My Horrible Idea
(Using Horror Movies to Teach English)
  • How to Use Monsters in the Classroom
    • What Can Monsters Teach Us?
    • Rhetorical Problems of Purpose, Audience, and Genre
    • Doubt: A Parable
  • Literary Stuff
  • Guest Blogs
    • SCARY MARY: A STUDY OF TONE
    • Horror Movie Survey
    • First Dates and Wisecracking Werewolfs
    • Rachel Tucker: A Master Gardener's take on The Purge
    • Janice Cheng: Horror & Logic
    • Zach Butler: Why All the Horror?
  • Movie Lists
    • MEAT IS MURDER: MY TOP FIVE LIST OF CANNIBAL MOVIES
    • CHRISTMAS HORROR MOVIES
    • TRIBUTE TO MR. VINCENT LEONARD PRICE, JR.
  • Archives
    • MONSTER MOVIES >
      • DRACULA (1931)
      • THE MUMMY (1932)
      • KING KONG (1933)
      • THE WOLF MAN (1941)
      • CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON (1954)
      • THEM! (1959)
      • THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES (1959)
      • THE WASP WOMAN (1959)
      • THE DEADLY BEES (1966)
      • PLANET OF THE APES (1968)
      • EMPIRE OF THE ANTS (1977)
      • THE SWARM (1978)
      • THE BEES (1978)
      • ALIEN (1979)
      • THE ATTIC (1980)
      • CUJO (1981)
      • PREDATOR (1987)
      • DEAD ALIVE (1992)
      • CONGO (1995)
      • JAWS (1975)
      • DEVIL DOG: THE HOUND OF HELL (1978)
      • LEGION OF FIRE: KILLER ANTS (1998)
      • DEEP BLUE SEA (1999)
      • OPEN WATER (2003)
      • THE HIVE A LOOK AT LITERARY ENTOMOLOGY (2008)
      • THE REEF (2010)
      • THE GREY (2011)
      • SHARKNADO (2013)
      • WER (2013)
      • THE BABADOOK (2014)
    • HONORED DIRECTORS >
      • SHIVERS (1975)
      • VIDEDROME (1983)
      • THE FLY (1986)
      • DEAD RINGERS (1988)
      • CHRISTINE (1983)
      • THE THING (1982)
      • PRINCE OF DARKNESS (1987)
      • THEY LIVE (1988)
      • IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS (1994)
      • REPULSION (1965)
      • THE TENANT (1976)
      • THE FEARLESS VAMPIRE KILLERS (1967)
      • ROSEMARY'S BABY (1968)
      • FRANKENSTEIN (1910)
      • THE OLD DARK HOUSE (1932)
      • THE INVISIBLE MAN (1933)
      • BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1935)
      • SALEM'S LOT (1979)
      • THE FUNHOUSE (1981)
      • LIFE FORCE (1985)
      • POLTERGEIST (1982)
      • THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE (1974)
      • THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT (1972)
      • THE HILLS HAVE EYES (1977)
      • A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (1984)
      • SCREAM (1996)
    • KOREAN FLICKS >
      • 조용한 가족 (aka The Quiet Family 1998)
      • 소름 (aka SORUM 2001)
      • 세이 예스 (aka SAY YES 2001)
      • 폰 (aka Phone 2002)
      • 령 aka DEAD FRIEND aka THE GHOST (2004)
      • 거미슾 (aka SPIDER FOREST 2004)
      • 분홍신 aka THE RED SHOES (2005)
      • 레드 아이 (AKA RED EYE 2005)
      • 스승의은혜 (AKA TO SIR, WITH LOVE 2006)
      • 신데렐라 (aka Cinderella 2006)
      • 아파트 (aka APT 2006)
      • 두사람이다 aka VOICES (2007)
      • Alone (2007)
      • 므이 (aka MOUI 2007)
      • 헨젤 과 그레텔 (aka Hansel & Gretel 2007)
      • 추격자 (aka The Chaser 2008)
      • 외톨이 (맘 LONER 2008)
      • 고死: 피의 중간고사 (aka DEATH BELL 2008)
      • 불신지옥 (aka POSSESSED 2009)
      • 요가학완 aka YOGA CLASS (2009)
      • 베스트 세러 (aka BEST SELLER 2010)
      • 악마를 보았다 (aka I SAW THE DEVIL 2010)
      • 고양이: 죽음을보는 두개의눈 (aka THE CAT 2011)
      • 기생령 (aka GHASTLY 2011)
      • 무서운이야기 (AKA HORROR STORIES 2012)
      • 더웹툰 예고살린 (AKA KILLER TOON 2013)
      • 뫼비우스 (aka MOEBIUS 2013)
    • THRILLERS >
      • DEAD OF NIGHT (1945)
      • STRANGERS ON A TRAIN (1951)
      • REAR WINDOW (1954)
      • THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY (1955)
      • NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959)
      • THE BIRDS (1963)
      • STRIP NUDE FOR YOUR KILLER (1975)
      • BODY HEAT (1981)
      • CAT PEOPLE (1982)
