Review: Them! (1954)

“No. We haven’t seen the end of them. We’ve only had a close view of the beginning of what may be the end of us.”

I been trying to plug some gaps in my filmic knowledge, I think it would be a bit boring to watch The Dark Knight for the gazillionith time (which I did anyway). So I logged into Lovefilm, saw my ridiculously long list (253 films/TV shows on my watch list, my aim is to reduce that to zero by the end of the year) and thought ‘maybe I’ll watch Them!’

Them! is not the French horror film from a few years ago but a Fifties science fiction film about giant ants. Yes, giant ants. Coming from an age where sci-fi was more a B-movie extravagance (much like the horror genre at the time) but striving for more Them! is adventurous in some ways and dour in others. A look at the premise (imagine this being uttered by the Fifties voice over man -‘the earliest atomic tests in New Mexico cause common ants to mutate into giant man-eating monsters that threaten civilization.’) is enough to make you think it’s low grade garbage but there’s a seriousness to the film that makes it just a little bit endearing.

Lovefilm online review – Le Donk and Scor Zay Zee

This film has been ruminating in my head for the last few days as I’ve been trying to think of an approach from which I could review the film. Very few of the thoughts I had were positive, in fact, nearly every single one of them has been negative. I didn’t want to be overly harsh or critical of the film but at the same time cannot think of a single redeeming feature within it. It’s a forgettable bore that is all the more disappointing considering that it features some considerable British talent both behind and in front of the camera.