MOVIE REVIEW

King of the Ants  (2003)

Starring: Chris McKenna, Daniel Baldwin, Kari Wuhrer
Director: Stuart Gordon

Rating: NR

Studio: The Asylum

Release Date: 8.?.03

Review Posted: 8.14.03

Spoilers: Minor

By Jon Bjorling

"King of the Ants" A Traditional Crime Story

A handyman without direction (McKenna) is hired by a construction boss (Baldwin) to follow (and later murder) an accountant that has been snooping around in things he shouldn't have. However, when his former "friends" refuse to pay him for the job, he is threatened to leave town and tries to blackmail them into paying up. Instead of being paid, he is taken to a remote location and beaten until he finally snaps.

King of the Ants is a nihilistic crime story in the Reservoir Dogs/Fight Club tradition.  All of the characters have accepted who they are and choose to act in whatever way secures their individual way of life. For them, the end justifies the means. McKenna's Sean Crawley is a man who has no direction and doesn't mind having to kill someone—just as long as the circumstances were right. It's frightening to think of how this speaks of our society.

The film is well acted. The entire cast gives strong performances. The biggest flaw with the film, however, is its overuse of the hand-held camera. Like many films that use stylistic methods, there is a point in which Director Stuart Gordon needed to use a steady cam. There is an operator listed in the credits, but I don't think he was ever used.

Hopefully the MPAA won't be too hard on this film. The violence is fairly brutal, but it's all part of the story. This isn't like a horror film in which violence is always over the top for the sake of being gross and whatnot. The violence in King of the Ants is shown as real pain, which makes it more horrifying than anything in a horror flick.

Rating: 8 out of 10

TOP