Saturday, October 1, 2011
2011 October Horror Movie Challenge Movie 1: Them (1954)
I've waited long enough to watch this movie. I bought it years ago and haven't gotten around to watching it until now. Surprisingly, for a 1950s era sci-fi movie about giant ants, it holds up pretty well. The script tosses in some explanation about how the atomic bomb dropped 9 years before the movie's release date had a hand in mutating the ants to giant proportions, but it's wise enough not to try and over-explain everything, thus making the plot seem even more ridiculous. The acting is good as well. The little girl in the opening sequences plays shocked and scared very well, and the small-town cop Ben is likable (even if he seems to be perpetually on duty 24/7 despite having a pregnant wife and two kids). The giant ants are creepy and surprisingly effective (with today's technology we seem to have only been able to make giant insects look WORSE with our computer generated imagery than this movie from the 1950s). We get to see some people get chomped by ants, hear some freaky ant-communication screeching, and listen to precious lines like "Saliva is the only thing holding me together right now, too." This movie is a fun watch. Good way to kick off the festivities.
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