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

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

The name of the the rental car agency owner is painted on the window as "J. Foote". James E. Foote worked on this movie as Transportation Captain.

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Goofs

Following the storm in which all the characters were seen getting soaked outside in the rain, they continue their escape from the giant ants completely dry.

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Quotes

Harry Thompson: Harry Thompson: I farted... ants.

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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 Missing Reel: Nature Gone Wild (2014)

User Reviews

Good for a cheesy B-movie, but that's about it.

Ants have never been feared by man (or woman). Why? Simple: They're small creatures who can't do harm to you even if they tried. But, give them a little radioactive waste, you'll super-size them into giant, mutated killing machines! I wasn't sure what to think of this movie. For starters, I couldn't resist watching this B-movie flick because they always intrigue me. But, on the other hand, this is a movie about giant mutated ants. Well, that wasn't much of a problem. The problem before my viewing of Empire of the Ants was how they would create the ants and how they would look. I mean, this was made in the 70's. Time before CGI (and that's actually a good thing). I was expecting them to just make a little Lego forest and put paper-machete ants in it and film it. But, thankfully, I was wrong. I don't know how they did it, but they did do it well. Damn well! But, as always, there are negatives to be had. My main problem was the characters. They were dull, had no personality, and were just there for the feeding. I'm not saying I wanted Oscar-winning characters, but I would've liked to see some personality. Otherwise, it's just not as fun to see them meet their demise. Also, they didn't play out the town bit well. It was basically just a time-filler. I would've liked to see the ants attack and destroy the town. I mean, a little destructiveness never hurt anybody. Well, not the ones who aren't involved in the destruction.

3 out of 5 stars