Saturday Cinema will be, every Saturday that I’m able, me picking a movie available for streaming on Netflix, watching it, then talking about it in the comments. Â Won’t you join me?
This week I’m going all the way back to 1954 for THEM!
The inhabitants of a small Southwestern town feel the fallout when radiation from bomb tests creates giant, mutant ants that descend on their community. Facing human extermination, a team of scientists scrambles to figure out how to stop “them.” Filled with creepy creatures large and small, this 1954 sci-fi spectacular is one of the most influential horror films of all time — and also captures America’s mood at the dawn of the Atomic Age.
Despite what is now a cliche, radiation mutating normal things into monsters, and if you can overlook the age of the film in the technological and style differences, the story of THEM! holds up well. It doesn’t have glaring plot holes or any science using made up words that sound ridiculous. I’d never actually seen the entire movie until today and I found it rather enjoyable.
I have always had a soft spot for the “radiation makes animals/people gigantic” genre and all related giant “insert creature name here” movies. Too bad the attempts to revive them (i.e. Eight Legged Freaks) just don’t get it.