Us vs Them! The Ants Are Coming Back!

Independent filmmaker Joe Gatto is bringing back the giant ants!

The classic giant bug film Them! (US-1954; dir. Gordon Douglas), despite or (in part) perhaps because of its non-CGI, full-size puppetry, remains one of the truly great monster flicks of the 1950s and one of the best giant monster films of all time. The lonely desert landscapes, the rising wind as it carries the clicking shrill of the ants to us long before we see them, the young traumatised girl suddenly sitting up and screaming, "Them! Them!" -- who could not be deeply affected by the atmosphere created by these things. And the final confrontation deep with the city sewers that the ants have made their nest is a beautifully choreographed sequence, rich with tense and excitement.

The poster itself has become iconic!

Gatto's ambitious film, which follows Them! in being about giant ants but not in terms of characters or plot, is currently in script stage. He described it for the Backbrain:

I'm a huge fan of the classic big bug film. Us vs Them is actually a homage to the original Them! [rather than a remake or official sequel] so no rights acquisition was needed. This one will have lots of big bugs, flying ants vs. an Apache helicopter,  and massive hybrid insects that have evolved from genetic mutations. It's a feature script about 100 minutes long.

Below are several posters featuring the various stars of the film.

Plus a conceptual drawing of the Queen:

We'll keep you informed as this enticing project progresses.

Sources: Joe Gatto via Avery; Gatto's YouTube Channel.

Still Eating Bakersfield

Hank Ray Harwood has sent along a melodic teaser made up of test footage for his in-production film, Giant Ants Eat Bakersfield. Harwood commented to Kaiju Search-Robot Avery: "This is just a music video to start an interest in the film. The actual film is going to take quite a while. None of the footage thus far is good enough..."

He describes the film, which features giant ants attacking Bakersfield, as offering "a metaphor for corporate entertainment that stole Bakersfield's music legacy."

GIANT ANTS ATE ALL OUR BRAINS

• Source: Hank Ray Harwood via Avery
• Undead Backbrain article on the film
  

Update: Giant Ants Eat Bakersfield

Here are some exclusive outtakes from the in-production giant monster/blues/satire cross-genre epic from Hank Ray, Giant Ants Eat Bakersfield -- which we showcased on Undead Backbrain in April.

GIANT-ANTS EAT BAKERSFIELD OUTAKES 1

Source: Hank Ray via Kaiju Search-Robot Avery