Empire of the Ants
Off the South Florida coast, a ship dumps dozens of barrels that are clearly marked "Danger Radioactive Waste Material" into the water. Later, the barrels wash ashore on an island beach where the cont…
Empire of the Ants
Off the South Florida coast, a ship dumps dozens of barrels that are clearly marked "Danger Radioactive Waste Material" into the water. Later, the barrels wash ashore on an island beach where the contents of one of them leak onto the sand out of several small holes in it, contaminating an ordinary colony of ants that are feeding on said contents. Meanwhile, sleazy real estate developer Marilyn Fryser greets prospective buyers that are boarding a yacht for a day cruise to visit her latest project, Dreamland Shores. Already aboard are Dan Stokely, the ship's captain, his first mate Jim, and Marilyn's partner, salesman and boyfriend Charlie Pearson, with whom she is having an affair. At the yet-to-be-built Dreamland Shores, two workers prepare for the visitors by setting up a tent with tables on the beach not far from where the radioactive waste has both contaminated and affected the ants. Once they arrive, Marilyn's nine guests get to know one another: Coreen Bradford, a young woman recovering from a relationship with a married man; Margaret Ellis, an executive secretary; a young married couple, Larry and Christine Graham; a middle-aged couple, Thomas and Mary Lawson; an elderly couple, Harry and Velma Thompson; and a brooding young man, Joe Morrison. Charlie and Marilyn take their guests on a two-hour tour of the property, pointing out where the future marina, tennis club, and golf course will be. When the party stops at another tent for refreshments, Marilyn is annoyed that the workers have gone. Suspicious, Thomas wanders off and just as he discovers that some of the pipes are actually phonies, he and Mary are attacked and killed by large ants. Back on the tour, the group realizes that Thomas and Mary are missing. Marilyn hears a loud buzzing noise, but ignores it. When they discover the body of one of the workers, Joe decides to go looking for Thomas and Mary. Coreen is the only one brave enough to go with him. They discover Thomas' bloody corpse. Everyone returns to the beach where they see a line of the large ants marching toward their moored ship. Dan and Jim battle the ants with an ax. A gasoline can ruptures and the ship explodes, killing Jim. Dan swims back to shore. As night falls, the group builds a fire to ward off the ants. In the morning a storm hits, extinguishing both the fire and their ability to rebuild it. Although Charlie suggests escape in a rowboat that is lying at the mouth of a river two miles away, Marilyn wants to await rescue at a deserted beach house. She is only convinced to join the others when she sees that the house is infested with ants. Moving through the jungle toward the river, the party encounters a group of the ants and is forced to run. The elderly Thompsons cannot keep up and take shelter in a shed. Christine trips and hurts her ankle, but Larry refuses to help and leaves her behind to be killed and eaten by the ants. When Marilyn snags her sweater on a tree, Charlie helps her, but the ants swarm over him and eat him also as she escapes. Dan, Margaret, Marilyn, Joe, Coreen, and Larry reach the river and find the rowboat. Meanwhile, the Thompsons emerge from the shed only to find themselves surrounded by the ants (which, presumably, kill and eat them as well). As Dan rows the boat, the others lament their fate. At a fork in the river, Larry insists they go left, but they soon hear the buzzing of the ants. The ants attack from overhanging branches, and Dan and Joe fight them off with the rowboat's oars. Dan turns the boat back toward the fork; however, an ant attacks and kills Larry, and the boat capsizes, knocking the others into the water. The five survivors swim to shore and proceed on foot along the river. Marilyn argues with Dan and stalks off, but soon comes face-to-face with an ant and wisely rejoins the group. Coreen and Dan realize that the ants are herding them upstream like cattle, but they have no other alternative. Eventually, the group comes upon a house that is barricaded with barbed wire. Sam and Phoebe Russell, the elderly couple that live there, call the local sheriff and Phoebe whispers something to Coreen. Sheriff Art Kinkade drives them to a motel in a small town near a sugar refinery. The proprietor, Anson Parker, who is also the town's Mayor, is on the phone long distance demanding more sugar for the refinery. Coreen tells Marilyn and Margaret that Phoebe told her, "Whatever you do, don't let them take you to the sugar refinery." Joe uses a pay phone to call a friend in the state capital, but is told that the lines are down. Dan finds that strange, since the Mayor was talking long distance. While the women clean up, Dan and Joe go to rent a car. When the girl at the rental office stalls them, they realize that the townspeople are conspiring to keep them there. Dan and Joe hot-wire a car and the five people attempt to leave town, but they hit a police roadblock. Joe tries to run past the roadblock, but the car pitches into the river. Pulled to safety, Joe and Coreen escape into the sugar cane fields, but Dan, Margaret and Marilyn are captured and taken both into custody and to the refinery. Inside the refinery, Sheriff Kincade explains that the townspeople line up each week so that the queen ant can spray them with pheromones, which triggers an involuntary response in the humans to make them do the ants' bidding. In the sugar cane fields, Joe and Coreen are captured by deputies and brought to the others. Marilyn is forced into a gazebo with the queen ant, sprayed with pheromones, and comes out saying that obedience to the ants is a good thing and that the humans must take care of them and help them. Dan is forced into the gazebo next and repels the queen ant with a lighted car flare. The worker ants then attack the humans. Joe opens the spigots on a fuel truck and drives all around the refinery, leaving a flammable trail. Sheriff Kincade shoots the queen ant, but she attacks and kills Marilyn before she also dies. Joe leaps from the truck, which crashes into the refinery's warehouse, bursts into flames, and burns all of the worker ants to death inside it. Joe, Dan, Coreen and Margaret find a motorboat and escape down the river.
