre had to offer, either in effects, tension, or originality. There’s a rather campy charm to the whole thing, with moments of insect dread/ unease, a few neat enough set pieces, dabs of gore, and a rewarding twist into sci-fi/conspiratorial thriller. It regards a silver-tongued and glamorously real estate agent- played by Joan Collins- trying to sell plots of land in a new development, whose party is attacked by giant ants. Here from Eurkea is a Blu-ray release of the film, featuring an HD scan, two commentaries, and a few other extras.
The Empire Of The Ants ( aka H.G. Wells' Empire of the Ants ) was directed by one of the kings of schlocky horror/sci-fi, Bert I. Gordon. The Kenosha, Wisconsin-born filmmaker took on writing, directing, and producing credits on around seventy pictures. His directorial work included the likes of giant focused sic-fi action The Amazing Colossal Man (1957), giant arachnid horror The Spider (1958), sword and sorcery fantasy The Magic Sword (1962), and cheap ‘n’ sleazy crime-action The Mad Bomber (1973).
The film opens with pre-credit footage of a group of ants tearing up & carrying a large yellow leaf- as Mr. voice-over man talks about how impressive the insects are, and in particular how they are all controlled by the use of pheromone- do keep note of this point, as it becomes relevant in the film's final quarter.
Anyway, as the credits roll, we see a group of people in very noticeable red hazmat suits dumping barrels of toxic waste over the side of a boat into the - how do we know it’s toxic, well it’s written all over them in bright red paint. Anyway, these wash ashore on a beach- leaking silver liquid that the ants run into.
Next, we’re at a harborside meeting where our lead character, Marilyn Fryser (Collins), is arranging a boat trip out to a plot of land she bought, hoping to build a home/ leisure complex on. Sailing the craft is sullen, bearded, and single-earringed Dan(Robert Lansing). With denim-suited Charlie ( Edward Power) playing Marilyn's younger boyfriend/ PA/ general Dogsbody.
Joining the trip, we have a selection of characters - taking in middle-aged/ wanting to spend her severance money wisely, Margaret(Jacqueline Scott). Off-hand/ shades wearing/ sleazy touchy-feely Larry ( Andrew Pine), blond/ having just enough money to pay for a cab, Coreen (Pamela Susan Shoop), and beige-suited/ not what he seems pretty boy Joe (John David Carson), and an older couple- who’ve just come along for a free trip/ food/ drink.
The boat lands, and of course, just up the coast a bit is where the now rusted toxic waste barrel is sitting. The group start having nibbles and drinks, but we keep getting split circle POV’s of something watching them- with a sinister buzzing/ clicking soundscape on top.
It takes, I guess, around twenty or so minutes for the giant ants to turn up- they are a mix of superimposed/enlarged footage of real ants, and cow-sized giant ant puppets- which are often shown via very shaky camera work. The best/ most effective moments of the giant creatures are when they are shown from a distance- for example, we get footage of them walking along a pier, crawling over a large shed, and walking along the side of a pyramid-like storage building. When they attack, we do get some blood thrown into the violent jerking attacks- though there’s nothing too extreme/ nasty. I’d say the film works best with the ant POV moments, and hearing their knocking/ chattering sounds from a distance away.
The acting is, well, pretty much what you’d expect for this type of thing- i.e., not great, but not awfully bad. Collins plays her usual type of role and is fine.
The first three quarters of the film play out pretty much how you expect, though it’s final run/ resolve is quite neat- bringing in conspiracy thriller and creepy/ crawling sci-fi elements into the film.
I’d say The Empire of the Ants is just ok/ largely entertaining. On the less positive side, we have some serious pacing issues, moments where not a lot seems to be going on, and less great effects/ superimposing, which, of course, is even more highlighted by the new HD.
The HD scan featured on the disc is good, really enhancing the brighter 70’s tones and colours, as well as the moments of blood. Though, as just mentioned, it does unfortunately highlight some of the cheaper effects.
On the new extras side, we have two things. An introduction to Empire of the Ants by Chris Cooke, filmmaker and co-director of Mayhem Film Festival (7.00). He moves from talking about seeing the film as a twelve-year-old, discussing why he loves the film so much, and touches on Bert I. Gordon's other creature feature films. (18.14), which finds author/ genre expert Kim Newman discussing the career of Bert I. Gordon. He moves from talking about how he’s a true auteur, discussing his full filmography, and chatting about the clunky effects/ludicrous props. We find out he died at the age of 100, with his last credit being in 2015 with Secrets of a Psychopath.
On the archive side, we have two commentary tracks- one with writer, director and producer Bert I. Gordon. And one with the writer, director and producer Bert I. Gordon. There’s a radio spot and an original trailer.
The finished version of this release comes with a booklet featuring new writing on Empire of the Ants and ecological horror by genre film expert Liam Hathaway.
For fans of giant killer ants, Joan Collins, and a mix of 1970’s camp ‘n’ dread. This new Eurkea release features a bright and bold scan, and a decent selection of extras.