Phase IV
Tags: tragedy, cult, murder

Plot synopsis:
Due to an unknown cosmic event, listed in "phases", ants have undergone rapid evolution and developed a hive mind. A scientific team begins investigating strange towers and geometrically perfect designs that ants have built in the desert. Except for one family, the local human population flees the strangely acting ants. Scientists James Lesko and Ernest Hubbs set up a computerized lab in a sealed dome located in an area of significant ant activity in Arizona. The ant colony and the scientific team, along with the holdout family, fight each other though the ants are the more effective aggressors.
The narrative uses the scientific team as the main protagonists, but there are also ant protagonists going about their duties in the colony. The ants immunize themselves to the humans' chemical weapons and soon infiltrate their lab. Teams of ants penetrate the computers of the lab and short them out. After Lesko decodes an ant message, Kendra Eldrige, (a young woman who had taken refuge with the scientists) becomes convinced that her actions have enraged the ants. Seeking to save the two scientists, she abandons the lab and apparently sacrifices herself.
Hubbs and Lesko begin to have different plans for dealing with the ants. While Lesko thinks he can communicate with the ants using messages written in mathematics, Hubbs plans to wipe out a hill he believes to be the ants' central hive. Delirious from a venomous ant sting, Hubbs can barely get his boots on but is determined to attack the hive and kill the ant queen. Instead, Hubbs literally falls into a trap – a deep pit that the ants fill with earth. Helpless to save Hubbs, and concluding that the ants will soon move into desert areas where their growth will exceed man's ability to control them, Lesko chooses to follow Hubbs's plan. He sets out to the hive with a canister of poison. Descending into the hive, Lesko hunts for the queen, but instead finds Kendra. The two embrace, and Lesko realizes that far from destroying the human race, the ants' plan is to change them and make them a part of the ants' world. In voice-over, Lesko states that he does not know what plans the ants have, but he is awaiting instruction. There is also an alternative ending with an elaborate Saul Bass-type montage of weird images.

Review: But even as a youngster wanting something more un-subtle and action-oriented, I was not turned off by PHASE IV's slow art-film qualities.It is a shame Saul Bass never directed again because this was a valiant effort to do something a little different.
The beauty of these kinds of movies, is that they are not so much plot-driven as well 'atmosphere-driven' (by lack of a better word), so you can watch several times without getting bored.
There's something totally raw about the way these ants act and are shot alongside the inexorable, almost plodding pace of the piece that makes Phase IV seem amazingly, terrifyingly real.
30 years ago I fell asleep on the couch and woke up half-way through a movie about ants forming a collective and attacking people in the desert.
Unfortunately, I did not have a TV guide at the time and so never new the name of this movie.It bothered me for years that I didn't know the name of the movie and every now and again I would try various Google searches (when Google was invented) but initially found no matching entries and later on there were too many entries about movies with ants - so I would give up.I recently posted this question "What's the name of this movie with ants?" on a forum and miraculously someone provided the name and a link to this website - if they hadn't I could have lived a full life and died without knowing the name.That's how striking this movie is.My next mission is find a copy so I can watch the whole thing..
Phases of Horror and Psychedelic Art. When one hears of a sci-fi film about the massing of hyper-intelligent ants one immediately constructs a mental imagine of something akin to Them!
While being fully aware of the genre's motifs its cinematic approach is that of the art-house – a 70s psychedelic sci-fi trip shrouded in hordes of ants directed by the famous Academy Award winning graphic designer, Saul Bass.
It's the only feature film directed by Bass and it's almost completely forgotten and certainly isn't readily available for viewing.The story is fairly simple: some undefined cosmic event occurs and augments ant evolution.
This particular desert colony ascends to an intelligent collective consciousness making the ants capable of communication and great terror.
Straight away at the start of the film we are presented some truly striking images of the ant intelligence movement for several minutes – no dialog, no humans, just cinematic language.In short one could say, If you're the type of person annoyed by a Space Odyssey or even Blade Runner, then you're the type of person that shouldn't watch Phase IV.
