King of the Ants (2003/I)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Stuart Gordon

Writers:

Charlie Higson (screenplay)
Charlie Higson (novel)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Horror | Thriller

Plot:

A young drifter discovers his true calling when he's hired by a mobster to stalk and kill a prominent accountant, and then decides to seek revenge when the stingy thugs try to kill him rather than pay him.

Plot Keywords:

Accountant | Drifter | Golf | City Hall | House

Cast

Chris McKenna	...	Sean Crawley (as Chris L. McKenna)
Kari Wuhrer	...	Susan Gatley
George Wendt	...	Duke Wayne
Vernon Wells	...	Beckett
Lionel Mark Smith	...	Carl
Timm Sharp	...	George
Daniel Baldwin	...	Ray Mathews
Carissa Kosta	...	Maureen (as Carissa Koutantzis)
Briana Beghi	...	Maureen's Daughter
Carlie Westerman	...	Catlin Gatley
Ian Patrick Williams	...	Tony
Antoine Joseph	...	Drooling Idiot
Shuko Akune	...	Meade Park
Steve Heller	...	Gary (as Steven Heller)
Ken 'Bam Bam' Johnson Jr.	...	Apartment Kid

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence and sexuality, nudity and language.

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Germany:18 (SPIO/JK) | Argentina:16 | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Canada:R (Ontario) | Finland:K-15 | USA:R | Netherlands:16 | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Anthill Productions

Movie Connections:

Referenced in King of the Ants: Behind the Scenes (2004) (V)

Disturbingly Wonderful

The last good film Stuart Gordon made was 1985's "Re- Animator," which I also give a 7 of 10.

I mention the former mainly because this film is just as gripping and disturbing. This is not a horror-movie like the former, but it is "horrific" with its peculiar violent realism.

Not much by way of character-development for the protagonist, but in this case, the less said about him the better, or we may not come around to be sympathetic with him when it counts. What we do know of the character Sean Crawley is pretty damn ugly, but unknown actor Chris McKenna has a screen presence that makes him somewhat likable, or at least puts us in his corner in the end.

This film is not a good choice for mixed company, much less a date, but worth watching when home alone and prepared to be wonderfully disturbed.