Empire of the Ants
Adventure,Horror,Sci-Fi
Film Details
Off the South Florida coast, a ship dumps dozens of barrels that are clearly marked "Danger Radioactive Waste Material" into the water. Later, the barrels wash ashore on an island beach where the contents of one of them leak onto the sand out of several small holes in it, contaminating an ordinary colony of ants that are feeding on said contents. Meanwhile, sleazy real estate developer Marilyn Fryser greets prospective buyers that are boarding a yacht for a day cruise to visit her latest project, Dreamland Shores.
Already aboard are Dan Stokely, the ship's captain, his first mate Jim, and Marilyn's partner, salesman and boyfriend Charlie Pearson, with whom she is having an affair. At the yet-to-be-built Dreamland Shores, two workers prepare for the visitors by setting up a tent with tables on the beach not far from where the radioactive waste has both contaminated and affected the ants. Once they arrive, Marilyn's nine guests get to know one another: Coreen Bradford, a young woman recovering from a relationship with a married man; Margaret Ellis, an executive secretary; a young married couple, Larry and Christine Graham; a middle-aged couple, Thomas and Mary Lawson; an elderly couple, Harry and Velma Thompson; and a brooding young man, Joe Morrison.
Charlie and Marilyn take their guests on a two-hour tour of the property, pointing out where the future marina, tennis club, and golf course will be. When the party stops at another tent for refreshments, Marilyn is annoyed that the workers have gone. Suspicious, Thomas wanders off and just as he discovers that some of the pipes are actually phonies, he and Mary are attacked and killed by large ants.
Back on the tour, the group realizes that Thomas and Mary are missing. Marilyn hears a loud buzzing noise, but ignores it. When they discover the body of one of the workers, Joe decides to go looking for Thomas and Mary.
Coreen is the only one brave enough to go with him. They discover Thomas' bloody corpse. Everyone returns to the beach where they see a line of the large ants marching toward their moored ship.
Dan and Jim battle the ants with an ax. A gasoline can ruptures and the ship explodes, killing Jim. Dan swims back to shore.
As night falls, the group builds a fire to ward off the ants. In the morning a storm hits, extinguishing both the fire and their ability to rebuild it. Although Charlie suggests escape in a rowboat that is lying at the mouth of a river two miles away, Marilyn wants to await rescue at a deserted beach house.
She is only convinced to join the others when she sees that the house is infested with ants. Moving through the jungle toward the river, the party encounters a group of the ants and is forced to run. The elderly Thompsons cannot keep up and take shelter in a shed.
Christine trips and hurts her ankle, but Larry refuses to help and leaves her behind to be killed and eaten by the ants. When Marilyn snags her sweater on a tree, Charlie helps her, but the ants swarm over him and eat him also as she escapes. Dan, Margaret, Marilyn, Joe, Coreen, and Larry reach the river and find the rowboat.
Meanwhile, the Thompsons emerge from the shed only to find themselves surrounded by the ants (which, presumably, kill and eat them as well). As Dan rows the boat, the others lament their fate. At a fork in the river, Larry insists they go left, but they soon hear the buzzing of the ants.
The ants attack from overhanging branches, and Dan and Joe fight them off with the rowboat's oars. Dan turns the boat back toward the fork; however, an ant attacks and kills Larry, and the boat capsizes, knocking the others into the water. The five survivors swim to shore and proceed on foot along the river.
Marilyn argues with Dan and stalks off, but soon comes face-to-face with an ant and wisely rejoins the group. Coreen and Dan realize that the ants are herding them upstream like cattle, but they have no other alternative. Eventually, the group comes upon a house that is barricaded with barbed wire.
Sam and Phoebe Russell, the elderly couple that live there, call the local sheriff and Phoebe whispers something to Coreen. Sheriff Art Kinkade drives them to a motel in a small town near a sugar refinery. The proprietor, Anson Parker, who is also the town's Mayor, is on the phone long distance demanding more sugar for the refinery.
Coreen tells Marilyn and Margaret that Phoebe told her, "Whatever you do, don't let them take you to the sugar refinery." Joe uses a pay phone to call a friend in the state capital, but is told that the lines are down. Dan finds that strange, since the Mayor was talking long distance. While the women clean up, Dan and Joe go to rent a car.
When the girl at the rental office stalls them, they realize that the townspeople are conspiring to keep them there. Dan and Joe hot-wire a car and the five people attempt to leave town, but they hit a police roadblock. Joe tries to run past the roadblock, but the car pitches into the river.
Pulled to safety, Joe and Coreen escape into the sugar cane fields, but Dan, Margaret and Marilyn are captured and taken both into custody and to the refinery. Inside the refinery, Sheriff Kincade explains that the townspeople line up each week so that the queen ant can spray them with pheromones, which triggers an involuntary response in the humans to make them do the ants' bidding. In the sugar cane fields, Joe and Coreen are captured by deputies and brought to the others.
Marilyn is forced into a gazebo with the queen ant, sprayed with pheromones, and comes out saying that obedience to the ants is a good thing and that the humans must take care of them and help them. Dan is forced into the gazebo next and repels the queen ant with a lighted car flare. The worker ants then attack the humans.
Joe opens the spigots on a fuel truck and drives all around the refinery, leaving a flammable trail. Sheriff Kincade shoots the queen ant, but she attacks and kills Marilyn before she also dies. Joe leaps from the truck, which crashes into the refinery's warehouse, bursts into flames, and burns all of the worker ants to death inside it.
Joe, Dan, Coreen and Margaret find a motorboat and escape down the river..