King of the Ants
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Plot synopsis:
The film follows the story of Sean Crawley (Chris McKenna), a struggling young man trying to make ends meet by painting houses in suburban Los Angeles. One day, Sean meets "Duke" Wayne (George Wendt), who introduces Sean to his boss, a shady developer named Ray Matthews (Daniel Baldwin). Ray hires Sean as a spy, and orders him to follow Eric Gatley (Ron Livingston), an accountant who has been investigating Ray's company. Problems start when Ray, while drunk, offers Sean $13,000 to kill Eric. Sean accepts his offer and, although ambivalent, ends up killing Gatley by breaking into his house and beating him to death. When Sean goes to collect his pay, however, he is double-crossed and when he insists that they pay him, he is kidnapped and taken to Ray's secluded farm. It emerges that Matthews never had any intention of paying Sean for the killing, for he only wanted to use and eliminate him. But Sean survives from having a bullet put in his head then reveals that he had taken Gatley's work file of evidence and hidden it along with his documentation of events leading to the murder.
When torture fails to make him disclose the whereabouts of the file, Sean is then brutally beaten about the head with golf clubs many times by Ray and his henchmen daily for weeks, in an effort to destroy his memory. After suffering a heavy amount of trauma, Sean escapes, killing Duke, and finds his way to a downtown homeless shelter where Gatley's widow, Susan (Kari Wuhrer), takes him under her wing, oblivious to his role in her personal tragedy. After she nurses him back to normal, he feels he has been reborn and they become lovers and he moves into her house. But after a few weeks, Susan finds his file describing the murder and, enraged, physically attacks him. Defending himself, Sean accidentally kills her.
Having lost what he saw as his redemption and rebirth, more angry and cynical than ever, Sean returns to Ray's farm and methodically and ruthlessly exacts revenge on his captors; having arrived before Ray, he finds Duke's body and decapitates it, removing the wounds that would implicate his involvement. While waiting for Ray, Sean burns Duke's head in a fire pit along with pictures of Susan, exclaiming that if it wasn't for him and his friends he could have had a happy life. He hides in the house while Ray's henchmen search for him. Sean jumps Carl upstairs and hits him in the chest with a sledgehammer and kicks him down the stairs, Carl lies on the floor unable to move from internal bleeding. Beckett comes into the house to find Carl, when Sean breaks his leg and hits his back, paralyzing him.
With the two henchmen unable to move, he moves on to Ray, dousing him in gasoline and setting him on fire, he returns to the house to deal with the wounded Carl and Beckett, begging him for medical assistance and asking why. Sean simply replies asking if there needs to be a reason for his revenge. Sean turns the stove on and leaves the house, he changes Ray's shoes to make it appear that the trio were working on the house when an accident occurs. Sean lights one of Ray's shoes on fire and throws it in the house, Beckett and Carl scream and cry as Sean walks away from the house before it explodes, and the screen fades to black.
The title of the film refers to an episode after the murder, when Sean and Duke are at the zoo and Duke is musing about the game of deciding which animal most closely resembles a person, not physically, but on a deeper level. After roughing Sean up to discourage him from pursuing his quest for payment, he disparagingly remarks that he's found which animal resembles Sean: an ant.

Review: The gory violence just makes it even more disturbing, unlike the splatter comedies that he's commonly associated with (such as Re-Animator and From Beyond).Long-time fans of Gordon have probably sat through many movies that were critically despised (perhaps none more so than Space Truckers, which attracts way too much hate, in my opinion).
His films remain too dark and disturbing.If movies like King of the Ants and A History of Violence show us just one thing, it's that characters from these kinds of violent movies are incredibly disturbing when transposed into real world situations..
Stuart Gordon, considered a master of the horror genre thanks to classics like Re-Animator and Dagon, decides to do a different move in this strange trip to human morals."King of the Ants" is about a regular guy, Sean Crawley(newcomer Chris McKenna), a man without any aspiration who just live in his apartment doing the necessary job to live to the next day.
He has that look of innocence that hides a dark side and he manages to carry the film.The support cast also includes Kari Wuhrer, as Eric's widow who also becomes a central part of Sean's trip to hell.
He is the most developed of all and McKenna's performance is up to the challenge.The film has very disturbing images of violence, and while it may not be as graphic as "Kill Bill" for example, the strength of the violence is in the lack of humanity that the character manifest.
