Them!

Rating:
Summary: A one of a kind spellbinder!
Review: "THEM" will have you on the edge of your seat from the opening scene. The cast, especially James Whitmore and James Arness, perform with steely eyed seriousness. The plot of mutation by nuclear blast in well worn, but has never been executed so convincing.
"THEM" begins with a series of unsolved disappearances. The only
witness being a five year old child suffering from severe shock. Piece by piece the plot is realistically unfolded before the viewer, and we soon learn of the monster ants for which the movie is named.
The intense and rapidly moving chain of events encompass the geographic area between rural Texas and Los Angeles, with the transitions from place to place made smoothly, without the confusion which seem to plague more modern productions.
Although the special effects are dated, and the scientific facts used to convey the story might by a little inaccurate, the great performances more than make the movie.
Instead of squandering fortunes remaking bombs like "THE BLOB" and "INVADERS FROM MARS", Hollywood moguls should combine high tech special effects and a great story line and remake "THEM".

Rating:
Summary: A true Sci-Fi classic
Review: One of the best sci-fi films of the fifties along with The Thing (from another world) and Day the Earth Stood Still. This shouldn't be missed. A definite keeper. Kudos go to all the studios re-releasing all the great fifties horror and sci-fi films. This one is up there near the top of the list. Enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: THEM
Review: Who doesn't like a giant bug movie? Step aside Starship Troopers! The heroes in this classic flick didn't have blasters. They used Tommy Guns! Straight out of the best decade for some of the greatest sci-fi movies ever made. Bring out the popcorn. Grab the best seat in the house and switch off cable. THEM! has arrived!

Rating:
Summary: Great!
Review: Well, I havenÂ't seen the DVD version yet, but IÂ've seen this movie many times ( I recorded it from TCM or something;)
ItÂ's a great flick with that horror feeling U just donÂ't get these days and I can recommend it big time!
The effects are of course not that great but the acting and the whole scenario of these giant monsters "invading" is terrific.
I love this movie!

Rating:
Summary: a great example
Review: There was a time in movie-making where they actually told complete stories, gave us just enough character development to know the story people, knew how to hold suspense, and gave us some credit for intelligence and imagination. This movie is a wonderful product of that time. Trim, sincerely acted, always on point and not a moment longer than it needs to be. Not like so many of today's movies which feature limp stories interupted by plot-stopping sex, over-graphiced for the sake of graphic treatment, infinite in detail and implying we can't imagine it ourselves. Good story-telling is an art, not an endurance contest with the viewer. The best movies leave something to our imagination. This movie and its many of its fellows from the same period do it right. Them, It Came From Outer Space, The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, The Thing From Another World, War of the Worlds, to name just a few. They last for a reason.

Rating:
Summary: THEM: World War II Meets Bug-Eyed Monsters
Review: Certainly,THEM, is one of the best post-WWII big bug movies ever made. When it was released, the memories of the Second World War were quite fresh in the minds of American audiences. What they saw was not only a movie that combined snappy dialogue, male bonding (James Whitmore & James Arness), low key romance (Arness & Joan Weldon), father/daughter give and take (Edmund Gwynn & Weldon), and several comic flourishes (Fess Parker as a crazed pilot), but what made this movie click was that the enemy, the giant mutated ants, were presented in the same way that Hollywood showed the evil-grinning, buck-toothed Japs of the previous decade. These ants appeared out of nowhere in a surprise assault on a desert camper (read Pearl Harbor) with only an incoherent survivor, a little girl, to warn America about the dangers of 'them.' The warnings placed out on the police radio and on television are remarkably reminiscent of FDR's 'Day of Infamy' speech. As on December 8, 1941, when America could see and hear the destruction wrought by the Japanese in the South Pacific, so too could the same audience a dozen years later be reminded graphically that though the times and faces on the enemy may change, there exists in this unfeeling world a vicious enemy that cannot be reasoned with nor can be deterred from their purpose. All that Americans can do is get in the final kayo punch.
After the ants have escaped from the desert to take roost in the hold of a navy steamer, there is a graphic and horrifying scene in which marauding ants are seen as breaking into the radio room, killing the seamen who are using their lives to buy time to morse code the message that ants have broken into the radio room. It is impossible to view this scene without being aware of how on some level this valiant morse coding does not remind one of a similarly valiant morse coding performed by some nameless sailor as the Japs were breaking in the radio rooms of Wake Island and Corregidor.
And then there is the war against the ants in the underground sewers of Los Angeles. The eerie silence that preceeds the ants' attack on the US soldiers brings to mind the storming of the beaches at Tarawa. It is no surprise, then, that this movie resonated with the minds of Americans who were weary of the horrors of the Second World War and then had to face further oriental killers in Korea. Even today, as I see Whitmore and Arness blast their way through a horde of mindless ants, I am reminded of other and earlier documentaries that showed these marauders as non-insects, but nonetheless equally as threatening and just as worthy as being squashed under the jackboots of American soldiers.

