So it's that time of year again. The time of year when pumpkins get carved, candy is procured for little tykes in costumes, and Mr. Inkslinger drags up all the scary movies he can find for our evening perusal.
Tonight's offering was the 1954 sci-fi/horror film Them! And it was rather fun, really. The premise: it all starts in the desert of New Mexico around, about the test site for the atomic bomb. Seems the fall-out from the radiation has done something to the local ant population. And humanity is at risk if a team of doctors, police, and military guys can't get the best of the mutations before it's too late. Filmed during the Cold War, of course, the story is charged with contextual tension. But I think it holds up well as a good, scary tale. There are some absurd moments, but when aren't there in a horror film? And it makes a good metaphor for what people feared would be unleashed by the atomic age (monstrosity).
Mr. Inkslinger particularly enjoyed seeing connections to Ridley Scott's Alien films. And I thought the elderly, eager scientist (played by the fascinating Edmund Gwenn) bore striking character similarities (though ultimately more benign) to Jurassic Park's John Hammond. Also of interest is the depiction of a strong, intelligent female doctor who dares the queen's nest with the men.
What a fun evening!
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