Many would also find this film boring because of the lack of "action" sequences until the end, pretty much summed up when the nutter scientist is consumed in a pit of ants.
Phase IV is an incredible full length feature film by Saul Bass who is most acclaimed as a graphic designer who's work can be seen as the opening credits from The Seven Year Itch, Vertigo, West Side Story to Alien, Broadcast News and Casino.
The emotion that the girl shows in the film is clearly meant to be shock and not bad acting - only in over the top Hollywood acting do women get completely taken over by hysteria for the majority of the film.This is not a standard horror or action film and the tension builds as the nature of the film changes from observance of a scientific study, to the observance of several disasters, to a chilling conclusion.Those who want a cerebral, plot and dialogue based, tense and suspense-filled thriller will probably love this film.
While it's true that "Phase IV" is rather slow moving in spots, and that the human characters are ciphers with no real depth to speak of, "Phase IV" is a nice sally at an experimental science fiction film that emphasizes mood and dread over action and character development.I had the good fortune to watch this on a really large flat screen TV, and the amazing insect photography (major kudos to the editor who managed to integrate it so completely into the story!) and dissonant synthesizer laden sound track come through nicely with good viewing equipment - they add the proper utterly alien and inhuman feel to the movie and turn something pretty good into something really creep and spooky.Although the characters are admittedly pretty flat, that's undoubtedly on purpose.
Even so, Nigel Davenport brings the good stuff to his role as the biologist trying to contain the ants, and you both know everything you need to know and everything you'll ever know about in the first five minutes...without ever knowing him at all.An ambiguous and otherworldly/mystical ending might not sit well with a lot of viewers who like their science fiction movies to wrap things up by the end.
And, OK, the goofy little montage at the end with the mathematician and the gamin doesn't really match the quality of the hallucinatory insect footage that preceded it.Still, Saul Bass knew how to present an otherworldly, truly alien experience, but he was probably just too far ahead of his time.A classic of sorts..
Thought-provoking, and beautifully shot for a low budget film, Phase IV generates real suspense and heightened drama through good performances, a well-crafted story, and excellent editing of the extreme close-up shots of the ants.
Michael Murphy and Nigel Davenport play two scientists studying the recent peculiar behavior of ants after a strange outer space phenomenon has occurred.
Seems the(normal) sized ants have evolved into a collective intelligence, and are studying them as well, in the next step of mutual evolution...Weird(to say the least)film is nonetheless quite original and intelligent; seems to be partially inspired by "2001: A Space Odyssey", and though not a masterpiece, still contains some quite striking visual imagination and ambition(courtesy of director Saul Bass) and a mind-bending ending that gives much to ponder.
One of the spate of "environmental" sci-fi movies that came out in the wake of 2001, SILENT RUNNING comes to mind as well as the superficially similar (to PHASE IV) THE HELLSTROM CHRONICLE, this movie has the benefit of some good macro photography of various ants (and, if I remember my days in California, a blue-black wasp with orange feelers and wings known as a "tarantula hawk").
Included was the "long lost" alternate ending which was influenced (obviously) by 2001 and some other obscure films like THE MASK (Julian Roffman's 1961 3-D extravaganza) and William Cameron Menzie's, also a noted designer, THE MAZE.The movie is a bit dated and clearly "hooie" although I remember it as being a bit more convincing when I saw it in a theater in 1974.
Super intelligent ants are a theme not explored enough in today's cinema- at least we have films like Phase IV to look back upon since these themes seem to be too difficult for the modern cinema.
The "human footage" is shot in a way that makes it look and feel similar to the macro photography footage, the people and the ants are treated equally to such an extent that the boundaries between the "two worlds" become blurry while one is succumbed to the experience that is 'Phase IV'.
This and the excellent blending of human footage and insect footage gives the whole film an otherworldly atmosphere.I was reminded of 'Andromeda Strain' in its ignoring of plot conventions to make a scientifically fascinating movie but whereas 'Andromeda Strain' might be a great Sci-Fi movie it isn't a great experience, 'Phase IV" on the other hand, while also being an intelligent movie, is less concerned about scientific accuracy than about creating a unique experience and touching a few intriguing themes on the way.
