Empire of the Ants

The audio in Empire of the Ants is infuriating to the point of being nigh unwatchable. But on mute? By jingo you might just be onto something there.

Final rating:★★ - Had some things that appeal to me, but a poor finished product.

Despondent strangers are thrust into a life-or-death fight near the Everglades

A vixen selling questionable swamp land by the ocean in southeastern Florida (Joan Collins) leads a tour of potential buyers suddenly assaulted by colossal ants, evidently altered due to (what else?) radioactive waste.

"Empire of the Ants” (1977) may have been inspired by HG Wells’ short story, but it wasn’t based on it at all. It’s basically “Them!” (1954) set in the Everglades in living color two decades later and therefore more akin to “Frogs” (1972). The milieu of cynical people struggling to survive in the Florida bog fighting sci-fi jungle creatures reminded me of Steve Gerber’s Man-Thing comics from 1973-1975.

To give an idea of what to expect, it was made by the director of “The Food of the Gods” (1976), “Earth vs the Spider” (1958) and “Village of the Giants” (1965), although it lacks the goofiness of the latter.

Pamela Susan Shoop is a highlight on the female front, along with Brooke Palance (Jack’s daughter). Meanwhile stalwart Robert Lansing’s acting range consists of grim and slightly less grim. John David Carson and Robert Pine are also on hand (Robert is, incidentally, Chris Pine’s father).

The seriousness is appreciated, but I found the first hour relatively dull, maybe because the melancholy characters are lifeless (initially, at least). Thankfully, everything perks up in the last act for some unexpected happenings. I’m not going to give anything away.

Shooting in remote swampland naturally proved challenging. Proper restrooms were half an hour away by speedboat, which meant an hour delay if the women simply had to go to the bathroom. Joan complained about having to do the boat capsize scene in alligator-infested waters due to a delay in the arrival of their stunt doubles (who would lose the work). But she agreed to do it because the director was starting to describe her as “difficult” and she didn’t want to lose future work being pigeonholed as a prima donna. Despite being a bit of a mess, Pamela stressed that it was a fun shoot.

The film runs 1 hour, 29 minutes, and was shot in Belle Glade, Florida, just south of Lake Okeechobee, with the coastal scenes done at Jensen Beach, an hour’s drive northeast, which is just south of Fort Pierce. So we’re talking about the general region north of the Fort Lauderdale/Miami area.

GRADE: B-/C+