Some movies you may never intend to watch. It is not for a lack of quality or even interest you just haven’t heard about them. You might happen across it some boring night while doing a little channel surfing. Once you do see such a film it becomes imbedded in your consciousness. For me one film of this type was the 1974 science fiction movie ‘Phase IV’. I caught it many years ago on TV and was elated when years after that I managed to record a copy on my VCR. It has remained one of my all time favorite Sci-Fi movies of all times and for a true fan such as I that is saying a lot. Finally after years of watching this movie on a fading video tape it is on DVD. Legend Films has released it and many fans are going to be equally elated. If you ask a die hard Sci-Fi fan about this film you will most likely receive a sly little smile that indicates he knows something you don’t. It is not the most famous flick of the genre or ever the best. What it does posses is that special something that will piqué your interest. It is a strange movie that is charmingly and alarmingly fun to watch. The film represents a near perfect blend of Sci-Fi, mystery and classic horror. I was afraid that seeing it again after many years what I remembered was surrounded by the halo effect that such films are prone to. Thankfully I was wrong and the film still holds up after all the decades. This is a movie that is required if you are trying to gather in your collection the most eclectic Sci-Fi films.

The story was written by Mayo Simon. Prior to this script he worked a lot in some of the dramatic anthology television series like ‘Playhouse 90’. He also wrote a couple of other Sci-Fi fan favorites ‘Marooned’ and ‘Future World’. The story presented here is enigmatic; some have stated that they couldn’t tell what was going on. It is concerned with some mysterious celestial event affecting insects on earth. In the middle of the south west American desert a colony of ants begin to mutate rapidly. They frighten the local residents by building huge monoliths. A pair of scientists is dispatched to investigate by the deeper they get into the mysterious occurrences they stranger the ants respond. It is a simple premise but the way the story surrounds the audience is helps to set this movie apart from the usual faire. The very aspects of this story that make so many scratch their heads in bewilderment is what others love about it. There is little to no attempt to make scenes of what happened. The actually event that put the accelerated evolution of ants into motion is a classic McGuffin. It may be of concern to the characters but not the audience. There is really no resolution at the conclusion of the film only a deeper mystery. This is how life works most of the time. We deal with what is happening not analyzing how we got to this point. A reaction like this is especially true in situations where we are fighting for our lives. The people under attack by the ants are more involved with staying alive than what actually happened to the ants. There is some attempt at conjecture; these are men of science after all. It is more like nature has gotten tired of humans being the dominate species and was trying to restack the deck. This makes this one of the earlier ecologically themed films; treat Mother Nature badly and you will no longer be her favorite species.

This film was the only directorial work of Saul Bass. You might not recognize his name but it you are a film buff you are certainly familiar with his work. He was one of the leading title designers in the business. You know those often innovating images that run underneath the opening credits; some of the best of them came from Bass. A measure of this man’s vision was that he was often employed by Alfred Hitchcock. Bass has done credits for films such as ‘North by Northwest’, ‘Psycho’ and ‘Vertigo’ as well as ‘West Side Story’ and ‘Spartacus’. Of course he handled the titles here himself. His style here is a mixture of a natural film, documentary and thriller. You see enough real footage of ants going about their business that you might at first think you are watching something from National Geographic. This is a visually stunning film. Colors play an important role in the story and Bass used them to the best possible advantage. Since the film is about regular ants there is immediacy to the threat that most films of this ilk fail to convey. A bunch of giant ants attacking such as in ‘Them’ is frightening but in your mind you know you are never to run across any. Here it is regular ants; the kind you might nonchalantly step on during a family picnic. There is some corner of your mind that will nag at you that ants could bond together in some collective hive mind and try to get rid of humans. The seeming simplicity of the style employed here leads to some of the creepier moments in the genre. At first it looks as if Bass is trying a documentary form of filming. On subsequent viewings you will see that this is a visually complex and intriguing movie.

Due to some strange and unexplained set of events in space ants on earth have begun to evolve. They increase their means of communication and seem to be driven by an advanced hive like mind. They begin to become more intelligent and build odd towers in geometric shapes. A scientist, Dr. Ernest D. Hubbs (Nigel Davenport) teams up with a younger mathematician, James Lesko (Michael Murphy) and set up an advanced base camp near the mysterious towers. As they begin their investigation a young woman, Kendra Eldridge (Lynne Frederick) is taken in by the men. Her family had been displaced by the recent actions of the ants. What ensues is a cat and mouse game between the humans and the sentient ants. At first it is the scientists probing the limits and reactions of the insects. Soon they are in a fight for their survival. The camera work is incredible. There is a mixture of extreme close-ups of the ants to stop action photography that keeps your eyes glued to the screen. This film is so unlike another that it is almost impossible to describe accurately. You really have to experience it which in this case may mean watching it several times. Each viewing will bring out additional details of the story and production.

The film was originally given a lackluster release by Paramount. This is the ultimate sleeper movie and most of the people that I have talked to you remember it found it in a way similar to mine; late night television. It has been a long wait for all of us fans out there but thank you Legion Films for considering us with this DVD release.