      • JAGGED EDGE (1985)
      • BEDROOM WINDOW (1987)
      • NINE QUEENS (2000)
      • WHAT LIES BENEATH (2000)
      • THE DESCENT (2005)
      • THE EXPERIMENT (2010)
      • YOU'RE NEXT (2011)
      • 의뢰인 (aka The Client 2011)
      • ABRAHAM LINCOLN VAMPIRE HUNTER (2012)
      • TOAD ROAD (2012)
      • FEAR LIVES HERE (2013)
      • 런닝 맨 (AKA RUNNING MAN 2013)
      • GRAND PIANO (2013)
      • HOURS (2013)
      • BLUE RUIN (2013)
      • HOUSE OF GOOD AND EVIL (2013)
      • THE PURGE (2013)
      • 더테러라이브 (aka The Terror Live 2013)
      • THE HUMAN RACE (2013)
      • DAYLIGHT (2013)
      • HOUSEBOUND (2014)
      • THE GUEST (2014)
    • PSYCHOS >
      • DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE (1931)
      • ROPE (1948)
      • 1950's AWESOMENESS >
        • ROCKETSHIP X-M (1950)
        • THE MAN WHO CHEATED HIMSELF (1950)
        • WHAT THE BUTLER SAW (1950)
        • THE FLYING SAUCER (1950)
        • ROBOT MONSTER (1953)
        • PHANTOM FROM SPACE (1953)
        • TARGET EARTH (1954)
        • THE SNOW CREATURE (1954)
        • KILLERS FROM SPACE (1954)
        • IT CONQUERED THE WORLD (1956)
        • THE MOLE PEOPLE (1956)
        • THE GAMMA PEOPLE (1956)
        • THE LAND UNKNOWN (1957)
        • THE BRAIN FROM PLANET AROUS (1957)
        • I WAS A TEENAGE FRANKENSTEIN (1957)
        • THE NIGHT THE WORLD EXPLODED (1957)
        • THE AMAZING COLOSSAL MAN (1957)
        • THE GIANT CLAW (1957)
        • KRONOS (1957)
        • LA CRAVATE (1957)
        • THE THREE FACES OF EVE (1957)
        • THE MONOLITH MONSTERS (1957)
        • I BURY THE LIVING (1958)
        • THE MONSTER OF PIEDRAS BLANCAS (1959)
        • TEENAGERS FROM OUTER SPACE (1959)
        • ATTACK OF THE GIANT LEECHES (1959)
        • BEAST FROM HAUNTED CAVE (1959)
        • I EAT YOUR SKIN (1964)
      • LES DIABOLIQUES (1955)
      • PSYCHO (1960)
      • WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE (1962)
      • TAXI DRIVER (1976)
      • ¿Quien Puede Matar a un Niño? (aka WHO CAN KILL A CHILD? aka THE ISLAND OF THE DAMNED 1976)
      • THE SHINING (1980)
      • FRIDAY THE 13TH (1980)
      • MISERY (1990)
      • CAPE FEAR (1991)
      • THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (1991)
      • SWOON (1992)
      • DEATH AND THE MAIDEN (1992)
      • RESERVOIR DOGS (1992)
      • SCHINDLER'S LIST (1993)
      • NATURAL BORN KILLERS (1994)
      • THE CELL (2000)
      • SEXY BEAST (2000)
      • ONE HOUR PHOTO (2002)
      • MONSTER (2003)
      • WRONG TURN (2003)
      • WOLF CREEK (2005)
      • SIN CITY (2005)
      • HARD CANDY (2005)
      • THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND (2006)
      • MR. BROOKS (2007)
      • THE DARK KNIGHT (2008)
      • SKYFALL (2012)
    • THE SUPERNATURAL >
      • NOSFERATU (1922)
      • CARNIVAL OF SOULS (1962)
      • LET'S SCARE JESSICA TO DEATH (1971)
      • THE CHANGELING (1980)
      • THE EVIL DEAD (1981)
      • ANGEL HEART (1987)
      • HELLRAISER (1987)
      • CHILD'S PLAY (1988)
      • THE SIXTH SENSE (1999)
      • AUDITION (1999)
      • END OF DAYS (1999)
      • STIGMATA (1999)
      • Richard Matheson Tribute: A STIR OF Memories
      • THE GIFT (2000)
      • THE RING (2002)
      • THE GRUDGE (2004)
      • THE EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE (2005)
      • THE AMITYVILLE HORROR (2005)
      • DARK WATER (2005)
      • SILENT HILL (2006)
      • PARANORMAL ACTIVITY (2007)
      • LAKE MUNGO (2008)
      • DRAG ME TO HELL (2009)
      • INSIDIOUS (2010)
      • WE ARE WHAT WE ARE (2013)
      • MAMA (2013)
      • CARRIE (2013)
      • OCULUS (2013)
      • THE CONJURING (2013)
      • LATE PHASES (2014)
      • THE TAKING OF DEBORAH LOGAN (2014)
      • JESSABELLE (2014)
      • ANNABELLE (2014)
  • Psycho Hall of Fame
  • Crimson Peak
  • An America Terror
  • The Beat Goes On: Horror Franchises

