Wednesday, June 10, 2015

EMPIRE OF THE ANTS/JAWS OF SATAN: ONE GOOD, ONE BAD



Shout/Scream Factory brings us another double feature to please those aficionados of the drive in once more. This time around we get one of those really schlocky bad movies coupled with one that offers better than I expected. No matter what the opinions of the movies are though, these are items that drive in fans will want to have on hand for those backyard movie night during the summer months when the beer flows freely and the interests in the movies runs low.

EMPIRE OF THE ANTS comes to us from producer Bert I. Gordon whose FOOD OF THE GODS took us down a similar path. Here we have the story of a corrupt land developer taking a group of possible investors to an island that is intended to be an up and coming resort. Unknown to them is the fact that toxic chemicals were dumped in the area and washed up on shore, altering the ants of the island into huge bugs the size of a Cadillac.

As the group tries to escape from the encroaching barrage of ants they get picked off one by one. The ragtag group that remains finds themselves being corralled where the ants want them to go and are nearly eaten alive when they find help in the form of the local sheriff. Too bad that he and the rest of the townspeople on shore have been coerced by the ants via mind altering pheromones that control them. Only these few remaining folks have the mental ability to rescue them all.

While some have discussed the amazing effects done with little (I think zero) budget, I found them to be distracting at best. Composite shots of blown up footage of ants set beside shots of actors wielding boat oars don’t match at all with the line between the two images blurred and outrageously visible. Alongside these problems are giant fur covered ant heads used when we see a victim being ripped apart or eaten by the ants. Unbelievable is the easiest word to convey what they look like. And yet there is a certain amount of charm to be found in this low budget world of effects with some decent acting by stars who had seen better days before signing on for this movie. Fans and those pleasantly intoxicated will have a great time with this one.

On the other hand JAWS OF SATAN offers a decent movie that fell into the 70s genre of man against nature and corrupt town officials ripped off directly from JAWS and inserted into so many films. Here we have a demon in the form of a giant snake that escapes from a carnival train intent on wreaking havoc in a town where the local priest, Father Tom Farrow (Fritz Weaver), is a descendant of a line of religious leaders who have subdued the demon/snake for centuries.

Bodies begin showing up with alarming amounts of snake venom in the bites they’ve suffered. At first the town medical examiner agrees with a local doctor (Gretchen Corbett) that these are snake bites to be alarmed about. But with holiday events on the calendar and business owners fearful of losing money, he quickly changes his mind with the help of the town’s mayor.

A herpetologist called in from a nearby university agrees with the town doctor as to the cause of these deaths but that doesn’t persuade the mayor to cancel any and all activities. As the doctor, the herpetologist and the priest begin to compare notes and causes they begin to realize how to handle the situation which comes to a dramatic conclusion in the cave where the snake finally dwells.

Sure this is a JAWS rip off but that doesn’t matter. Those moments when it becomes blatantly obvious are funny to see and may leave you laughing. The effects work for the snakes is serviceable, the acting is above what is usually found in a movie like this and the camera work is impressive, but then again nearly everything cinematographer Dean Cundey touches looks great. The end result is a movie that plays far better than you would expect.

As always the extras and quality of the final product live up to the Shout/Scream Factory standards and fans will be more than happy to have these on hand in this edition as opposed to some half thought out bootleg copy taken from a poor VHS tape stored away in someone’s attic. Face it folks, these movies may not be Shakespeare but they do offer some fun times and some fun memories of drive in days gone by. What more could you ask for?

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