Saturday, December 22, 2012

THEM! (1954)

[Update 05/10/2022: Need rewatch this film and redo this review completely.]

One of the very first giant monster movies of the 50's, THEM! opens quite matter of factly with two cops investigating a mysterious girl found walking alone in the desert.  I really like this approach because it plays off like a mystery movie then suddenly out of nowhere...giant ants!!!  A team is assembled, including FBI agent James Arness, to locate and raid the ant nest.  They do, but not before some of the flying queen ants escape to parts unknown.  So now they have to track down the queens and kill them before the ants take over the world.

Audiences nowadays will probably be bored to tears, but movie nerds with a curiosity about classic sci-fi will get a kick out of.  I especially enjoyed seeing a young James Whitmore and a pre-"Gunsmoke" James Arness, although I do wish there had been a building crushing rampage scene like the poster promises.  Worth a one time watch.