Empire of the Ants

Name: Empire of the Ants
Genre: Horror, Science Fiction
Released: 1977-06-29
Duration: 1 h 29 min
Rating: 4.3
Cast: Joan Collins, Robert Lansing, John David Carson, Albert Salmi, Jacqueline Scott

For they shall inherit the earth... sooner than you think!

Empire of the Ants (1977)

Timing: 1:29 (89 min)

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4.9/10
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4.3/10
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All about film

Video 10

Photo 33

Actors and characters

Watch film Empire of the Ants — Empire Of The Ants ≣ 1977 ≣ Trailer

2:19

Photo 33

Release date

1977-06-29

Country

United States

Production

American International Pictures, Cinema 77

Genre

Horror, Science Fiction

Budget

$500 000

Revenue

$2 500 000

Website

Director

Bert I. Gordon

Actors

Joan Collins, Robert Lansing, John David Carson, Albert Salmi, Jacqueline Scott, Pamela Susan Shoop, Robert Pine, Edward Power, Brooke Palance, Tom Fadden
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Producer

Bert I. Gordon, Samuel Z. Arkoff

Operator

Reginald H. Morris

Composer

Dana Kaproff

Artist

Charles Rosen

Audition

Betty Martin

Editing

Michael Luciano
All team (39)

Short description

A Florida real estate developer and her captain lure investors to a property in the Everglades called Dreamland Shores, under false pretenses that the swampland will soon be developed. After the group arrives on a small island, they find it has been overrun by giant mutated ants, brought on by the dumping of toxic waste in the area.

What's left behind the scenes

According to actress Joan Collins, the stunt doubles were late for the filming of the scene with the capsizing canoe, forcing the actors to perform the scene themselves. She was reluctant, but director Bert A. Gordon pressured her, and the actress had to comply. She was afraid that refusing would mean no further offers to appear in films.
Director, screenwriter, and producer Bert A. Gordon inserted enlarged images of insects common in Central and South America called Paraponera clavata, or bullet ants, into the film.
According to actress Pamela Susan Shoop, toward the end of filming, a fight broke out between the director and the sound engineer; the latter became so angry that he threw all the audio recordings into a swamp. Everything was irretrievably lost. The sound had to be rerecorded, which is why the picture and sound are not always perfectly synchronized.
According to actress Joan Collins, the stunt doubles were late for the filming of the canoe capsizing scene, forcing the actors to perform the scene themselves. She did not want to, but director Bert A. Gordon pressured her, and she had to comply. She feared that if she refused, she would no longer receive offers to act.
According to actress Pamela Susan Shoup, a fight broke out between the director and the sound engineer near the end of filming, and the latter was so angry that he threw all the audio recordings into a swamp. Everything was irrevocably lost. The sound had to be re-recorded, which is why the image and sound are not always perfectly synchronized.
As a promotional stunt, cinemas displayed ant farms in their lobbies.
Director, screenwriter, and producer Burt A. Gordon inserted enlarged images of the Paraponera clavata, or bullet ant – a common insect in Central and South America – into the film.