Ameisen - Die Rache der schwarzen Königin

Ants otherwise known as It Happened at Lakewood manor tells the story of building work beside a large regal hotel that stirs up an army of killer ants.

Starring Dicks Van Dykes son Barry and to a lesser extent film legend Brian Dennehy this late 70's effort isn't actually that bad considering what it is.

The trouble with movies of this ilk is the lack of threat, once you're aware of the ants in question then why are they still such a concern? They're freakin ants!

The pace is competent and it looks a lot better than you'd imagine but the pointless side plots and overly inflated threat do damage it's credibility somewhat.

All building up to a really rather unintentionally hilarious finale this is daft but not entirely without merit.

The Good:

Looks better than you'd imagine

The Bad:

Could have been constructed better

Irritating score

Hilariously bad finale

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Ants even when swarming are invisible and incorporeal until they start biting you

After committing a crime ants are known for fleeing the scene

If the area is being swarmed with killer antsit's best to leave your windows open

Construction site unearths an army of toxic ants that engulf the neighbouring hotel. Construction Manager Foxworth and foreman Casey lead the charge to convince the owners of the impending danger, and then save the guests from imminent death.

Almost sounds exciting, and while it doesn't quite live up to its premise, a surprisingly good cast and competently handled action sequences contribute to a watchable entry in the "animal attack" film genre.

Foxworth plays the hero with macho determination, coming to the rescue of his girlfriend (Day-George) and soon-to-be mother-in-law (Loy) who are trapped in the besieged hotel, along with an assortment of other residents and ring-ins. Suzanne Somers gets star billing despite only being in a minor supporting role, while future star Brian Dennehy chimes in late in the piece as the fire brigade captain who must engineer an escape plan for the trapped victims.

Nothing fancy, no expensive special effects, Emmy-award winning performances or memorable dialogue, just the tried and tested disaster film formula, with a new element for excitement. The only real liability, is a somewhat bizarre (and equally absurd) climax ending that might leave the audience a little disappointed.

Disbelief aside, "Ants" is a reasonable way to spend an hour-and-a-half, and may leave you hesitant about dismissing the innocuous looking insects, next time they infest your kitchen sink.

This "television event" came out when bug movies were the vogue (yeah, that lasted about 15 minutes). I saw this when I was 8 years old, and, yes, back then it was creepy. A resort is overrun by evil ants that really don't like us humans too well. They proceed to blanket the resort and kill off many guests. A nude sleeping Suzanne Somers even gets it! The ants looked more like rice painted black, ultra campy. If you like old '70's disaster and/or bug films, it won't top your list...

Just want to comment on this movie that I know as "Ants". I think I really only like to watch it and more than once because I grew up near this hotel. Despite the fact that IMDb lists the filming location as Vancouver, British Columbia, this movie was actually filmed in the small town of Qualicum Beach, about 60 miles west of Vancouver. Lakewood Manor is in reality the old Qualicum College, a private residential boys's school, converted around the time of this movie to a hotel called the Qualicum College Inn. The water overlooked by the building is not a lake at all, but rather the Strait of Georgia which separates Vancouver Island from the mainland of British Columbia.

When I was a kid my friends and I would dig in the hard sandy clay just across the street from the college and make quite substantial caves. We were very foolhardy as these could have collapsed at any time, and of course we never realized that there were killer ants down in the ground!

Robert Foxworth plays construction crew foreman Mike Carr, who discovers a horde of poisonous killer ants after two of his men are attacked while working in a pit being dug near an old-fashioned hotel, the Lakewood Manor, which soon thereafter becomes the last refuge of him and a few other people trapped there as the ant army advances upward and onwards....how can they be stopped before they reach the top floor, where they will be trapped? Brian Dennehy and Suzanne Somers costar in this TV movie that remains watchable, with some suspense, but a story that is still quite clichéd and predictable; at least the ants were normal-sized for a change!