Les Fourmis

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.

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

Ants! (1977)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

A lakeside hotel is about to be sold off but before that can happen an outbreak of poison ants start killing people. This made for TV film is yet another in a long line of "when nature attacks" films but it's not too bad as long as you don't take it too serious. Suzanne Somers, Robert Foxworth, Lynda Day George, Brian Dennehy and Myrna Loy (!) all have pretty good parts in the film so the familiar cast certainly keeps things going, although all of them have seen better days. As with a lot of films like this, it's best to turn your brain off and just enjoy what's going on in front of your eyes. Once again we get a speech how this is all our fault due to the poisons we use to kill insects. Yes, we are to blame for the ant outbreak because we previously tried to kill them. While the story might be simple and rather brain dead, it does make for a mildly entertaining film. The special effects of all the ants are rather weak as in most cases it seems like something black is just sprinkled around to look like ants. There are a few scenes where we see close ups of real ants eating a butterfly but there's never anything too graphic. The biggest problem with the film is that the ants are never scary and not once did I feel threatened even though people were dying from them. AKA: It Happened at Lakewood Manor.

you know,i didn't think this was all that bad,for this type of movie,(man vs insect,nature,etc)that is.i actually thought there were a few suspenseful moments.the acting wasn't horrible or anything.there are a lot of plot holes for sure,and as per usual in this type of movie,most of the characters are either stupid or do stupid things.the one thing i did like about this movie,compared to others of this genre,is that at least there was a character who was reprehensible and you could really hate.and you get the pleasure of seeing him eventually meet his much deserved end.i also thin the the reason for the ants killing people could be possible.it's at least in the realm of possibility.it's not very likely but you never know.i haven't seen all of the movies in this genre.but it's probably safe to say that none of them will be stellar in terms of quality and logic.still,i enjoyed this one for what it is,a mildly entertaining way to pass 90 minutes or so.i give "it Happened at Lakewood Manor" AKA "Ants" 6/10

The charm of an old-fashioned inn is momentarily disrupted by a nearby demolition crew gutting the property next door. Mike (Foxworth), the foreman of the crew has trouble keeping his men from going on impromptu breaks and can't account for several of them.

Sleazy gambling czar Tony Fleming (Gordon) is also there trying to purchase the inn so he can turned it into a resort/casino. He, his associate Gloria (Somers) and the various other guests and staff are, like the demolition crew under the grave threat of killer ants with poisonous bites. Not only do the ants kill but they have the sense to flee the scene without leaving any trace that they were there.

In a half-hour plus of screen time the characters finally clue in that something is wrong. Of course it takes them considerably longer before they agree what it actually is and how they can escape.

The acting is not spectacularly bad but only up until they have to interact with swarms of ants and pretend they are afraid they are going to die. Anyone who lives on the side of a hill can tend to get the ant swarm horror in their basements during the summer.

Producers rounded up a huge cast of ants to appear as extras in this film (If I had been their agent I'm sure I could have at least gotten them scale) and the result is what looks like millions of the little buggers. Sometimes realism is cheaper than special effects or staging tricks.

It makes for fairly entertaining high camp and great 1970s B-movie fun. Improbable and illogical but no more so than any Hollywood movie. It is still enjoyable horror/suspense kitsch with a highly predictable ending even for a TV movie.