King Of The Ants (2003)

[Mr_Vindictive]

Got this one on DVD yesterday through the Shatner DVD club.  If you guys haven't signed up for it yet, then it's my recommendation that you do so.

King Of The Ants is a 2003 film by Stuart Gordon of Re-Animator fame.  The film is about a young painter named Sean Crawley.  He befriends an electrician (Cheers' George Wendt) that he meets while painting a house.  Duke, the electrician, calls him a few days later and introduces him to Ray (Daniel Baldwin), who is sort of a mobster in the town.  Ray tells Crawley that he wants him to follow an accountant (Office Space's Ron Livingston) from city hall and document everything he does.  

While following the accountant, Crawley falls in love with the man's wife.  Soon, Ray asks Crawley to kill the accountant and he will pay him with 13k in cash.  Crawley does the job, and that is where the trouble starts.

I went into King Of The Ants with an open mind, and actually kept myself from watching the trailer first, which is rare for me.  I had little idea as to what I was going to watch, but I figured since it's Stuart Gordon that this would be a horror film.  It most certainly is not.  There is some gore, and some strange hallucination scenes that must be seen to be believed, but overall it's a drama/thriller.  

The film didn't much impress me though.  The guy who plays Crawley didn't work too well for me, and his teeth were quite scary in a few scenes.  Then there is Daniel Baldwin who should seriously consider giving up acting.  George Wendt does well with what he's given, which isn't enough.  Then, there are the sex scenes which are featured quite often.  Makes me wonder if Gordon didn't direct softcore porn on the side at some point.

It's worth a rental but not really worth seeking out.  

[Neville]

It sure looses its way during the second half, but I found it a very interesting film. I like the low-key scenes that stablish every character, and the moment where the main character fulfills his assignment is really chilling.

[Mr_Vindictive]

Neville,

I agree that it was interesting.  My main problem with the film was that it didn't quite know what it wanted to be or what direction it wanted to go.

[Neville]

As I see it, the film was supposed to describe the internal journey of the main character, but I agree that it's not as clear as it should be. Too many genres mixing, I guess.

[plan9superfan]

Given that you posted this in a sciencie fiction/horror forum, I was expecting a "Them"-like movie about killer ants...

[Mr_Vindictive]

plan9superfan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Given that you posted this in a sciencie
> fiction/horror forum, I was expecting a
> "Them"-like movie about killer ants...


Yeah, I was expecting the same thing when I popped in the DVD.  The case art certainly gave that impression.

[odinn7]

plan9superfan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Given that you posted this in a sciencie
> fiction/horror forum, I was expecting a
> "Them"-like movie about killer ants...


Just to point out the obvious here...this really isn't a science fiction/horror forum...bad movies come in all shapes, sizes, and genres.

[daveblackeye15]

Ditto on the whole "killer ant" movie.