Empire of the Ants (1977)

A con artist 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 | h.g. wells | psychotronic | when animals attack | 

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Taglines:

See a Dynasty of ants terrorize Joan Collins

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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

As a promotional gimmick for the film theaters would display ant farms in their lobbies - though they weren't allowed near the concession counters.

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Goofs

when all of the characters are attempting to escape in the red Chevrolet and are being shot at by police, the car mounts an unseen ramp and dives into the nearby water. as it enters, in slow motion, only the driver is shown in the car. moments later, 3 people are shown exiting the car, and 2 more climbing the bank.

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Quotes

Coreen Bradford: You know, when I met you on the boat, I didn't like you very much.
Joe Morrison: That's not exactly a surprise.
Coreen Bradford: Well, I don't know, I guess I just thought you were one of those macho phony types, you know? The kind whose brains fall out every time he unzips his fly.

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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 De la B a la Z: El imperio de las hormigas (2011)

User Reviews

Worth a look...but nothing to take seriously.

This is my favorite giant insect movie. I don't know what it is about this one, but every time I see it on AMC or where ever I have to watch. The effects are bad and the plot isn't the best in the world, but not every movie has to be great to be fun to watch. Usually, in movies of this type the monsters (in this case giant ants) are rarely seen cause they look so bad. In this one, though, they don't care what they look like and they are more than happy to show us this cheesy ants...sometimes the old regular ants projected on the background, while at others really bad puppets. The plot has these people looking at vacation plots...you know timeshare stuff. While touring the facility, some members disappear and then the ants attack. They have to get away from them and go down a river on a boat to do so. This is my favorite part of the movie, going down the river. Lots of the cast are taken out here. Unfortunately, it ends rather weak as they all get to this town that has some sort of connection to the ants, but what? I would have preferred this one to stay with the river and wood scenes rather than the town part of the plot, but overall this movie is good fun.