By: Mordicai

 

All I can say is wow. The 70’s was a decade obsessed with apocalypse, from The Late Great Planet Earth to endless disaster flicks and the horror of disco; mankind was certain it was on the brink of destroying itself, or capitulating at the hands of nature gone awry.  Bug movies were all the rage in the polyester decade, providing us such film classics as Empire of the Ants and The Giant Spider Invasion. We here at Rad Rev are unashamed entomophilies and were recently delighted by The Hellstrom Chronicle… it now seems as if Dr. Hellstrom’s loony prophecies have finally come true in Phase IV.

 

Far out, man.

 

Something is screwy in the Arizona desert and entomologist Dr. Ernest Hubbs (Nigel Davenport) has somehow acquired a heap of money to build a super-sciencey research facility to study monoliths erected by super-intelligent ants (we trust he’s smart because he’s British.) The insects have recently terrorized the remote countryside, decimating livestock and killing the human inhabitants of the area. He brings with him mathematician James Lesko (Michael Murphy) to discover what makes these little beasties so smart, and how to stop them. It’s a chess game with Earth in the balance as the scientists study the ants, only to find that they might be the ones under the magnifying glass. Tit for tat, the entrapped humans unleash every conventional weapon against the legions of insects, eventually attempting communication. The story draws perfectly toward a disturbing 2001: A Space Odyssey-like conclusion.

 

How'd they do that?

 

Everything clicks in this masterful little film. Saul Bass, a revered Hollywood graphic designer, humbly crafts an eerie sci-fi classic. The cinematography is paramount, challenging us with bizarre, alien visuals and innovative shots from the ant perspective. Amazing insect handling by Ken Middleham (the master bugsman who also worked on The Hellstrom Chronicle) shames Bert I. Gordon’s most daring fantasies—I wondered the entire time how they got those ants to move so perfectly (good union relations was my guess.) The excellent special effects are all subdued and effective. Ripe with realistic scientific jargon, the smarty-pants dialog and intelligent screenplay elevate this film beyond the average sci-fi offering. Fantastic sets blink and bristle with toggle switches, line printers and oscilloscopes aplenty. Original art direction by John Barry captivates us with otherworldly insect constructions and foreshadows his later production design on a little-known film called Star Wars.

 

Providing some visuals of her own, the so-hot-I-can’t-even-look-at-her Lynne Frederick (famous for her rocky marriage to Peter Sellers) has a few spoken lines as a farmer’s granddaughter who also becomes imprisoned in the lab. There is one scene where I seriously envy an ant that has entered her bed chamber. I don’t understand why an Arizona farm girl would have an English accent, but she’s gorgeous so who cares. Fellow Brit, Nigel Davenport hams it up wonderfully in a Captain Nemo-esque performance that dusts a slight touch of humor on the film. And venerable Altman favorite Michael Murphy (whom Rad Rev last saw in Brewster McCloud) delivers the goods as a horny, everyman number cruncher.

 

Yeah, Yeah, we all took ant in highschool.

 

Phase IV is an experiment that proves an intelligent story, good acting, and excellent assemblage of behind-the-camera talent can make a far-out concept believable and satisfying. And did I mention that Lynne Frederick is hot? Highly recommended; it’s expensive on VHS, and who knows when this criminally overlooked film will be out on DVD or Blu-Ray or whatever format we’ll have next week. If you only see one super-intelligent insect film this year, make sure it’s Phase IV.

 

 

Rating: 5/5 Oscilloscopes

 

 

 

 

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