I once read somewhere (if I recall correctly) that as much as 10% of the world’s land-based biomass is made up of… ants. They are the most successful life form on Earth. Only makes sense that they would eventually develop collective intelligence and take over.
Phase IV is a sci-fi creature feature where various species of ants start cooperating and communicating with each other, setting plans in motion for some mysterious ulterior project. Did they evolve, or are they receiving commands from some outer-space intelligence?
One scientist, Dr. Hubbs, notices the unusual ant behavior in an Arizona desert, and, having already developed some theories as to what’s going on, he recruits as his assistant an expert cryptographer, James Lesko, famous for communicating with whales. They set up a hermetically sealed research camp, and make the remaining local residents vacate the area. One pair of senior residents and their teenage granddaughter don’t make it out alive; the grandparents become victims of the first poisonous skirmish against the ants, while the granddaughter, Kendra, survives in a hurricane shelter and joins the scientists.
As Lesko slowly deciphers the language of the ants, battles are being fought between the humans and the insects. The scientists perform tests on the insect intelligence, eventually realizing that the insect intelligence is also performing tests on the scientists.
The end is strange and unexpected, but intriguing.
The great forte of this movie is the beautiful filming of the ants. Almost all the scenes actually feature real ants (or else damn good fake ones!), and there are many long scenes of their activity, including a nearly ten minutes long opening montage. It is extremely well made.
The idea that ants acquire some alien form of intellience is great and filled with potential. And a good deal of the movie is taken up with scientific studies of the ants, reminding a bit of the way we are also shown the scientific process at work in great detail in a movie like The Andromeda Strain (1971).
But here we come to the end of the good things I have to say about Phase IV. Despite some cool ideas and some really nice ants shots, it ends up coming significantly short of being a great movie, mainly because the two scientists (especially Dr. Hubbs) don’t actually act very much like scientists, or rational human beings at all. Their focus and attentions shift around as the wind blows – one minute they’re sensible, and the next they’re angry and emotional about the tiniest things. Dr. Hubbs could be described as a mad scientist right from the beginning, and both of their behavior seems contrived to fit the plot rather than any kind of logic. As in many B-movies that have difficulties with the core conflict and hence require hefty plot contrivance, the characters start behaving highly irrationally about 30-45 minutes into the movie. It’s a great shame. But what can you do.
I will say this, though: Back in the early ‘80s I saw a movie or documentary on TV which I have unsuccessfully been looking to rediscover ever since. It was about insects surviving humanity, and as I was watching Phase IV, I kept hoping that this might be that movie. It wasn’t, but I found out that Phase IV is inspired by The Hellstrom Chronicle (1971), which does sound very much like it might be the movie I have been searching for, for this many a year! Now I can’t wait to get hold of it and see if it is indeed the one…
My version of Phase IV comes from a Danish VHS release (complete with Danish subtitles), and the picture quality is surprisingly decent.
Director: Saul Bass
Cast: Nigel Davenport, Michael Murphy, Lynne Frederick
Running time: 93 min.
Country: USA
Film Rating: 