Legion of Fire: Killer Ants (1998)

7/21/2014

0 Comments

 
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I have to admit, there are some bad films that made the cut for this year’s experiment. There are even a few TV movies. But Legion of Fire: Killer Ants falls into both categories and may have the lowest rating on www.imdb.com of any of the films I picked…a whopping 2.8. But hey, it’s got a young, hunky Mitch Pileggi (better known as Skinner from The X-Files). Even if you didn’t know up front this was a TV movie, watching it would give it away as ever fifteen minutes or so the action peaks, fade to black (for a commercial) and then we’re back screaming and running from killer ants.


I’d like to link this film to one of the Five Kinds of Fear exploited in horror films and that’s Fear of Mutilation. This fear has been done and done by much better movies on this blog’s list, but this was the thing that struck me as I was watching this movie about a bug specialist who just happens to go vacationing up in the Great White North at a time when a dormant volcano heats up warming the ground enough to support a huge colony of killer Ants who can supposed strip an elephant down to the bone in under a few hours…oh yeah, there’s also an earthquake that unleashes them on a town where fortunately most everyone is away for the season.

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The plot is horrible and depends way too much on coincidence, and the thought of seeing these people running away terrified of stupid ants is comical, but it did make me think…it’s comical only because I’ve never experienced this. The real fear sets in when they begin finding carcasses of dead wild animals strip to the bone. Then they begin finding humans in the same condition. I guess it’s too much to make a phone call at the first sign of ants nibbling on you, but then again this was in the 90’s…and that phone was probably attached to a wall or something. 

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But after the film was over, after watching the ridiculous attempts to stay these billions of tiny terrors from swarming the town…it really did …if you’ll excuse the expression…bug me. I mean I don’t like for a single ant to crawl on me and I have friends who would rather die than have a spider anywhere near them. We think being at the top of the food chain makes us powerful, but our power is nothing to an army of ants who just keep coming until we are so overwhelmed we scream for help and they swarm in our mouths chocking us…well…I think you get the picture. It’s easy to ward off a serial killer with a machete; you just shoot him and unless he’s Jason Voorhees, he’s going down to stay. There are laughable scenes in this film where people shoot at these ants and it’s ridiculous, but they do it anyway because they don’t know what else to do. 


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Dumbass people doing a dumbass thing of crawling up on this ant hill to get a picture. And yes, there is cosmic justice because they both get got!
There’s one more ant film this month and I’m hoping it’s a good one because Legion of Fire: Killer Ants was definitely not. But it did manage to tap into my fear of mutilation by insects enough to justify its place here at My Horrible Idea.

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    FIVE KINDS OF FEAR:

    FEAR of MUTILATION

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