He is the king.Stuart Gordon has managed to create a film that, while maybe it's not one of his best efforts; it's very well done, has a VERY interesting story to tell, and manages to capture the attention every second of it.8/10.
This is not a horror-movie like the former, but it is "horrific" with its peculiar violent realism.Not much by way of character-development for the protagonist, but in this case, the less said about him the better, or we may not come around to be sympathetic with him when it counts.
What we do know of the character Sean Crawley is pretty damn ugly, but unknown actor Chris McKenna has a screen presence that makes him somewhat likable, or at least puts us in his corner in the end.This film is not a good choice for mixed company, much less a date, but worth watching when home alone and prepared to be wonderfully disturbed..
I couldn't avoid relating it to the most disturbing novel I've ever read: "Lord of the Flies" (William Golding, 1954) I won't go into details, but suffice to say that both this movie and the book deal with the dark side of human nature and both have perturbing effects on our minds and consciences.
To that I will say: Kudos to Stuart Gordon that Knows that that kind of information is just best left out (I'm so tired of getting every single fact written on my nose whenever I see movies by nervous Hacks!) The man knows that the viewers brains do have the ability to imagine stuff - and the brain works more effective when it doesn't know everything.
Stuart Gordon is not one of the most famous horror directors, but he's made a number of excellent movies (RE-ANIMATOR, FROM BEYOND, EDMOND) and only a couple of truly bad 'uns (DAGON, ROBOT JOX).
oh, and an impressively large penis.Another thing that lifts KING OF THE ANTS above standard horror/thriller fare is the script, which is adapted from his own novel by British comedy actor Charlie Higson (SWISS TONY, THE FAST SHOW).
And because you feel something for Sean, you're eager to see how things'll turn out for him.As with other strong low-budget films, it's pretty easy to figure out why KING OF THE ANTS wasn't even a minor hit when it was released.
so be amongst the first to notice that.You'll probably have pretty low expectations beforehand, but that's what makes finding a little gem like KING OF THE ANTS all the more gratifying.
But Sean makes an mistake by starting an relationship with the woman, which Sean killed her late husband.Directed by Stuart Gordon (Edmond, Fortress, Re-Animator) made an horrific crime thriller.
Sean's hallucinations and his imagination gets to be a bit much at times but it plays better in a reader imagination, since this movie is based on a novel by Charles Higson.
King of the Ants is a disturbing, almost neo-exploitation film that will have you feeling a sense of dread the entire way through.The cast is all good and it features veterans such as George Wendt of Cheers fame and of course, Daniel Baldwin.
Though, I think it would be ignorant to expect anything less from Stuart Gordon.If you want a disturbing film with good acting, definitely give this one a chance.
Well guys, lets make this simple, at start you gonna think it is a low quality and low production movie, then it turns out at the end that its true that is a low production movie, but an excellent one.i don't wanna spoil the movie for you, but all what i am gonna say is, it is worth spending 90 min in front of it, but you need to have some endurance watching the gore in it!Acting is not on top, but it is convincingThe Story is consumed from a lot of other movies, but this one is made a little different, still interesting .The is a new style in directing that movie, some parts caught my attention really, music was great, the ending was typical American movie.Thanks.
I found the torture scenes in "Marathon Man" and "Braveheart," to name just two, to be much more disturbing.One thing I really didn't like about this movie was that none of the major characters is particularly likable.
The cast delivers as well, especially newcomer Chris McKenna, who plays a progressively disturbed Sean Crawley.This is not your typical, Oscar material type of film, don't get me wrong.
It makes the whole experience even creepier.You should appreciate King of the Ants if you're not too squeamish, and can enjoy a good old super-twisted thriller with a plot that takes unexpected turns.
Charles Higson (author and screenwriter of KOTA), Stuart Gordon (director), the camera guy, the score writer/producer, the make-up folks, the editors and the excellent actors (especially lead actor Chris McKenna) nailed it, spot on !KOTA is not a horror movie in any sense other than some of the things that occur are, well, horrible.
Soon after she discovers who he is, tragedy strikes, and revenge sweeps through the air as the boy goes after his torturers (Daniel Baldwin, George Wendt, Vernon Wells) for their previous "kindness".I got to ask though, what is it with Kari Wuhrer and horror/gore type films?It seems everything she has put out lately has been in this genre.
Above all, Chris McKenna does the best job in playing the main character, Sean Crawley.
