Empire of the Ants (1977)

Con artist Marilyn Fryser tries to sell bogus real estate deals in an area overrun by giant ants.

Director:

Bert I. Gordon

Writers:

H.G. Wells (story), Jack Turley (screenplay)

Stars:

Joan Collins, Robert Lansing, John David Carson

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Joan Collins	...	Marilyn Fryser
Robert Lansing	...	Dan Stokely
John David Carson	...	Joe Morrison
Albert Salmi	...	Sheriff Art Kincade
Jacqueline Scott	...	Margaret Ellis
Pamela Susan Shoop	...	Coreen Bradford (as Pamela Shoop)
Robert Pine	...	Larry Graham
Edward Power	...	Charlie Pearson
Brooke Palance	...	Christine Graham
Tom Fadden	...	Sam Russell
Irene Tedrow	...	Velma Thompson
Harry Holcombe	...	Harry Thompson
Jack Kosslyn	...	Thomas Lawson
Ilse Earl	...	Mary Lawson
Janie Gavin	...	Ginny

Storyline

Sleazy scam artist Joan Collins tries to sell phony real estate deals down in the Florida everglades. What she and her unsuspecting buyers don't know is the area has been taken over by giant ants!

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Plot Keywords:

giant ant | ant | when animals attack | cult film | formicary | 

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Taglines:

It's no picnic!

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Genres:

Adventure | Horror | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was the third Bert I. Gordon movie to claim to be based on the works of H.G. Wells. In actuality, all movies have little-to-no relation to their source material. This was also the eighth Gordon movie to deal with the subject of giant monsters.

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Goofs

Near the end of the movie during the ant attack in the sugar refinery, Joan Collins' character is seen outside with the others fleeing, and then she's suddenly back in the refinery being attacked by one of the giant ants.

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Quotes

Velma Thompson: All we wanted was to enjoy what was left of our life. Is that bad?

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Alternate Versions

The original UK cinema version was heavily cut for an 'A' (PG) certificate to reduce sounds of screaming and to heavily edit violence including attack scenes and shots of bloodied bodies. The cuts were restored for the 2002 ILC release and the certificate upgraded to a 15.

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Connections

Featured in A Century of Science Fiction (1996)

User Reviews

Crazy Ants

This movie is not as bad as some reviewers have made it out to be. Professional actors are paid to act and many do that by studying roles and even going so far as to participate in the role if possible. Sometimes it may take a few days, weeks or months. To criticize that effort is just not right. If one does not like a movie because of its genre then so state it.

Empire of the ants is plausible. It takes thousands of ants to keep the hive going and feed the queen so that the drones can mate with the queen ant so she can lay her eggs producing more worker ants and drone ants. As far as growing to huge size a leap of movie faith must be made. All the rest is very plausible. Ants communicate by way of pheromones so the can recognize one another and the trail back to the nest. It's also an excepted fact that ants can carry many times their own weight. As far as spraying a mist on the other ants it is simply the pheromone which the queen ant gives off so she can control the other ants in the nest.

This movie allegorically uses the humans as ants as they provide the sugar which they need to keep the queen ant fed. The.humans return to receive the queens pheromone spray so she may keep them under control. Well our four heros discover what is going on and devise a way to destroy the ants and flee for freedom. A good movie, wheel worth the time to watch.

Details

Official Sites:

MGM Studios [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

July 1977 (USA)

Also Known As:

H.G. Wells' Empire of the Ants

Filming Locations:

Fort Pierce, Florida, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cinema 77

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Ryder Sound Services)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1