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Phase IV (1974)

6/23/2012

 
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"That spring, we were all watching the events in space and wondering what the final effect would be...when the effect came, it was almost unnoticed, because it happened to such a small and insignificant form of life..."
                                                       ~ opening narration from Phase IV

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The rather misleading and lurid poster.
When the citizens of a small desert town in Arizona begin evacuating their homes due to what seems like an ant invasion, British scientist Dr. Ernest Hubbs (Nigel Davenport), begins investigating. He notices a peculiar phenomenon: different species of ants have suddenly stopped fighting and have begun working together, slowly eliminating their natural predators (like spiders, mantises and lizards) and building strange, towering dirt obelisks.

Intrigued, Hubbs uses government grant funds to build a research dome in the area, and calls in younger mathematics student James Lesko (Michael Murphy) to help find patterns in the ants' unusual behavior. The scientists meet with the only residents still in the region, local farming family the Eldridges. James catches the eye of their winsome granddaughter, Kendra (Lynne Frederick), and Hubbs gives them a government-sanctioned order to move out as soon as possible.

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Days go by without any overt activity from the ants, so Hubbs decides to provoke things by blowing up their tower constructions. Needless to say, they respond in a hostile manner. Soon the Eldridges are dead, except for Kendra, who survives the ant attack and is brought into the research dome by James. Their jeep destroyed, all communication lines severed and the dome's air-conditioning units sabotaged, the surviving humans find themselves in a battle of wits against an insect enemy that is not only showing signs of extreme, unnatural intelligence, but seems to be trying to communicate with them.

But to what purpose?

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Michael Murphy and Nigel Davenport
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The ants begin their assault on the research compound.

Phase IV is the sort of trippy, "out there" science fiction film that could have only have been produced in the 1970s. It has some of the same detached, hard-science approach seen in the earlier The Andromeda Strain (1971), coupled with a mystical, mysterious quality that reminds me a little bit of the two "implacable, unknowable nature" films by Peter Weir, The Last Wave (1977) and Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975). While it's by no means as artful or haunting as the two Weir films, or as clear and plot-driven as Andromeda, Phase IV is nonetheless an original and memorably odd piece of work.
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The movie is also a visual treat. It's the only full-length feature film directed by Saul Bass, who was most famous for his imaginative title designs for numerous films, such as Vertigo, The Big Country, Anatomy of a Murder, North by Northwest, Psycho, West Side Story, and too many other classics to name. You can see his fine hand in the design and composition of Phase IV. The movie must not have been a success, as Bass never directed another feature. The script may be a bit opaque, with a minimum of character development, but the overall sense of isolation, claustrophobia and just plain weirdness is palpable, helped along by an appropriately otherworldly, electronic score by Brian Gascoigne.

Special mention must go to the numerous insect sequences filmed by Ken Middleham, which are eerie and fascinating. He managed to capture some amazing shots, which must have taken a very long time, and acres of patience, to film.

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Nigel Davenport and Michael Murphy do their best to lend some weight to thin characters. Davenport is an accomplished English character actor (and sometime lead) who has turned in interesting work in such films as A Man for All Seasons, Sands of the Kalahari, Play Dirty and No Blade of Grass. Murphy, also an experienced supporting player, is perhaps most well known for co-starring in Woody Allen's Manhattan and several Robert Altman films, including Mash, McCabe and Mrs. Miller and Nashville. The two men spar well off each other. There's a hint of the sort of "generation gap" conflict common in films of this time period, as the younger, more empathetic James clashes with the older Hubbs' cold and clinical approach.
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As Kendra, the striking British actress Lynne Frederick doesn't get much in the way of dialogue, but is convincingly unsettled and traumatized as the story moves forward.  Frederick's first film role was as Davenport's daughter in the end-of-the-world thriller No Blade of Grass. She enjoyed a short but controversial career (one highlight being 1971's Nicholas and Alexandria; she's also in the sexy Hammer horror film Vampire Circus).  Her brief marriage in the late 70s to the much-older Peter Sellers left her with a fortune and a "gold digger" reputation she couldn't shake. Barely out of her teens in Phase IV, she's all dewy-eyed innocence and vulnerability. Her American accent slips occasionally, but she's a welcome, human presence.

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Humanity's front line? The domed lab in the AZ desert.
This is a film of ideas and images rather than character dynamics, and as such, it doesn't really matter that the actors aren't given much meat to chew on. The three leads are solid, but they're forced into sharing an equal amount of screen time with insects, and it's hard to choose which side is more interesting to watch. That said, I would have welcomed more dialogue and interaction between the scientists and a little less bug footage, as well done as it is.

This balance between the insect and human worlds does give the film its unique feel, however. There really isn't anything out there quite like it, and I recommend it to those looking for a slice of uncanny sci-fi, or just something completely off the beaten path.

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DVD Note: Phase IV is available on a nice-looking and inexpensive widescreen  DVD from Legend Films.


NOTE: This review is my contribution to the weekly Tuesday Overlooked Film posting hosted by Todd Mason at Sweet Freedom. Click here to check out the list of other contributors.
Clayton link
6/23/2012 04:20:11 pm

Umm...we're having a psychic bro moment here...I just watched this! This...afternoon.