Famed title designer Saul Bass made his feature length directing debut with this offbeat film that offers a fresh alternative to the giant insect pictures of the atomic age.
It's short on action and long on dialogue and atmosphere; it's definitely an animal attack film for the thinking person, but is fascinating in a surreal, mind bending way.
Adding to their problems is the appearance of local farm girl Kendra Eldridge (played by the beautiful, appealing Lynne Frederick), whose family was besieged by the ant aggressors.Bass dares to have this story take its time, but offers the viewer an interesting tale (written by Mayo Simon) with far reaching possibilities.
If you are afraid of ants then stay away.The film with its set design wants to reflect the symbolism of 2001: A Space Odyssey with its giant towers and action inside a dome like laboratory somewhere in the Arizona desert.A colony of ants have somehow gained heightened intelligence and are manipulating events so local people leave the area.
However the ants are using their collective intelligence to torment and play mind games on the people.I can see that this film has a cultish following.
It wants to be enigmatic and perplexing, it suddenly ends leaving you puzzled.I found the whole thing dull, poorly acted with Nigel Davenport and Michael Murphy desperately trying to rescue this mess of a film..
In this film, he plays a scientist out to study ants in the Arizona desert.
It's the ants.This film has a lot to offer and is deeply rewarding when watched again and again over the years.
since i saw a horror movie about ants with 8years i am a bit afraid about them - even i don't like them.
but phase IV is not a horror sci-fi about ants or so, it's a film about the mankind and the social systems we live in or could live in.
In "Phase IV", the ants maintain their normal proportions, they're probably always filmed with a microscope attached to the camera, and that's what makes the horror so much more realistic.
The ants transcend the boundaries of human intellect, and toy mercilessly with the researchers, herding them to a frightening prospect, but it has to be said, one that unfolds much too rapidly in the film's closing sequences.Sharp photography accentuates bleeding colour tones that saturate the dust-bowl landscape and Bass does an impressive job with experimental angles and visual effects.
You know what though> even though I just said that, I can see why some people would get upset about it being "just another silly sci-fi flick", and the reason being, is that when it first starts out, even though you see some ants, you still could imagine it being, more or less a true life story.
I watched it with my fiancé and she told me, "That was strange..." I then referenced a Family Guy episode that talked about one of those old 70's science fiction films with the ambiguous endings and said, "This is a near perfect example of one of those and the music is just like one of those!" Yes, this film is a bit ambiguous, a bit vague and it is also very unique.
No, here the ants are becoming more intelligent and the changes subtle at first as the first five or so minutes of the film almost play out like a nature documentary.
What makes this film such a classic is the stunning camera work, especially of the ants and other creatures, the use of very vivid colour and a very effective soundtrack.
i know that in the end of the movie it makes sense as she's easier too capture by a group of ants smaller than herself attacking her vulnerable naked feet with convenience still unknown too what they use too turn her into their queen???.
Other than that it's all fairly confusing stuff with the whole ant community work exceedingly interesting yet the actual idea very boringly filmed.
This odd little Sci-Fi film takes the common 'when animals attack' horror theme, but instead of making them giant or an animal that usually attacks humans, this time it's just ants that are the focus.
Of course, the idea of ants attacking humans had already been done two decades earlier with the classic monster movie 'Them!' back in 1954.
However, the ants aren't happy about being studied, and begin to use their collective powers to torment the three people inside the lab.I respect the fact that the filmmakers obviously had a lot of ideas for this film, but most of them aren't well executed, making it; to me at least, a film full of missed opportunity.
Director Saul Bass seems to care more about close-up photography than character development or plot, as he delights in capturing magnified shots of the ants, but forgets to almost everything else.
This is not because they want to, but because they have to.The movie opens with a narrator cryptically explaining that some cosmic event has come over the earth, and that a fellow scientist has been working on the effect this disturbance has on the ant population.
