WillSushyMedia
This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.
Brendon Jones
It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.
Tyreece Hulme
One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.
bkoganbing
A lot of familiar faces show up in this made for television film about a colony of
ants who get mighty upset with humankind around Myrna Loy's resort hotel
where there's some construction going on under the stewardship of foreman
Robert Foxworth. This films teaches us that when Ants get disturbed they can
really cause havoc.I remember back in good old Fort Polk almost 50 years ago I put my hand on a
nest of Ants and got some bites for my trouble. With what Foxworth and Lynda Day George go through in the end I hope their paychecks cleared before
filming that last rescue scene.You have to be an insect lover or a stargazer to appreciate this film. What was
Myrna Loy thinking? I guess she saw a lot of her contemporaries go the horror
and science fiction route. But this is definitely no Whatever Happened To Baby Jane. Louis B. Mayer never gave her a film like this.
Jeremysnow9
Suzanne Somers. The only reason I gave this movie a try was because I saw that Suzanne Somers was in it. I am a BIG fan of "Threes Company". I am glad i Gave this movie a try. In the beginning, the deaths seem like freak accidents, until the manor owners realize that the ants are the killers. A man explains that after years of chemicals being soaked in the ground, the ants have become mutated. 1 bite: Harmless, 50+ bites: uncertain/possible death, 100+ bites: CERTAIN DEATH. When the victims are killed, over 100 ants cling to them to kill them, and the ants have certain properties so that they stick to your skin. Then, too the climax of the film, The remaining people in the manor find out that if you don't move, the ants won't bite them, so they sit perfectly still breathing through funnels of paper. Eventually, one man loses it and jumps out the window. The remaining two characters survive and there is a happy ending. There were other people in the manor who survived because they were airlifted before the ants came. I love this movie. There is another film, Tarantulas: the deadly cargo, it has similar properties of a 50s horror film. Love it Love it Love it!
Vomitron_G
This is another one of those 'humans vs insects/eco-horror' features; a theme that was popular in the late 70's. Only you can't really call it horror. There's zero suspense and no gruesome events. In other words: this movie is pretty lame. It's not that it's really bad or something; it's just very boring. A construction site near a hotel uncovers a big nest of ants. Later on we learn that, probably due to different sorts of pesticides used in the past, their bite became poisonous. Some people get bitten and rushed to the hospital and it takes ages for the residents of the hospital to figure out what's going on. Robert Foxworth figures it out first and then you can see him go berserk with a digging machine for what seems like several hours. Then they flee in the house, waiting to get rescued. And, man, you should see all the efforts they make for rescuing them. I won't spoil too much, but at one point they even use a big helicopter. All the time when I was watching this, I sat there thinking "Come on, people, you all got shoes on. Just run out of the building. I'm sure a bunch of ants won't catch up with you." It's all pretty ridiculous.Of course, lots of close-ups of crawling ants are shown throughout the whole movie. Ants in the garden. Ants in the garbage. Ants in the kitchen. Ants on the roof. Ants in the bedroom. Ants in the sink. And the best part: Ants crawling on people's faces while the actors are breathing through straws. But when you see groups of ants in wider shots, they indeed look like black rice the set designers glued to the wall.One small surprise came near the end. No, it has nothing to do with a twist in the plot. It was just that Brian Dennehy made an appearance as a chief-fireman. Ehrr... What more can I say? This movie is called IT HAPPENED AT LAKEWOOD MANOR but the box-art of my copy read ANTS and the title during the opening credits was PANIC AT LAKEWOOD MANOR. There you have it. Now, since this is a made-for-TV movie from the 70's, I'll be once again extremely mild in my final rating. Now, THE SAVAGE BEES, another 'humans vs insects' TV-movie from 1976 was much better than this one. I even feel I have to go back and add a few points to its rating after having seen ANTS. Lacking suspense, action, thrills, shocks and creepiness, the only thing you'll be left with after seeing ANTS is an annoying itch.
Chase_Witherspoon
Construction site unearths an army of toxic ants that engulf the neighbouring hotel. Construction Manager Foxworth and foreman Casey lead the charge to convince the owners of the impending danger, and then save the guests from imminent death.Almost sounds exciting, and while it doesn't quite live up to its premise, a surprisingly good cast and competently handled action sequences contribute to a watchable entry in the "animal attack" film genre.Foxworth plays the hero with macho determination, coming to the rescue of his girlfriend (Day-George) and soon-to-be mother-in-law (Loy) who are trapped in the besieged hotel, along with an assortment of other residents and ring-ins. Suzanne Somers gets star billing despite only being in a minor supporting role, while future star Brian Dennehy chimes in late in the piece as the fire brigade captain who must engineer an escape plan for the trapped victims.Nothing fancy, no expensive special effects, Emmy-award winning performances or memorable dialogue, just the tried and tested disaster film formula, with a new element for excitement. The only real liability, is a somewhat bizarre (and equally absurd) climax ending that might leave the audience a little disappointed.Disbelief aside, "Ants" is a reasonable way to spend an hour-and-a-half, and may leave you hesitant about dismissing the innocuous looking insects, next time they infest your kitchen sink.
