Actuakers
One of my all time favorites.
ChampDavSlim
The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.
Cody
One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.
BA_Harrison
Twenty years after over-sized mutant killer ants went on the rampage in classic 1957 creature feature Them!, Bert I. Gordon, an old hand at giant monster movies, gave the enormous insects another chance at world domination with Empire of the Ants, a schlocky big bug eco-horror apparently based on a short story by H.G. Wells.Joan Collins stars as scam artist Marilyn Fryser, who convinces a bunch of potential investors to accompany her on a boat trip to view her latest project, a coastal real estate development in the Everglades. After a few drinks, a couple of sandwiches, and a tram ride around the site (Marilyn sure knows how to spoil her guests), the group find themselves under attack from giant ants that have been exposed to leaky barrels of radioactive waste dumped in the sea by unscrupulous industrialists.Empire of the Ants is supremely silly stuff, especially when it is revealed that the insects are controlling the humans (via hypnotic ant farts!) and intend to take over the planet. Sadly it is also a surprisingly leaden affair, with uninspired direction, dire performances, and any potential tension or excitement hindered by weak special effects: most of the giant ant action is created by superimposing photographically enlarged insects over footage of the actors or through the use soft edged mattes to combine imagery, none of which is very convincing. Full-sized models of giant ants are occasionally used during close-up attack scenes, but Gordon ensures that the camera is wobbling frenetically to prevent the viewer from getting a good look at his shonky creatures.
punishmentpark
Many a monster flick, like oldies 'Tarantula' (1955) and 'Creature from the black lagoon' (1954) by Jack Arnold or the more recent 'Gwoemul' (2006, aka 'The host') by Joon-Ho Bong, can be overly charming when considering its special effects and creatures, but 'Empire of the ants' is an absolute low point in the genre.I was prepared to take Joan Collins into the bargain, but in this case it is mere insult to injury. And the rest of the cast are just as bad. When I think of a film like 'Blood feast' (one that quickly comes to mind when thinking of poor acting), that movie still achieves a certain amount of low budget, amateur charm, but here boredom strikes without mercy.Then there's a lot of shaking about with the camera, which is very likely intended to disguise the fake and failed look of the big ant monsters. And there's lots more of that nincompoopery here, degrading the film to the utter low regions of, ahem, 'cinema'.The plot twist half way through the film is pretty interesting still, but it also diminishes the first part of the story; why would the ants kill so many humans if their goal to get the humans to work for them?1 out of 10, of course.
Per Myrhill
Even though my score is pretty low I really like this type of movies. The first time I saw this movie I was only 7 or 8 years old. It was really fun to revisit this and I had a great nostalgic experience. Joan Collins is great and I really loved the scenes with the giant ants. I remember from when I first saw this one. I was about 7 years old. It was really scary then but somehow it spiked my fascination for movies with giant insects.Joan Collins is carrying the whole movie and she does it great.If you like old monster movies you are going to love this one. Jerky stop-motion is mixed with actual ants climbing over miniatures.
Michael_Elliott
Empire of the Ants (1977)** (out of 4) Mr. Big delivers another "big bug movie" with this one dealing with ants. Joan Collins plays a real estate con woman who takes a group of people to the future sight of a "great" beach front property. What they don't know is that a company has been pouring toxic waste in the ocean and unfortunately for them one barrel has found its way on shore and cute little ants have gotten into it. Soon these little creatures are now huge and eating humans. EMPIRE OF THE ANTS got the green light, I'm sure, because Gordon's previous film THE FOOD OF THE GODS turned out to be a decent hit. You really could have called this thing THE FOOD OF THE GODS PART II because they're quite similar but then again both are quite similar to the type of "big" movies Gordon was making in the previous two decades. There's certainly nothing new or original here but if you enjoy Gordon's films then I really see no reason why you won't enjoy this one. As you'd expect, the special effects are quite laughable with Gordon using the same technique in 1977 that he was much earlier in his career. Often times it seems as if the ants are walking in thin air and at other times you can obviously see the rear projection. Most films would be dead in the water with such bad effects but I think it adds some charm because of how serious Gordon treats them. Most directors would know these effects are bad and try to downplay them or hide them but not Gordon. He shows these bad effects with his head held high and it at least gives the viewer some entertainment. Collins and the rest of the cast do what they can with the material they're given but the humans certainly aren't the high point of the film. I think the film would have benefited from being at least ten-minutes shorter as things really start to drag during the final act.
