Empire of the Ants

PG

1977

1h 29m

Sci-Fi

List

5%

19 Reviews

Tomatometer

25%

1,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Con artist Marilyn Fryser (Joan Collins) has a steady and profitable racket. Along with an unscrupulous ship captain (Robert Lansing), she takes gullible investors on a cruise of the Everglades and persuades them to invest in a housing development that will never be. But when she and her latest group of suckers go ashore on a small island, they're horrified to discover that illegally dumped toxic waste has created a breed of giant ants set on human destruction.

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Rex Reed

New York Daily News

The Empire of the Ants is edgy, insipid worthlessness that dares to claim it derives from H.G. Wells.

Oct 26, 2021

Full Review

Variety Staff

Variety

Periodic moments of good special effects are separated by reels of dramatic banality as players flounder in flimsy dialog and under sluggish direction.

Mar 26, 2009

Full Review

Time Out

It's all drastically boring.

Jan 26, 2006

Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Yup, you'll be rooting for the ants.

Rated: 1.5/4

Nov 7, 2022

Full Review

Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

Once the attacks begin, the film grows slightly more interesting, if only because of the curious combination of monster effects.

Rated: 6/10

Aug 29, 2020

Full Review

TV Guide

Laughable exploitation film results in a complete waste of time and talent.

Rated: 1/4

Aug 3, 2009

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Michael C

If you want mindless entertainment, "Empire of the Ants" is just what you need. This 1977 science fiction/horror film is no classic, but it is at least entertaining for what its worth. The cast does as well as they can with the script they have. Joan Collins does a decent job as a con artist posing as a real estate developer Marilyn Fryser. I will admit it was nice to see veteran actors in early roles. Especially a pre-"Chips"" Robert Pine as a horny prospective customer of Marilyn's. The late Robert Lansing does the best acting job in the cast as the boat captain Marilyn recruits to take her prospective guests to a remote island for a tour of the property she plans to develop or so she says. Again the movie is worth seeing for some early performances by well known actors starting their careers. Aside from that there is not much of a reason to see "Empire of the Ants" It is not a terrible movie, but is is not all that great either.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

11/28/23

Full Review

Dallas H

Bert I. Gordon loves to blow everything out of proportion. He made an entire movie career out of it. Something is intriguing about this 1970's creature feature. Sure, it has a few cheesy special effects, such as the split-screen optical effects, but I still had a bit of fun watching the movie. Just throw back a few cheap beers and enjoy a viewing of mindless good fun.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

11/19/23

Full Review

jonathan m

Its not Troll 2 standard but it also ain't citizen cane fans of Joan will like it and fans of creature features.will also.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

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Audience Member

Pure Nostalgia fun! Loved it!

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/01/23

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Audience Member

The shots with the giant ants are darker than the reality shots they're matched with, giving them a strange, dreamlike quality. The writing and acting are like something you'd have seen on Love Boat or She's the Sheriff. The one genuinely creepy shot, I thought, was when the old couple stepped out of the abandoned out house.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/17/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The audio in Empire of the Ants is infuriating to the point of being nigh unwatchable. But on mute? By jingo you might just be onto something there.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/22/23

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Bert I. Gordon

Director

Joan Collins

Marilyn Fryser

Robert Lansing

Dan Stokely

John David Carson

Joe Morrison

Albert Salmi

Sheriff Art Kincade

Jacqueline Scott

Margaret Ellis

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Synopsis

Con artist Marilyn Fryser (Joan Collins) has a steady and profitable racket. Along with an unscrupulous ship captain (Robert Lansing), she takes gullible investors on a cruise of the Everglades and persuades them to invest in a housing development that will never be. But when she and her latest group of suckers go ashore on a small island, they're horrified to discover that illegally dumped toxic waste has created a breed of giant ants set on human destruction.

Director: Bert I. Gordon
Producer: Samuel Z. Arkoff
Screenwriter: Jack Turley
Production Co: American Internat'l Pics
Rating: PG
Genre: Sci-Fi
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 15, 2016
Runtime: 1h 29m

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