****1/2               Them Ants Sure Are Big.

It's time for Them! You know, Them! This movie is about them there giant ants that attack them people. Them there scientist blew up them atomic bombs, morphing them ants into them giant ants that like them there sugar and kill them there people because that's the way them are!

Somewhere in Arizona or something, people keep disappearing. They finally figure out that the "them" the little girl is screaming about is a horde of giant ants. These 7-12 ft. long ants go around and make war with everything they see, and they do what ants do: colonize and reproduce. Luckily, they find them early enough to shoot, blow up, and gas all them ants to pieces!

Although the plot didn't have much on the basic level, the subtle level had a lot. It has a great plot that flows well that rarely goes off track. It's giant ant related form beginning to end! It is also quite funny at times, but not overboard. There is good acting too, with notable actors including cameos of a bunch of famous stars of the time (ask someone who was living at the time and they will point a bunch out). The plot is quite original, being only the second or so atomic-bomb-created-monsters-on-the-loose movie of the 1950's. It is quite a bit like "The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms", but everything else is original for obvious reasons. It spurred off a bunch more giant bug movies, including "Tarantula", "The Deadly Mantis", and "The Black Scorpion". Its ideas also seem to affect later movies, like the fact that the whole run-through-tunnels-blasting-bug-things-while-saving-kids-and-destroying-queen-nest was later used in "Aliens". Plus, the "cement river" setting was used in "Terminator 2" and the idea of mutated monster taking over the earth was later used in "Godzilla"(1998).

The giant ants are quite convincing. It seams like they wanted to make the movie as realistic as it possible could be. Them ants really act like ants. The giant robot-things used to make the ants are quite realistic. It's not as good as today's standards, with movies like "The Lost World: Jurassic Park" using the medium a lot better, but it was great for the time. It has enough believability to make this classic "horror" film actually scary (for little kids, at least). But they didn't spare any expense on this movie. It was originally going to be made entirely in color. But black and white is better; it's scarier that way. Plus the few bloody scenes don't look as grotesque, letting your mind be scared instead of grossed out. From what I heard, the ants were suppose to be made in purple and green for some odd reason, which would have taken away from the realism they were striving for. The movie was also suppose to be in 3-D, which is a disappointment because it would have been cool to see giant ants popping out of the screen.

As a whole, great movie! The plot is great; it was done very well and had very few flaws. The movie flows right, doesn't slow down to a crawl, and gets you into the mood and keeps you there. It is one of the few movies that want to be sci-fi, action, horror, and comedy at the same time, and succeeded. It runs on a formula that many special effects movie use now (but with a better plot). It's what a lot of young blockbusters want to grow up to be. Basically, them here movie is one of the better ones. You will never see ants or say the word "them" in the same way again.

Great Plot!

Great-for-the-time-and-still-good-now special effects!

Great acting!

Quite realistic for a giant ant movie!

Being ripped-offed is a good sign for the movie!

Quite scary for an old "horror" movie!

You will never look at ants in the same way again!

Special effects a bit dated now!

Would have been cool in 3-D!

Slightly unoriginal (it's the second movie made, and it ripped-off the first)!

Annoying drunk guy singing "Make me a sergeant and give me the booze"!

Annoying screaming girl (turn down the volume before she gets her memory jogged)!

Them! Them! Them! Them! THEM!

Credits