Phase IV – Review

This movie will either work or not for you, but it is full of large ideas and some pretty spectacular insect filming. Beginning with Phase I, the Earth sits in front of a strange eclipse. Scientists examine this strange cosmic blackout, but no one notices much overall, outside of Dr. Ernest Hubbs (Davenport). He finds that ants begin behaving in new and different ways, and studies them with fervor. As the eclipse wanes, it appears that the ants have found new ways to communicate, and all the multiple species are all acting in coordinated plans.

Hubbs gets some government funding to set up an experiment in a remote portion of the Arizona desert, and seeks out colleague James Lesko (Murphy), who himself has been studying and computerizing communications with animals, with his recent expedition focusing on talking to whales. It was only going so well, and Lesko was intrigued by Hubbs’ tidbits of ant information.

The men build their investigation environment on the outskirts of an abandoned town, and it looks like a giant metallic golf ball. Inside, their machinery scans for signals and records information of all types. The men begin to note all sorts of strange ant occurrences, including local sheep deaths, and crop circles in the one farm left in operation.

Eventually the plot kicks in, as the men face off against the new ant society. Who will prevail? The pacing is a tad slow despite a very short runtime, and viewers unfamiliar with B-level Sci-Fi movies of the past may find the acting hammy and/or silly. For me, the ideas were solid, and it was shot quite well overall which helped overcome some of the shortcomings. I would have liked even more and to have the story amped up a few levels to bring in some more thrills, but it was still an entertaining venture to ponder and brood over. Some viewers quite like it, and some will not find much of value.

This movie is adapted from an H.G. Welles short story, and may not leave every viewer satisfied with the quick “resolution” but it certainly gives a lot to think about and is an interesting watch. This is the director Saul Bass’ only feature, however he is famous in Hollywood for all sorts of title/art design for classic films. I have not seen a 2002 remake, but the plot sounds different and it has Dean Cain so I would definitely skip it.

Man will not give in!!