Phase IV

Saul Bass, best known for his title sequences, directed this 1974 science fiction horror film, his only feature as director. In the Arizona desert, a previously unknown species of ant begins behaving with a collective intelligence, eliminating its natural predators and turning on humans. The entomologist Ernest D. Hubbs and his assistant James Lesko, a specialist in animal communication, set up a sealed research laboratory in the evacuated region to study the insects, while an elderly farming couple and their granddaughter refuse to leave their land. The ants follow a coordinated plan rather than acting on instinct, and the scientists' attempts to understand and stop them carry serious risks.

The screenplay is by Mayo Simon, produced by Paul B. Radin, with Nigel Davenport as Hubbs, Michael Murphy as Lesko and Lynne Frederick as Kendra Eldridge, supported by Alan Gifford, Robert Henderson and Helen Horton. Shot in the United Kingdom and the United States for Paramount and smaller production outfits, it runs 86 minutes.

Audience response has been moderate, with the film holding a 6.4 rating on IMDb from around 11,000 votes and a 6.3 on TMDB from roughly 300 votes. A critics' rating of 5.7 from 18 reviews places it in similar territory to those audience scores. It remains a minor entry in the science fiction cinema of its era.