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Description

“AHHH! THEM! THEM! THEM!”

It’s been a while, so let’s look at some giant radioactive monsters. 1954’s “THEM!” is one of those classic giant monster movies that has become an icon in both horror and science fiction. The image of giant ants has been seen countless times in film, comics, and video games with a nearly consistent appearance throughout the Fallout franchise - and through those mediums have served to deliver the fears concerning atomic war/weaponry, or simply to scare due to a strong cultural fear towards bugs, and naturally making them bigger is a quick way to make them even scarier. You really can’t screw something up like this, and for me personally it’s always fun to watch.

With that all said, let’s talk about “Them!”.

During an investigation, Sergeant Peterson discovers a young girl who is unable to speak - alongside the signs of various deaths. Unable to get anything out of her outside an intense fear of what she refers to as “them”, Peterson teams up with an FBI agent, a scientist and his daughter to learn what it is that’s roaming the New Mexico desert - and upon which find the culprit of these killings: a race of giant ants, grown to massive size due to the leftover radioactive fallout of the atomic bomb testings. Now they must find a way to stop these giant ants, before either the public learns - or before the ants grow their colonies to threaten the world.

So with this being a film from the 50’s, it has the quality of acting you can expect. That being said, it’s about on par. I can forgive the stilted acting as being part of the era, however at the same time I do have to acknowledge that the actors fit neatly into the archetypes that were common for the decade. You’ve got your gruff military men, your woman scientist that isn’t treated too seriously, and your other scientist who everyone has to tell needs to “speak english”. It’s pretty play by numbers, complete with military/government involvement and bogus science that isn’t well understood for the time. Still, it's entertaining. None of the actors are bad, just decent enough that it keeps the story going.

The effects are pretty good, with the giant ant puppets being suitably creepy. They’re big and hairy and have massive eyes, and as someone who has some fear of bugs I’d say that does the job well. The high-pitched ringing sound that these giants make is alien and creepy, and immediately they become quite memorable. Aside from the giant ants the effects are pretty minimal. Much of the film is kept grounded, with the ants having little in terms of appearance on-screen. In a way I enjoy this approach. It prevents the puppets from being overused to the point of boredom, and the framing of the film in having the characters go from location to location in either to hunt the ants, get support in dealing with the, or talking with various victims is an effective approach.

The story is surprisingly less about the horror of the ants, and more so about the fear and panic that the discovery of such things can produce. The focus is placed on whether or not the public should know about the danger, even when it has spread to urban areas and across state/country borders. Even the ending has this same feel, where (like some 50’s sci-fi horror films) it ponders on the hubris of man, and how mankind’s pursuit of scientific advancement can indirectly lead to terrors we may have trouble dealing with. While it is expected for such a film to this, especially after the atom bomb’s use in WW2, it’s interesting to see nonetheless.

For a film of its time, I actually do recommend it. I expect that some will have trouble with the acting quality of the time, but I still say it’s worth checking out so as to gain an appreciation for where films of both science-fiction and horror evolved from.

Description

“AHHH! THEM! THEM! THEM!”

It’s been a while, so let’s look at some giant radioactive monsters. 1954’s “THEM!” is one of those classic giant monster movies that has become an icon in both horror and science fiction. The image of giant ants has been seen countless times in film, comics, and video games with a nearly consistent appearance throughout the Fallout franchise - and through those mediums have served to deliver the fears concerning atomic war/weaponry, or simply to scare due to a strong cultural fear towards bugs, and naturally making them bigger is a quick way to make them even scarier. You really can’t screw something up like this, and for me personally it’s always fun to watch.

With that all said, let’s talk about “Them!”.

During an investigation, Sergeant Peterson discovers a young girl who is unable to speak - alongside the signs of various deaths. Unable to get anything out of her outside an intense fear of what she refers to as “them”, Peterson teams up with an FBI agent, a scientist and his daughter to learn what it is that’s roaming the New Mexico desert - and upon which find the culprit of these killings: a race of giant ants, grown to massive size due to the leftover radioactive fallout of the atomic bomb testings. Now they must find a way to stop these giant ants, before either the public learns - or before the ants grow their colonies to threaten the world.

So with this being a film from the 50’s, it has the quality of acting you can expect. That being said, it’s about on par. I can forgive the stilted acting as being part of the era, however at the same time I do have to acknowledge that the actors fit neatly into the archetypes that were common for the decade. You’ve got your gruff military men, your woman scientist that isn’t treated too seriously, and your other scientist who everyone has to tell needs to “speak english”. It’s pretty play by numbers, complete with military/government involvement and bogus science that isn’t well understood for the time. Still, it's entertaining. None of the actors are bad, just decent enough that it keeps the story going.

The effects are pretty good, with the giant ant puppets being suitably creepy. They’re big and hairy and have massive eyes, and as someone who has some fear of bugs I’d say that does the job well. The high-pitched ringing sound that these giants make is alien and creepy, and immediately they become quite memorable. Aside from the giant ants the effects are pretty minimal. Much of the film is kept grounded, with the ants having little in terms of appearance on-screen. In a way I enjoy this approach. It prevents the puppets from being overused to the point of boredom, and the framing of the film in having the characters go from location to location in either to hunt the ants, get support in dealing with the, or talking with various victims is an effective approach.

The story is surprisingly less about the horror of the ants, and more so about the fear and panic that the discovery of such things can produce. The focus is placed on whether or not the public should know about the danger, even when it has spread to urban areas and across state/country borders. Even the ending has this same feel, where (like some 50’s sci-fi horror films) it ponders on the hubris of man, and how mankind’s pursuit of scientific advancement can indirectly lead to terrors we may have trouble dealing with. While it is expected for such a film to this, especially after the atom bomb’s use in WW2, it’s interesting to see nonetheless.

For a film of its time, I actually do recommend it. I expect that some will have trouble with the acting quality of the time, but I still say it’s worth checking out so as to gain an appreciation for where films of both science-fiction and horror evolved from.