FeistyUpper If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

SanEat A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

Suman Roberson It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

Celia A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

LeonLouisRicci By the Late Sixties and Early Seventies Sci-Fi took on a more Intellectual, Serious Concern about Our place in the Universe and Our place right here on Terra-Firma. This is one of those and one of the best. An underrated, little-seen Thriller with its Elegant Cinematography and Great Insect Footage remains a Thought-Provoking and wholly engaging Film.Directed by Famous and Award Winning Graphic Title Designer Saul Bass, combining stunning scenery and SFX with an Ominous Musical Score, the Movie is an Unnerving Unraveling of an event puzzling Scientists and could be a Foreboding of Things to Come.It's well Acted, save the Girl, and the Tension at times is unbearable. Some have said the the Ending is Ambiguous, but not really. The Voice-Over tells what happened and what is most likely going to happen. It's a bit Mysterious but a Solid wrap-up and is very disturbing.A tight little Thriller in the "Bug" Genre as the Little Creatures provide Unending Story lines and Fascination. A Cult Classic.

Woodyanders Colonies of ants suddenly band together and form a mass collective intelligence that threatens mankind's status as the dominant species on the planet. Coldly pragmatic scientist Ernest D. Hobbs (an excellent performance by Nigel Davenport), his earnest assistant James R. Lesko (a solid and likable Michael Murphy), and frightened teenager Kendra Eldridge (a sweet and appealing portrayal by the ravishing Lynne Frederick) must figure out a way to stop the ants before it's too late. Director Saul Bass, working from a quirky and interesting script by Mayo Simon, tells the fascinatingly bizarre story at a deliberate pace, maintains a solemn cerebral tone throughout, and concludes the film on a boldly enigmatic note. Moreover, there's a pleasing ambiguity to the narrative; no explanation is ever provided for exactly how and why the ants have become so cunning and organized. Another key triumph of this movie is the way it manages to make the ants seem extremely alien and unknowable, yet somehow still familiar and strangely sympathetic at the same time. The dry and desolate locations convey an eerie feeling of isolation and vulnerability. Dick Bush's stunning cinematography boasts a wealth of remarkable visuals, with the breathtaking micro-photography in particular of the ants and their perfectly structured society rating as truly something to behold. Brian Gascoigne's spare groovy score further enhances the overall off-kilter vibe. Those seeking cheap thrills and obvious jump out at you formulaic shocks will be deeply disappointed. But if low-key, smart, and ambitious out of the ordinary sci-fi fare flies your proverbial kite, then you should find this minor cult item to be a rewarding viewing experience.

briandoering86 When one hears of a sci-fi film about the massing of hyper-intelligent ants one immediately constructs a mental imagine of something akin to Them! (1954) with its ridiculous, though iconic, monster ants barely functioning well enough to move. However, Phase IV is an entirely different movie…and ant for that matter. Phase IV is nothing short of a sci-fi film for the "thinking man". While being fully aware of the genre's motifs its cinematic approach is that of the art-house – a 70s psychedelic sci-fi trip shrouded in hordes of ants directed by the famous Academy Award winning graphic designer, Saul Bass. For all this, its status in film history is nothing but a tragedy. It's the only feature film directed by Bass and it's almost completely forgotten and certainly isn't readily available for viewing.The story is fairly simple: some undefined cosmic event occurs and augments ant evolution. This particular desert colony ascends to an intelligent collective consciousness making the ants capable of communication and great terror. The colony, per its aggressive expansion, drives out the local human population. A scientific lab is established with our main scientist protagonists. The proceedings eventually lead to a division between the two scientists and some inevitable chaos.The brilliance of this film is the visual component. The cinematography by Dick Bush (not kidding) is in line with the best of the 70s. Furthermore, there are also a lot of interestingly beautiful shots of the colony and ant behavior. Straight away at the start of the film we are presented some truly striking images of the ant intelligence movement for several minutes – no dialog, no humans, just cinematic language.In short one could say, If you're the type of person annoyed by a Space Odyssey or even Blade Runner, then you're the type of person that shouldn't watch Phase IV. However, if you're a total film buff and/or sci-fi nerd I highly recommend you seek out this hard to find, underrated, masterpiece – you will not regret it.Review from Beguiled: http://brianbeguiled.blogspot.com/

Martin Ljus Phase IV is a movie with an interesting premise, with nice imagery and cinematography to boot. It feels somewhat aged, but in a charmingly retro kind of way. Both protagonists were good and played well together. Nigel Davenport especially, with a beard that really stole the scenes. The film became surreal almost, in mixing the shots filmed in studio and Kenya, with those that followed the ants in their colonies and those filmed through their eyes.My main problem with the movie however, and one that destroyed the essence of the premise, was that the ants never felt more than mere ants. This film really needed to establish the ants as highly intelligent and sinister, but unfortunately, accomplished neither. It tried, many times to do this, to no avail. Like an organized attack on a horse and house in the beginning, or the pillar-like colony structures, symbolizing their step out of the ground, their now elevated intelligence and superiority to the humans, the former top of the food chain.Many times it felt almost comical, such as when a woman discovers an ant in an old mans hair in a pickup truck in the beginning, which causes her to burst out in a choir of scream, leading to the truck colliding with an arbitrarily placed metal structure. Though I must admit, there were some scenes with the ants I found great. For example when one ant finds its way into the heart of the humans technological structure and starts to chew its way into the cable only to be eaten by a mantis, who then is attacked by another ant, causing it to slip and short circuit the electronics which ultimately fries it.