The same killer ants which attacked Charlton Heston in THE NAKED JUNGLE are back in this insipid made for TV movie in which boredom and lethargy are the order of the day.
Now, the concept of killer ants is a pretty good one. I mean just imagine swarms of them crawling through your house. A horrible thought. Sadly there is nothing like this in MARABUNTA. If it had managed to be an ant version of ARACHNOPHOBIA then it would have been a lot more fun, but the film is severely confined by the television movie format, offering no violence, no swearing, nothing remotely controversial or 'adult'. In all it's a tame ride, much like another television movie dealing with a similar theme, DEADLY INVASION: THE KILLER BEE NIGHTMARE. In fact it follows much the same plot as all killer insect movies: isolated killings lead to full-scale invasion. However, atrocious computer effects and a boring, clichéd plot put paid to any excitement the idea might have offered.
Now my house has been invaded by swarms of flying ants on one occasion, and there is nothing more disturbing than the sight of them swarming up the walls and all over each other as they emerge from various crevices. However, any of that fear is quickly dissipated when we learn that the killer ants presented here are little more than computerised blobs, which look like exactly that; poor, very poor indeed. I'm looking forward to the day when people realise that computer effects just aren't realistic (unless we're talking JURASSIC PARK), even less so on a low budget, and go back to rubber and plastic for their scares.
The film is populated by bland, beautiful television movie types who have about as much charisma as I have in my little toe. The only actor of note is Mitch Pileggi, who shouldn't be appearing in this junk: I guess he took the money and ran, as it were. He's a long way from the solid Assistant Director Skinner he plays in THE X-FILES, or even the homicidal maniac ("Finger-licking good!") he played in Wes Craven's SHOCKER. Still, he's the best thing in this film and he probably knows it.
It's really sad when a character uses a flame thrower and the flames are just projected in front of the camera, and no actual spray of fire comes out. Or when characters are chased by little black dots. Or when the most horror the film can muster is the sight of a human skeleton with hair and little bits of blood still left on. Still, there is one hilarious moment: a farmer falls off a ladder, breaks his back and has his face devoured by the ravenous insects. It's almost like a cheap take-off of a similar moment in THE BEYOND, but of course without the excess we've come to expect from gore-meister Fulci. Avoid this trash at all costs.
Now, the concept of killer ants is a pretty good one. I mean just imagine swarms of them crawling through your house. A horrible thought. Sadly there is nothing like this in MARABUNTA. If it had managed to be an ant version of ARACHNOPHOBIA then it would have been a lot more fun, but the film is severely confined by the television movie format, offering no violence, no swearing, nothing remotely controversial or 'adult'. In all it's a tame ride, much like another television movie dealing with a similar theme, DEADLY INVASION: THE KILLER BEE NIGHTMARE. In fact it follows much the same plot as all killer insect movies: isolated killings lead to full-scale invasion. However, atrocious computer effects and a boring, clichéd plot put paid to any excitement the idea might have offered.
Now my house has been invaded by swarms of flying ants on one occasion, and there is nothing more disturbing than the sight of them swarming up the walls and all over each other as they emerge from various crevices. However, any of that fear is quickly dissipated when we learn that the killer ants presented here are little more than computerised blobs, which look like exactly that; poor, very poor indeed. I'm looking forward to the day when people realise that computer effects just aren't realistic (unless we're talking JURASSIC PARK), even less so on a low budget, and go back to rubber and plastic for their scares.
The film is populated by bland, beautiful television movie types who have about as much charisma as I have in my little toe. The only actor of note is Mitch Pileggi, who shouldn't be appearing in this junk: I guess he took the money and ran, as it were. He's a long way from the solid Assistant Director Skinner he plays in THE X-FILES, or even the homicidal maniac ("Finger-licking good!") he played in Wes Craven's SHOCKER. Still, he's the best thing in this film and he probably knows it.
It's really sad when a character uses a flame thrower and the flames are just projected in front of the camera, and no actual spray of fire comes out. Or when characters are chased by little black dots. Or when the most horror the film can muster is the sight of a human skeleton with hair and little bits of blood still left on. Still, there is one hilarious moment: a farmer falls off a ladder, breaks his back and has his face devoured by the ravenous insects. It's almost like a cheap take-off of a similar moment in THE BEYOND, but of course without the excess we've come to expect from gore-meister Fulci. Avoid this trash at all costs.