Empire of the Ants (1977) The Surprising Liminality of a B.I.G Killer Ant Movie

Bert I. Gordon was a filmmaker who constantly strived to live up to his B.I.G. initials; beginning in 1955 with King Dinosaur, the cult director-producer would quickly carve out a name for himself as the master of the giant creature-feature, going on to direct monster-movie classics such as The Amazing Colossal Man (1957), Earth vs. The Spider (1958), and The Food of the Gods (1976). Given his appropriately grand 61-year cinematic career and the wide variety of cult classics he was responsible for, it’s surprising that Gordon’s filmography hasn’t received more love on physical media in the UK; thankfully, Eureka Entertainment have decided to put this injustice right with their new Blu-Ray release of Gordon’s final venture into the realm of monster movie-making – Empire of the Ants (1977).

Based loosely on the 1905 short story of the same name by H.G. Wells, Empire of the Ants begins its insectoid revolution at ‘Dreamland Shores’, an unstable stretch of swampland in the Florida Everglades which the shady and conniving property developer Marilyn (Dynasty’s Joan Collins) hopes to convince her latest group of potential buyers to invest in as space for beachfront condos. Unfortunately for Marilyn and her prospective clients, the land is already home to a colony of intelligent flesh-eating ants, mutated to a colossal size after coming into contact with dumped nuclear waste; with their boat to the mainland destroyed, and several members of their party already picked off by gargantuan pincers, the survivors must make their way upstream in search of civilisation and safety in order to avoid becoming ant food. Unfortunately, the monsters lurking in the swamp might only be the beginning of their worries…

Empire of the Ants is by no means the only killer ant movie to come out of the post-Jaws (1975) nature-strikes-back movie boom – 1977 would also see the release of Ants! It Happened at Lakewood Manor – but it certainly is the biggest. Taking a few cues from the ‘50s giant-ant classic Them! (1954), Gordon’s film has arthropods aplenty, realised through a variety of variably effective techniques; the massive puppets used in close-up shots are wonderful, whereas the cheapo attempts at Willis O’Brien-esque rear-projection are charming but far more hit-and-miss, and the less that is said about the greenscreen work in this, the better. For all its technical shortcomings, some of them quite endearing, there is nonetheless a degree of spectacle to Gordon’s film; for a “low-budget” film, Empire of the Ants is far bigger, bolder, and more fully-realised than the average modestly-budgeted modern film, featuring not only the aforementioned giant practical insect puppets, but also extensive scenes filmed on water, model work, vehicular stunts, and even pyrotechnics.

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It’s a shame that, for the most part, I found Empire of the Ants to be a rather dull affair with uninteresting characters and a plodding, cyclical pace. Most of the film is spent watching a bunch of actors on a boat trying their best to react in horror to empty spaces where footage of real ants will be composited in later, which is entertaining at first and occasionally very funny (the destruction of the yacht is nothing short of exquisite), but it does lose its charms once it becomes clear that the film isn’t doing much otherwise. Things become noticeably more interesting once the plot leaves the swamp and our band of survivors find themselves in a situation straight out of Quatermass 2 (1957), but even then the vision of an insectoid takeover depicted here is far less compelling and sinisterly spellbinding than the one shown in Phase IV (1974), which tackles similar themes to the final act of Gordon’s film, albeit in a far more intelligent and disconcerting manner.

That being said, the slow repetitive nature of Empire of the Ants does lend it an unusual and intriguing quality. For something which is notionally a goofy giant-monster B-movie, there’s a sleepiness to Gordon’s picture that grants it an uncanny atmosphere, one which strangely fits the film’s script and themes; the characters frequently discuss the uncertain, limbo-esque state of their lives following job losses and failed relationships, ‘Dreamland Shores’ is a non-existent community made up of empty plots marked with “coming soon” signs, and the film’s finale sees our characters placed into a world very much like their own that has been stripped of humanity and character. The locations of Empire of the Ants are all in-between zones and almost-places, and its characters are people who are lost, displaced, or otherwise in search of something that they are yet to find; given the recent rise of interest in “liminal spaces” and the uncanny, especially in light of the success of the recent Backrooms (2026) movie, there’s a good chance that the uneasy atmosphere of Empire of the Ants will appeal to modern audiences looking for their next fix of weird, dreamlike horror.

The quality of Eureka’s releases is always very consistent, and I’m happy to confirm that their edition of Empire of the Ants is of their usual standard. Whilst the film did not receive a new remaster for this release, with the disc featuring a 1080p HD transfer from the previous U.S. edition, the presentation is nonetheless solid, and in spite of the variable quality of the projection effects used throughout, this is probably the best that they will look without compromising Gordon’s work on the film. The mono audio track is quite muddy at times, though that isn’t remotely Eureka’s fault, as I can only assume that this is how the film originally sounded upon release – in many ways, it adds to the strange, sleepy atmosphere of it all.

The on-disc bonus features are a little limited, which isn’t too much of a surprise given the unusual nature of Empire of the Ants when compared with previous titles that Eureka have released, but thankfully their quality far outshines their quantity. Several audio commentaries are featured alongside the film, including one by the late Bert I. Gordon himself, as well as one from the Region A Kino Cult release by Sinister Image’s David Del Valle and the awesome Michael Varrati. New to this release is an introduction to the film by Mayhem festival director Chris Cooke, whose enthusiasm for Empire of the Ants is infectious, and he also provides some brief insight into the film’s production, as well as Joan Collins’ seventies horror film career (there’s even a mention of Cliff Twemlow’s The Pike!). The highlight of the release is, predictably, a new featurette in which the ever-insightful Kim Newman takes a look at Bert I. Gordon’s cinematic career, with a particular focus on his work at AIP; Newman remains one of the most engaging and knowledgeable voices in the world of horror scholarship and criticism, and this extra is yet another shining example of the work he has done in partnership with Eureka on their classic horror releases.

Robyn’s Archive – Empire of the Ants (1977)