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
Tino Marquez Jr.	...	Apartment Kid
Adam Noble	...	Bartender
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Joe Davis	...	Big 69 (uncredited)
Ron Livingston	...	Eric Gatley (uncredited)

Directed by
Stuart Gordon

Writing credits
Charlie Higson		(screenplay) (as Charles Higson)
Charlie Higson		(novel) (as Charles Higson)

Produced by
Laszlo Bene	....	line producer
Stuart Gordon	....	co-producer
Duffy Hecht	....	producer
Charlie Higson	....	co-producer
David Michael Latt	....	producer
David Rimawi	....	executive producer
Shawn Simons	....	associate producer
Sherri Strain	....	executive producer
George Wendt	....	co-producer

Original Music by
Bobby Johnston

Cinematography by
Mac Ahlberg

Film Editing by
David Michael Latt

Casting by
Monika Mikkelsen

Production Design by
Georges Moes

Art Direction by
Shannon Kemp

Costume Design by
Stacy Stagnaro

Makeup Department
Jennifer Albrecht	....	assistant hair stylist
Jennifer Albrecht	....	assistant makeup artist
Ken Culver	....	foam technician
Rocky Faulkner	....	key makeup artist
Dan Gates	....	special makeup effects artist
Brad Hardin	....	makeup effects artist
Glenn Hetrick	....	special makeup effects artist
Kari Murillo	....	special makeup effects artist
Lancel Reyes	....	special makeup effects artist
Reyna Rhone	....	special makeup effects artist
John Vulich	....	special makeup effects artist
Gary Yee	....	special makeup effects artist

Production Management
Laszlo Bene	....	unit production manager
Karl T. Hirsch	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Kathleen Roll	....	second assistant director
B. Scott Senechal	....	first assistant director (as Scott Senechal)

Art Department
Eric Eichelberger	....	set dresser
Keleigh Ferguson	....	art department
Anastasia Fite	....	art assistant
Erin Gruman	....	props
Kevin Loo	....	assistant art director
Megan Sherwood	....	art assistant

Sound Department
Randall James Bol	....	boom operator (as Randy Rol)
Aura Gilge	....	sound effects editor (as Aura Belle Gilge)
Dennis Grzesik	....	sound recordist
Karl T. Hirsch	....	supervising sound editor
Alexis Oscari	....	french dubbing mixer

Special Effects by
Chris Bailey	....	special effects foreman
John Bordeaux	....	pyro effects
John C. Hartigan	....	special effects supervisor

Visual Effects by
Rita Schrag	....	optical printing supervisor
Jim Stewart	....	optical designer

Stunts
Makoto Arakawa	....	stunts
Joe Davis	....	stunts
Keith Davis	....	stunt double
Keith Davis	....	stunts
Tatsuro Koike	....	stunt coordinator
T.J. Rotolo	....	stunts
Koichi Sakamoto	....	stunt coordinator
Chris Torres	....	stunt double
David Wald	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Yogi Allen	....	best boy grip
Glendel R. Bondoc	....	key grip (as Glendel Bondoc)
Tom Burtis	....	grip
Jon Callesen	....	best boy electric (as Jon C. Callesen)
Roger Chingirian	....	best boy electric
Jeffrey Chin	....	best boy electric
Shannon Davis	....	key grip (as Shannon Phillip Davis)
Rick Drapkin	....	Steadicam operator
Kelly Farned	....	electrician
Avra Fox	....	grip
Patrick Gault	....	electrician
Prashant Gupta	....	still photographer
Brady Hallongren	....	camera supervisor
Tom Hejda	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera
Trevor Houghton	....	gaffer
Andrew Korner	....	electrician
Jonathan Kosik	....	electrician
Brian Lataille	....	Steadicam operator
Marcus Lopez	....	first assistant camera
Steven A. Lundgren	....	additional gaffer
Steven A. Lundgren	....	best boy electric
Onofrio Nino Pansini	....	camera operator (as Nino Pansini)
Noah Peter	....	grip
Sean Piper	....	key grip
Kelly Price	....	key grip
Jonathan Shier	....	second assistant camera
Jayne E. Szollosy	....	second assistant camera
Kristopher Van Over	....	first assistant camera
Peter Villani	....	best boy electric
Byron Werner	....	director of photography: second unit

Casting Department
Michael Schiavone	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Heather Albrecht	....	wardrobe assistant
Deanna M. Saul	....	assistant costume designer

Editorial Department
Bob Fredrickson	....	color timer (as Bob Frederickson)
Karl T. Hirsch	....	first assistant editor
Mark Quod	....	dailies colorist
Chris Weber	....	negative cutter
Gary Weber	....	negative cutter

Music Department
Karl T. Hirsch	....	music editor (as Karl Hirsch)

Transportation Department
Randy Mangum	....	transportation captain

Other crew
Pablo Balderas	....	production assistant
André Cato	....	production assistant
Brian Cohen	....	production assistant
William Clark Coit III	....	location coordinator (as William Coit)
Adam Blake Finer	....	market researcher
Brady Hallongren	....	title supervisor
Chris Harvey	....	production coordinator
Duffy Hecht	....	location coordinator
Brigitte Illmeier	....	production assistant
Rommel Invina	....	production assistant
Jeremy L. Jeziorski	....	production assistant
Bishop Knight	....	production assistant
Fong-Xu Ling	....	production assistant
Lois Mendez	....	production assistant
Kaman Minor	....	production assistant
Sandrine Pecmer	....	production assistant
Gunnar Petersen	....	production assistant
Matthew Poisson	....	production assistant
Michael Poisson	....	production assistant
Susana Preston	....	script supervisor
Emmanuel V. Rumph	....	production assistant
Perry Suppa	....	film scheduler
Saskia Vogel	....	assistant to producers

Thanks
Alexander Cann	....	thanks
Bryan Moore	....	thanks
Leigh Scott	....	special thanks
John Strysik	....	thanks
Aaron Vanek	....	thanks
Joe Venegas	....	thanks
John Yuan	....	special thanks
Matt Yuan	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Anthill Productions
• Asylum, The
• Hecht Co.
• Red Hen Productions

Distributors

• Alparslan Yapim (2007) (Turkey) (all media)
• Anthill Productions
• Asylum, The
• Future Film (2005) (Finland) (DVD)
• LK-TEL (2009) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Sunrise Entertainment (2005) (Germany) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Optic Nerve Studios

Other Companies

• L.A. Casting Group  extras casting
• Stewart Motion Picture Services  titles and opticals

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)

Wow! Caught this movie on late nite cable and was blown away

I caught this movie one night as I was surfing and stopped just long enough to catch this charismatic star in a really underrated little sleeper. The first half of this movie gave me an uneasy feeling; the same feeling I had when I watched "Last House on the Left" for the first time. Watching the lead character beaten mercilessly with a "driver" in a shed until his face is disfigured, generated an enormous amount of pity. I found myself in the awkward position of caring for a hit man who ends up killing several people.

That speaks volumes for the charisma and artistry of the actor playing Sean. This is definitely a cut above the average late nite fare; the script takes some amateur turns, but the cast keeps it from becoming camp.