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      Phase IV

      PG Now Playing 1h 26m Sci-Fi List
      53% Tomatometer 19 Reviews 55% Audience Score 1,000+ Ratings Arizona ants mock the food chain on their way to a desert lab to get two scientists (Nigel Davenport, Michael Murphy) and a woman (Lynne Frederick). Read More Read Less Now in Theaters Now Playing Buy Tickets

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      Phase IV

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      Critics Reviews

      View All (19) Critics Reviews
      Variety Staff Variety Cinematically, the ants are never very menacing. Mar 26, 2009 Full Review Martyn Auty Time Out Bass is the man who gave you the cat crawl for Walk on the Wild Side. As a director he's still got a lot of bugs to iron out. Feb 9, 2006 Full Review Jonathan Rosenbaum Chicago Reader So-so ecological SF thriller. Jun 11, 2005 Full Review Anton Bitel Projected Figures Saul Bass' only feature sees humans fast losing a chess game to evolving ants Feb 14, 2021 Full Review Chris Ward Flickering Myth An oddity that does what all good sci-fi should do by asking questions but unfortunately not quite managing to deliver on its initial promise. May 11, 2020 Full Review Nathanael Hood Unseen Films In Phase IV we see a fledgling filmmaker biting off more than they can chew. Rated: 4/10 May 7, 2020 Full Review Read all reviews

      Audience Reviews

      View All (126) audience reviews
      Steve D Unintentional comedy that is extremely self serious. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 03/23/23 Full Review Taylor L "Do you want ants? Because THAT'S how you get ants." Phase IV is a fun film because it takes a bit of an absurd premise - a hyperintelligent, aggressive ant colony with powers granted by a cosmic flash - and gives it the philosophical sci-fi/horror treatment of a space opera like 2001: A Space Odyssey or Solaris, plus a Tremors-esque fight against a mystery monster. The dynamic progresses from academic curiosity to survival horror to third-eye social engineering as the surviving protagonists ultimately accept their unknown future at the hands of novel and mysterious power. The power of ants. The only feature film directed by Saul Bass, more commonly known for his graphic design and storyboard work than anything else, it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that the conflict in this film features a lot of quick cuts to simulate the action of coordinated ants (since they're not so easy to herd) in a similar style to the storyboards he created for the iconic shower scene in Psycho. The visual composition is intense and thematically relevant, making it all the funnier when you remember that yes, this is still a film where the great cosmic villains are ants. Still not sure if this is visually great nonsense or a brilliant satire of heady sci-fi. (3/5) Rated 3 out of 5 stars 10/15/22 Full Review Audience Member <i>In a single monotone voice, of a single homogenous hive mindset:</i> I, for one, welcome our new insect overlords—even if they are somewhat boring, the characters dry, and the story mechanical, at least until that psychedelic ending, which must be what happens when you get bitten by a bullet ant. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/30/23 Full Review Audience Member Live action, real ants! Love the premise Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review Audience Member A convoluted, tedious mess. Not only is it hokey, it's almost laughable. It's soo boringly paced, it's hard to follow, and there isn't a suspenseful moment in sight. But there is some truly exceptional insect photography in this... Rated 1 out of 5 stars 01/21/19 Full Review delysid d A couple of scientists try to fend off some killer ants Rated 3 out of 5 stars 08/28/17 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      Photos

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      Phase IV

      Phase IV (1974) Phase IV (1974) Phase IV (1974) Phase IV (1974) Phase IV (1974) View more photos

      Movie Info

      Synopsis Arizona ants mock the food chain on their way to a desert lab to get two scientists (Nigel Davenport, Michael Murphy) and a woman (Lynne Frederick).
      Director
      Saul Bass
      Screenwriter
      Mayo Simon
      Distributor
      Paramount Pictures
      Production Co
      Paramount
      Rating
      PG
      Genre
      Sci-Fi
      Original Language
      English
      Release Date (Theaters)
      Sep 6, 1974, Wide
      Release Date (Streaming)
      Feb 11, 2017
      Runtime
      1h 26m
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