Basically this film is about what happens when ants gain a collective intelligence and declare war on man.The talkiness (which, at least for me wasn't fatally boring) is offset by incredible micro-photography of real ants and a good overall sense of creepiness of the encroaching insects.Saul Bass will be forever known as the one who did innovative title sequences for films (especially Hitchcock films)and his claims to have actually directed the shower sequence in Psycho.Here, the directing and the titles are pretty straight forward and there is some good cinematography.
An underrated, little-seen Thriller with its Elegant Cinematography and Great Insect Footage remains a Thought-Provoking and wholly engaging Film.Directed by Famous and Award Winning Graphic Title Designer Saul Bass, combining stunning scenery and SFX with an Ominous Musical Score, the Movie is an Unnerving Unraveling of an event puzzling Scientists and could be a Foreboding of Things to Come.It's well Acted, save the Girl, and the Tension at times is unbearable.
that lesser films resort to.At the beginning of the movie the narrator mentions something about some celestial event that was briefly in the news, then forgotten, but it had some profound effect on the ant population of the world.
The scientists counter-attack, to which the ants develop counter-counter measures, etc.All in all, not a bad sci-fi movie, I enjoyed it.
Still, the approach works, as two scientists match wits with mutating super-intelligent ants who seem to know more than they do.The movie builds suspense and interest, if slowly, but then blows it all on the oblique ending that leaves you sitting there thinking, "That's it?"I find it hard to recommend this movie..
I mean, they had an interesting story, clearly a talented director to make it all look and feel as it should, the least they could do is get their facts straight.The way the movie is made presents some stunning visuals and a captivating atmosphere.
Saul Bass, the director, directed only five obscure movies, but ended up being a title designer for a lot of known ones.
I saw this Mystery Science Theater episode recently and was bored beyond human capability due to this incredibly "complex" and scientific film called PHASE IV.
Saul Bass's "Phase IV" lies within the interstices of science fiction and horror, and adds an unexpected element: that of sheer awe and mystery.As a partial inspiration for his film, Bass likely had the 1971 faux documentary "The Hellstrom Chronicle" in mind.
The film's end leaves little doubt as to man's future, and eerily implies that the ants have a plan for a new "Adam and Eve" that is rather different from that of humanity's supposed "creator".
The ant colony photography is beautiful, majestic, and scary.Most of the film is 'Phase II': the attempts of the scientists to communicate with the ants and contain them, and of the ants' attacks on humans and the research dome.
But it's rarely been done so effectively and fascinatingly as in this 1974 effort directed by famed production/title sequence designer Saul Bass in which the insect threat isn't predicated on ridiculous atomic-irradiated mutated giants, but on a strange rapidly developing intelligence in the hive-mind of an ant population in the American desert southwest.The film begins with narration by British scientist Hubbs (Nigel Davenport) sent to an area that has experienced odd troubles with ant colonies; he is accompanied by American statistical theoretician Lesko (the seriously under-appreciated Michael Murphy) and the two start their studies of the odd insect populations inside a self-contained geodesic dome.
It's clear the ants in the area have mutated, developed some kind of superanimal intelligence and the two ill-matched (of course) scientists spend most of the film studying and trying to communicate with, or defeat the potential threat of the insects.
Much of the middle part of the film is quite exciting, and most of this is provided by the exquisite insect photography (cinematography is by Dick Bush, don't know who else to credit for special close-up microscopic photography) and the eerie music (Brian Gascoigne) which goes from typical 70s electronic stuff to British neoromanticism and areas in between - you really feel that these ants are intelligent and purposeful, and in fact they're more worth rooting for than the humans, which brings up the major problem.
And on Psycho, Bass was integrally involved in that films shower murder sequence, going so far to create the boards and test footage that convinced Hitchcock how the scene should be shot.This leads us to the only movie that Bass would direct on his own, 1974's Phase IV.
He decides that the ants don't want to destroy the human race, but instead make their two worlds work together.Originally, Bass filmed a four-minute long montage sequence that ended the film, showing what life on new Earth would be like and how evolution would change Lesko and Kendra.
Though primarily an animator and designer of title sequences ("Psycho", "Vertigo", "Spartacus" etc), Saul Bass also directed "Phase IV", his first and only feature length film.The plot?