A cosmic anomaly causes Ants to behave erratically, decimating their natural predators and scaring off the human population. Two scientists, Lesko and Hubbs (Michael Murphy and Nigel Davenport respectively) travel to an area of significant Ant activity to investigate the aberration only to find themselves fighting for their lives.
Part of the wave of "serious" sci-fi films that were the standard after the release of 2001: A Space Odyssey, Phase IV is one of the lesser known examples. The only feature film to be directed by Saul Bass, Bass is a well known graphic designer behind some of the most iconic logos, movie posters, and opening credit sequences in pop culture history. Unfortunately in Bass's only foray into narrative feature direction, he creates a plodding, ponderous, preposterous movie that is more focused on producing nice looking shots than it is creating an engaging plot or characters.
The movie isessentially a mixture of 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Birds, and Them! with the ants in the movie becoming superpowered by some unexplained force, running amok on sparsely populated human settlements, all inter cut with trippy surreal imagery backed up by a grating synth score with bass undertones that tries to be eerie but comes off as annoying. The two scientists in the movie are barely emotive planks of wood who have barely any character and have about as much chemistry and humanity as the equipment they're using.
The movie has some nice imagery to it, but it's such a ponderous experience that the novelty of the well framed visuals very quickly loses its impact and you quickly realize how little has actually happened in the movie you're watching. The movie pendulums back and forth between beautiful shots and dry exposition and it's an uninvolved experience that fails to be engaging.
Phase IV is a joyless, overlong, meandering mess of a movie that tries to substitute story and character for visual polish. It's a surface level film with no lingering impact and doesn't have the profundity of serious sci-fi nor the joy of sci-fi camp of the 50s resulting in boredom and annoyance.
Part of the wave of "serious" sci-fi films that were the standard after the release of 2001: A Space Odyssey, Phase IV is one of the lesser known examples. The only feature film to be directed by Saul Bass, Bass is a well known graphic designer behind some of the most iconic logos, movie posters, and opening credit sequences in pop culture history. Unfortunately in Bass's only foray into narrative feature direction, he creates a plodding, ponderous, preposterous movie that is more focused on producing nice looking shots than it is creating an engaging plot or characters.
The movie isessentially a mixture of 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Birds, and Them! with the ants in the movie becoming superpowered by some unexplained force, running amok on sparsely populated human settlements, all inter cut with trippy surreal imagery backed up by a grating synth score with bass undertones that tries to be eerie but comes off as annoying. The two scientists in the movie are barely emotive planks of wood who have barely any character and have about as much chemistry and humanity as the equipment they're using.
The movie has some nice imagery to it, but it's such a ponderous experience that the novelty of the well framed visuals very quickly loses its impact and you quickly realize how little has actually happened in the movie you're watching. The movie pendulums back and forth between beautiful shots and dry exposition and it's an uninvolved experience that fails to be engaging.
Phase IV is a joyless, overlong, meandering mess of a movie that tries to substitute story and character for visual polish. It's a surface level film with no lingering impact and doesn't have the profundity of serious sci-fi nor the joy of sci-fi camp of the 50s resulting in boredom and annoyance.