Only the sequences in which the guy descents in a spiral of madness are worth a mention and they're the only ones reminding you of the fact you're still watching a Stuart Gordon film.
I read a few other comments on King of the Ants, claiming it's Gordon's best since it finally is a thought-provoking and mature film.Well, if that's the case.I rather stay immature and give Re-Animator another viewing, thank you very much.
Stuart Gordan's new flick King Of The Ants is totally amazing!It's not a horror film in the strictest sense, more a horror film in the same way as Deadbeat At Dawn and Funny Games were horrors, ya see?Indeed don't go expecting another Reanimator guys and gals, because this couldn't be any more differant to Gordan's previous work.
In fact King Of The Ants has so much of the latter that it could be compared to All Night Long 3 in its subtextual observations on human beings and their worth....Don't be put off though, this film's virtually perfect other than a few ill advised hallucination sequences that look, unfortunately, like something from a cheesy rock video.
McKenna plays the ordinary man who puts himself in an unenviable position -- and has to squirm his way out of it -- perfectly, George Wendt will make you forget he ever was the lovable Norm from "Cheers," and Daniel Baldwin does a really good impression of his brother Alec (which does not detract from his performance, by the way).As for the writing, this is truly a film where you don't know where it's going from one minute to the next.
This (In King of the Ants) it has been done 1000 of times and in this particular movie the torturers have absolutely no motive or any motivation to act like they do.
Its simple, low budget, bad actors, bad direction, old ideas, needless violence, and a stupid story line.Its hard to make ten lines on this film, its starts out slow and ends slow.The shock scenes are there just to make you turn your head(and they do) but have no value otherwise.
I keep most movies I but regardless of there worth, this one I traded in.I see there is a part two that may have some value because I doubt you could get much worse but I don't intent to find out.Even if you like cult classics I don't see this movie entertaining you but there are some high votes for it so I could be wrong.Go into it ready to see needless violence and gross scenes.The story line is weak so don't look for much in that area and the camera work is even weaker.The actors are unbelievable at best and I don't think they where trying to be funny(not sure).all in all save your money.
The aptly named Sean Crawley (Chris McKenna) is a nondescript young man with no ambition, until he meets Duke (a surprisingly savage George Wendt), who connects him to a local construction boss (Daniel Baldwin), who proceeds to enlist the kid in a dangerous job that ends in murder.
I mean, for anyone who had seen some of his movies, it might be a surprise.I do think that "King of the Ants" proves that Stuart Gordon is not only a horror film director, but also a director, portion.
Despite some really horrific abuse, he managed to escape and start living a normal life with Kari Wuhrer until his secret gets out and he has to make things right.More like Payback than a horror film, except the hero doesn't get to ride off into the sunset with the girl..
The movie rests on the character of Sean, either the unluckiest guy in the world, or just really ready to expand his horizons.He's hired by this loser electrician (George Wendt, in a very un-Norm like role) and even more loser construction boss (Daniel Baldwin, who must have learned to act over the summer) to follow a government accountant.
Stuart Gordon is a director that I associate with cult classics such as Re-Animator and From Beyond, but King of the Ants is a huge step down from those two films, as while it may be a more serious movie overall; it's nowhere near as fun and has little to no cult value whatsoever.
He manages to get away, however, and it's not long before he's fallen in love with his victim's wife, and decided to take revenge on his employers.The pace of the film is very slow and boring, which is the complete opposite to that shown in Re-Animator and the rest of Stuart Gordon's best work.
The only problem is that some scenes (I mean Sean's two night terrors after he's tortured) are disgusting for the idea that some people can think of something like that.
It's also a very low budget movie, but one that's fairly entertaining despite its shortcomings.Chris McKenna works hard as the everyday Joe who finds himself caught up in events spiralling out of his control when he's introduced to slimy gangster Ray (played by the well-cast Daniel Baldwin).
Driven to murder, he then ends up at the mercy of some slightly bumbling gangsters; one of the most interesting things about the film is the cast, which includes George Wendt and Vernon Wells (COMMANDO) as the bad guys.
There's also time for a little romance with the lovely Kari Wuhrer until things take a turn for the very dark.We end up with a traditional revenge plot, but along the way there are fresh touches of inspiration and surprise, including a very gruelling torture sequence which shows you don't have to be graphic to be deeply unpleasant.
