Underplayed Gems

Phase IV (1974)

Phase IV poster
Directed by
Saul Bass
Genre
horror film, science fiction film
Country
United Kingdom, United States
Runtime
1h 24m
Rated
PG
Rating
6.3 of 10 from 298 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

A mysterious cosmic event causes ants to develop a collective intelligence and begin communicating with humans in the desert. Two scientists try to understand and stop the ants as the insects start to systematically take over the landscape.

clinicalominousslow-burncontemplativeunsettlingminimalistcerebralbleak

What happens

Phase IV is a 1974 science fiction horror film directed by graphic designer and filmmaker Saul Bass. It was written by Mayo Simon, who used H. G. Wells's 1905 short story "Empire of the Ants" as inspiration. The film stars Michael Murphy, Nigel Davenport, and Lynne Frederick. Interiors were shot at Pinewood Studios in England and exterior locations were shot in Kenya, though the film is set in the Arizona desert in the United States. It was produced by Alced Productions and Paramount Pictures. The film was a box office flop and thus the only feature film directed by Bass. It has since gained a cult following, due to TV airings beginning in 1975 and also being shown on Mystery Science Theater 3000 during the KTMA era. A novelization of the script, written by Barry N. Malzberg, was published as Phase IV in November 1973. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

This page is from Underplayed Gems. Not quite it? You can browse by genre, country and year, or take this one into the 3D catalogue and ask the Catbot for something closer.