Main Cast: Chris L. McKenna, Kari Wuhrer, Daniel Baldwin, George Wendt, Timm Sharp
Release Year: 2003
Country: US
Run Time: 101 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Touted as something of a return-to-form for Re-Animator director Stuart Gordon, King of the Ants offers the brutal tale of a man discovering his previously untapped potential for violence. Despite the fact that his future seems relatively undefined, young drifter Sean Crawley (Chris McKenna) is an easygoing guy who makes a meager living by painting houses. When electrician Duke Wayne (George Wendt) suggests that the naïve young painter could make more money if he could expand his horizons, an eager Sean takes him up on the offer and Duke introduces Sean to local construction magnate Ray Mathews (Daniel Baldwin). Ray quickly enlists Sean's assistance in trailing a local city accountant whose number crunching is beginning to make the crooked construction heavy uncomfortable, and it's not long before Ray asks Sean to carry out a hit on the overzealous accountant. Although Ray and Duke subsequently attempt to distance themselves from the crime, Sean's attempt to collect on the hit results in a brutal attempt on the amateur hit man's life. Though he is beaten to within inches of death, Sean makes an unexpectedly speedy recovery fueled by an unquenchable thirst for revenge. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Review
Eschewing the fantasy-based Lovecraftian horrors of Re-Animator and Dagon for a decidedly stark meditation on day-to-day violence, longtime director Stuart Gordon successfully shifts gears, and the results are a compelling but often unpleasant psychological revenge drama. As the viewer becomes acquainted with naïve young house painter Sean (Chris McKenna), suspicions regarding his dubious morality and determination to succeed no matter what the cost are slowly cemented though a series of thoughts and actions, including his eager willingness to at first trail -- and ultimately murder -- a nosey city hall accountant. It's a testament to Gordon's skills as a filmmaker -- and essential to the success of the film itself -- that despite Sean's questionable character the audience is still able to identify with him even after he has obviously crossed the line and opted for the slow road to hell. Of course, one can't lay all of the praise for the effectiveness squarely on the shoulders of the filmmaker, and his talented cast was no doubt up to the challenging task of making the characters who draw him into his newfound world of violence as reprehensible as possible. Daniel Baldwin couldn't have been a better choice to cast as Ray, the sleazy building contractor who lures young Sean in with a drunken promise of 13,000 dollars for the hit; and any pleasant memories of a bar "where everybody knows your name" will soon be obliterated from viewers memories forever thanks to George Wendt's performance as Ray's sadistic henchman Duke. As harrowing scenes of torture slowly turn into surreal hallucinations and the tables are eventually turned, the catharsis of witnessing Sean's recovery (including a cruel twist of fate regarding his former victim's wife) and seeing the ruthless bunch get what's coming to them quickly falls by the wayside when, in the films closing moments, he reveals the bleak philosophical motivation behind his chilling transformation. A far cry from Gordon's previous efforts to be sure, but a more thematically mature effort that without question points to exciting things to come from the veteran director. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Vernon Wells - Beckett; Ron Livingston - Eric Gatley; Lionel Mark Smith - Carl; Carlie Westerman - Catlin Gatley; Shuko Akune - Meade Parks; Ian Williams - Tony
Credit
Shannon Kemp - Art Director, Shawn Simons - Associate Producer, Monika Mikkelsen - Casting, George Wendt - Co-producer, Stuart Gordon - Co-producer, Charlie Higson - Co-producer, Stacy Stagnaro - Costume Designer, Scott Senechal - First Assistant Director, Stuart Gordon - Director, David Michael Latt - Editor, David Rimawi - Executive Producer, Sherri Strain - Executive Producer, Bobby Johnston - Composer (Music Score), Optic Nerve - Makeup Special Effects, George Moes - Production Designer, Mac Ahlberg - Cinematographer, David Michael Latt - Cinematographer, David Michael Latt - Producer, Duffy Hecht - Producer, John Bordeaux - Special Effects, John Martigan - Special Effects, Dennis Grzesik - Sound/Sound Designer, Charlie Higson - Screenwriter, Charlie Higson - Book Author