McKenna, whom I've never seen before - but LOVED his little nude scene)is making ends meet as a painter, when he meets electrician Duke Wayne (George Wendt from "Cheers").
Thinking he's getting more work from Duke, Sean agrees to meet contractor Ray Matthews (Daniel Baldwin, playing a stereotypically evil guy).
But as soon as Ray, Duke and their crew kidnap Sean to muscle the information about the file out of him, it just got dumber and dumber (and still DUMBER...), until finally it seemed like the film's writer, Charlie Higson, had snapped out of a 10-day writing hangover and realized he needed to desperately figure out how to wrap up the series of implausible messes he created before a deadline or something.
It's supposed to be a psychological thriller, and McKenna is a decent actor, but it's hard to give yourself to the movie when you have "Norm" from "Cheers" and a Baldwin brother doing the dirty work, and a kidnapping strategy that really makes no damned sense.
While he might still (sadly) remain a cult director, King of the Ants shows that when it comes to choosing his projects, Gordon is just looking for a good story.
He tries to start a new life with Susan, but when she finds the documents and the truth about him, he plots a powerful revenge against Ray and his men."The King of the Ants" is a great bizarre thriller, with a good amoral story of manipulation, crime, humiliation and payback supported e by excellent screenplay, direction and performances.
King of the Ants is one of those good ones.Sean Crawley (Chris L.
Thinking this is just like the movies, Sean demands his money and lets "Duke" know that if anything happens to him a file will be sent to the cops, implicating Ray in the accountant's murder.Sean thinks they may beat him up a little but they won't kill him as long as they don't have the file.
If you want to know what happens to Sean after the shed and what becomes of the dead accountant's beautiful wifeyou'll have to watch the film yourself.There are a lot of nice things about King of the Ants.
There's some fairly shoddy camera-work throughout the film and the movie ignores the fact that Sean is just as bad (or maybe even worse) than Ray and his guys.
King of the Ants tells the tale of a young guy named Sean Crawley (Chris McKenna) who does whatever he can to earn a living where he lives in California, he meets a guy named Duke Wayne (co-producer George Wendt) who introduces Sean to his crooked property developer boss Ray Mathews (Daniel Baldwin) who hires him to follow a TV news reporter named Eric Gatley (Ron Livingston).
Sean does the dirty deed but then has trouble getting his money from Ray, very quickly things turn nasty as lots of pain is handed out & lots of blood spilt...Co-produced & directed by Stuart Gordon who is well known amongst horror fans for various impressive gore filled splatter efforts including Re-Animator (1985), From Beyond (1986) & Dolls (1987) King of the Ants is a different kind of film from Gordon & one that I actually rather liked.
The thing which makes King of the Ants so effective are the character's & the sharp dialogue of the sort Quentin Tarantino made so popular in Pulp Fiction (1994), the little story Ray tells Sean just before he ask's him to kill Eric is one good example.
The acting is very good & George Wendt is just plain funny & fantastic to watch.King of the Ants is actually a bizarre title that does have some relevance but not much & I don't think that the odd sounding title does it any favours but I liked it & I'm sure those who are looking for something a bit different will too, definitely worth a watch in my opinion..
By combining a rough visual style (that utilises hand-held camera-work to great effect) with his unflinching eye for violent detail, he delivers a shocking film that is genuinely disturbing.Sean Crawley (Chris McKenna) is a loser; he lives on his own and has a crap job painting housesthat is, until he meets an electrician named Duke (George Wendt), who gets him a job working for Ray Mathews (Daniel Baldwin), a decidedly shady businessman.
This is the brilliance of Gordon's film; it makes the viewer uneasy about identifying with Sean after everything he has done, questioning our own sense of morality.Watch King of the Ants and see what I mean..
McKenna leads an excellent ensemble cast here (including Kari Wuhrer, George Wendt, Vernon Wells, and Daniel Baldwin) and I feel he may have trouble getting future work because he really put himself out there for this role.
What a great little movie King of the Ants turned out to be.
This is no horror movie by any means, not a single mention or a single vampire, werewolf or zombie in sight, this movie is the story of human exploitation and retribution, in the most horrific sense.Sean Crawley (Chris McKenna) is your typically average young man, working to make end's meet and getting through life with his head just above water, until one day he meets one Duke Wayne (George Wendt, noted for his career as Norm from the TV sitcom Cheers) and who in turn introduces him to the charismatic Ray Mathews (Daniel Baldwin).