Them!

"When man entered the atomic age, he opened the door into a new world. What we'll eventually find in that new world, nobody can predict." - Dr. Medford

release year: 1954
genre: sci-fi/horror
viewing setting: home streaming 10/20/26

synopsis: Giant mutated ants appear in the New Mexico desert, and they're multiplying and spreading.

impressions: This was another good sci-fi classic from 70 years ago. I've been on a kick of these lately. I doubt anything like this had ever been made at the time, and it was somewhat groundbreaking, I'd imagine. At first, it's a mystery why people are dead or missing, but once the police and government figure out what's going on, the race is on to find and stop the giant ants before it's too late. This ends up in a search beneath the streets of Los Angeles. The tension and menace are palpable, expecially when people are roaming around underground. And the giant ant special effects are fairly convincing.

acting: James Whitmore (the same actor who played the old inmate in The Shawshank Redemption) is a police sergeant who finds the first victims. James Arness is an FBI agent who's sent down to help, early on. Edmund Gwenn is an old scientist who specializes in ants, and Joan Weldon is his daughter, also a scientist, who helps out.

final word: Good early tale about the possible side effects of the atomic bomb.

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