Along with COLOSSUS: THE FORBIN PROJECT, the best ignored or just plain unknown science fiction movie ever made! Also with COLOSSUS is that amazingly tangible sense of dread...wow.

Great choice for a cool review!

Jeff
6/24/2012 07:44:29 am

Thanks, Clayton! It sure is a rare treat of a film. I completely agree about its "tangible sense of dread." That's an apt phrase. There is a real dread atmosphere here.

As you know, THE FORBIN PROJECT is one of my all-time favorite sci-fi films, and I hope to get around to reviewing it sometime in the near future.

Rick
6/24/2012 09:21:53 am

A "memorably odd piece of work" is a terrific description of PHASE IV. But you're right, it fits nicely along other weird sci fi of that period, to include DEMON SEED and the sorta-documentary THE HELLSTROM CHRONICLES. As always, a fine review with amazing pics.

Jeff
6/24/2012 10:49:03 pm

Appreciate the kind words, Rick! Ah, yes - I had forgotten about DEMON SEED. THE HELLSTROM CHRONICLES definitely does come to mind when discussing PHASE IV. The latter also has a docu-drama element to it, which is partly what makes it so effective.

Dan
6/24/2012 09:19:22 pm

I grew a bit weary of the pre-fab defeatism that suffused films of the (post-Vietnam) 70s, but PHASE IV was sufficiently intelligent and visually arresting to keep me watching.

Jeff
6/24/2012 11:29:16 pm

Thanks for the comment, Dan! I know what you mean about getting somewhat tired of the downbeat, nihilistic endings popular in the late 60s/early 70s. Some of them are truly memorable, though. And I definitely agree that PHASE IV is visually arresting (good phrase).

Clayton
6/24/2012 11:33:31 pm

I've always considered that the best thing about the 70's those types of endings; the heroes jumping into a hail of bullets, the computer dominates humanity, the scientist lying dead in the bloody water of a fountain....that gritty 70's spunk.

Honestly, I'm not sure what would make more compelling watching...the ants come and teach us new cookie recipes, perhaps? :)

Jeff
6/24/2012 11:26:35 pm

For some reason, the downbeat late 60s/early 70s endings really work for me in sci-fi movies...this one, THE OMEGA MAN, SOYLENT GREEN, PLANET OF THE APES, COLOSSUS: THE FORBIN PROJECT, etc. and etc. Great, unforgettable final scenes all.

Clayton
6/24/2012 11:36:54 pm

For good reason; the meat of science fiction is the darkness and the fear...the hopelessness tinged with possibility. The Twilight Zone made that it's stock and trade..."To Serve Man! It's a ...cookbook!"

The failing of many modern science fiction movies is in the happy ending...Independence Day, with it's uploading a computer virus into a completely alien system(try to write the code for that; I dare ye), and everyone drinking beers with the president

I miss those 70's days of great plots..

Jeff
6/24/2012 11:57:07 pm

Yessir! couldn't agree more...INDEPENDENCE DAY's ending is just plain stupid. I don't mind an upbeat ending, but it's got to be earned.

SILENT RUNNING is another cool 70s sci-fi flick with a memorable ending: bad for Bruce Dern's character (who'll stand trial for his crimes) but good for the arboretum in the bubble that he saved, floating off safely into space for an eternity with its robot caretakers.

Colin link
6/26/2012 12:35:26 am

Hi Jeff. Thanks for reminding me about this one - I've never seen it but have been meaning to check it out for ages. I always enjoy Nigel Davenport - Sands of the Kalahari and Play Dirty offered him a couple of pretty good roles.

We've been discussing this 70s stuff over at Sergio's place, and I just want to add that I'm with you in digging the bleak endings that were popular back then. I especially like them when seen in sci-fi movies - so much more memorable than the effects driven, hollow pap the genre force feeds us these days.

Jeff
6/26/2012 05:46:05 pm

Thanks, Colin! I hope you do check this one out, it's well worth it. I can recommend the Region 1 disc, nice looking transfer.

They knew how to do sci-fi films in the 70s, seems to me, and the overall naturalistic, or realistic, vibe common in that era makes for some truly haunting, sad or thought-provoking endings that stick with you, rather than evaporating form your mind as soon as you leave the theater.

Sergio (Tipping My Fedora) link
6/26/2012 08:31:32 am

Genuinely strange and powerful bit of science fiction, without a doubt. And truly creepy, as likely to induce a strong sense of formication as well as more esoteric head scratching. Another film i haven't clapped eyes on in an age but I remember much of it very well indeed and remain in awe of some of the painstaking skill involved in filming the insect. Great stuff Jeff, thanks.

Jeff
6/26/2012 05:51:33 pm

Thanks a bunch, Sergio! Yes, the insect footage really is incredible, isn't it? There are many shots and even whole scenes, where I just have no idea how he achieved them. For instance, there's a scene right at the top of the film, where the different species of ants are holding some kind of pow-wow with each other, and you can clearly see that each of the different types of ants has an insignia or design of some kind on its head. One has a purple-ish square, another a triangle, etc. Did Middleham and his crew stick some tiny design on each ant's head, or what? Highly unusual film and I'm not surprised it stuck in your brain for so many years, as it did the same for me.


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