Rating:
Summary: Alright I would say...
Review: Worst Ending...Nuff said. This movie is fairly well but it has the worst ending ever in to world... that's why i gave it a 3.

Rating:
Summary: I LOVES THEM ANTS
Review: Whenever someone mentions 50's sci-fi films,the first thing that comes to mind is the giant bug movies.Well,this is the best to come out of that era.
This movie sets itself apart by not following the trends of the time.You wont see any shots of someone waiving there hands in front of their face while the camera slowly desends on them.The lead female is also treated as an equal,rather then walking around serving the other men coffee or becoming an instant nursemaid the minute someone injures themselves.
The ants are actually quite impressive.Other than the fact that they look to be floating across the ground I was unable to spot any strings.I was happy they opted not to show the flying ants.I dont think they could have pulled it off without it looking cheezy.
The acting was good from top to bottom.It helps that the film had such an intellegent script.The pacing is just right so that you never get bored and the characters behaved realistically to the fact that their nemisis' were giant ants.Thankfully,the script didnt include a tacked on romance which never seems believable and usually slows down these types of films.
You really cant go wrong with this movie.In fact,even if you dont like 50's sci-fi films,you'll probably stilll enjoy this one.Theres even a suprize death!!Hows THAT for a teaser?

Rating:
Summary: Best of the Big Bad Bugs!
Review: Yes, the special effects are very much of the 1950s, but those effects are fun to watch--and unlike most other 1950s sci-fi/horror films, THEM! has a lot more going for it than special effects alone: sharp and aggressive performances, a cast of truly memorable supporting actors, a witty and intelligent script, and best of all (unlike many other films of its era) a story that can still generate plenty of suspense.

The grand-daddy of all mutant-monster movies, THEM! concerns a colony of A-Bomb-created giant ants that have lurked in the desert unnoticed until the colony begins to divide. When newborn queen ants take flight, the world is in danger--particularly Los Angeles, where a nest establishes itself in the city's largely forgotten storm drains. Edmund Gwynne and Joan Weldon give strong performances as the father-daughter scientific team sent from Washington to investigate, and James Whitmore and James Arness give able support as the action-heros of the piece. Fess Parker is also very effective in a small supporting role.

The real winner in the film, however, are the clever cinematography and sound effects that build tremendous suspense, particularly when investigators must enter the desert ant nest and later track the ants to their Los Angeles lair. These scenes possess a claustrophobic feel not seen again in any sci-fi/horror flick until ALIEN. Without graphic gore but more than a few serious thrills, THEM! is a film the whole family can enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: Them!
Review: Them! would have to fill the #1 spot on my list of great bug movies of the 50's. An excellant cast of future stars and the bugs aint bad either. A-bomb testing does it again, this time in the form of giant ants. The DVD plays clean and crisp in fact ive never seen this movie look this good.