
Desert ants suddenly form a collective intelligence and begin to wage war on the inhabitants. It is up to two scientists and a stray girl they rescue from the ants to destroy them.... (Full plot summary below)
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Desert ants suddenly form a collective intelligence and begin to wage war on the inhabitants. It is up to two scientists and a stray girl they rescue from the ants to destroy them.
Leave your thoughts about Phase IV.
| Electric SheepMark PilkingtonLow-key, philosophical and ultimately rather downbeat. |
| The A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyIt’s a movie that seems to have been designed more than directed, and edited around principles of color and line, rather than around performance or plot. |
| The DissolveKeith PhippsIn form, Phase IV isn’t that different from monster movies of old, though the ants never grow to monstrous size. In execution, it’s much more striking, offering a study in contrasts between ants and humans, and one that doesn’t always reflect favorably on the humans. |
| The New York TimesA. H. WeilerIn making his feature directorial debut after a succession of distinguished film titles, graphics and short subjects, Saul Bass, with the aid of special insect photography by Ken Middleham (Hellstrom Chronicle), has fashioned a pictorially persuasive adventure. |
| Chicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumSo-so ecological SF thriller from 1974 about superintelligent ants. |
| Radio TimesDavid ParkinsonFails to conjure up any sense of suspense. |
| PopMattersBill GibronWith its amazing bug footage, and psychobabble scripting, it's The Hellstrom Chronicle (an obvious influence) taken into Twilight Zone territory |
| Time OutMartyn AutyBass is the man who gave you the cat crawl for Walk on the Wild Side. As a director he's still got a lot of bugs to iron out. |
| User ReviewPrivate UThis movie is awesome. A couple of scientists try to defeat some intelligent ants in the desert. This could be your run-of-the-mill horror sci-fi flick, but it has a few cards in its sleeve, like the Animal Planet-esque sequences inside the ants' nest. The scientists seem to be smart, but unfortunately the ants outwit them. The ending is so insane I'd almost consider it brilliant. Too bad this movie suffers from a plodding, tiresome pace. |
| User ReviewJames WA movie with a similar feel to 2001, the only film directed by the guy who designed the credits for Vertigo & West Side Story. Why isn't this movie more of a classic, I ask? Super-smart ants torment three humans trapped inside a research station, what better premise for a masterpiece? And the filming of the ants - half nature footage & half awesome special effects - is terrifying. |