Review of Empire of the Ants (1977) by Allan C — 06 Dec 2009

Sick people do not buy property.

A real estate agent has been assigned the daunting task of selling property on an isolated island. She regularly takes potential buyers on a boat tour of the island in hopes of making a sale. On her latest trip, she discovers that some nuclear sludge has infected the island causing the Ants to become enormous. The real estate agent will fight for survival on the deserted island.

?Most people are dishonest.?

Bert I. Gordon, director of Burned at the Stake, The Big Bet, How to Succeed with Sex, Village of the Giants, The Spider, and the Magic Sword, delivers Empire of the Ants. The storyline for this picture is awful. The ants themselves were entertaining, in a comical sense, and the acting was mediocre. The cast contained two beauties, Joan Collins (Dynasty) and Pamela Susan Shoop, and a couple lesser known actors, Robert Lansing (The Equalizer) and John David Carson (Creature from Black Lake).

?Don?t tell me your problems, Harris, and I won?t tell you mine.?

While this film was surprisingly entertaining and I couldn?t wait to see how it unfolded, I must say that as the film progressed, it became more and more frustrating. I could easily look past the campy special effects and appreciate the story and plot, but the end of the film transitioned from a giant monster movie to a muscle car/mind eraser picture. I?m not sure why the film went in that direction, but it transitioned the film from a must see to a ?might as well miss.?

?It causes an obligatory response. Did you hear that? Obligatory.?

Grade: D+.