Directed by Gordon Douglas | USA | 94 mins
The first of the "giant bug" movies that dominated the drive-in theatre screens of the late 1950s, Them! was no Poverty Row B-movie, but an A-budget monster picture from a studio not known for delivering them: Warner Brothers. Despite an outlandish premise, that of ants grown to gigantic size after exposure to radiation from the 1945 Trinity test, Them! approaches the subject matter with all seriousness and attention to detail. Beginning as a harrowing mystery and evolving into a scientific procedural and finally an action picture, Them! features memorable performances from James Whitmore and Edmund Gwenn, and elaborate giant ant puppets created by the special effects team of Ralph Ayers. The precursor to later sci-fi classics like Aliens, Them! presents a typical 1950s American enemy - a relentless insidious hive mind, and a typical 1950s American response - trust in your police, scientists, military, and government officials and everything will be okay.
Part of our NUCLEAR HORROR: AMERICA X JAPAN Series
In the spirit of respect, reciprocity and truth, we honour and acknowledge that this screening takes place on Moh’kinsstis and the traditional Treaty 7 territory, as well as the oral practices of the Blackfoot confederacy: Siksika, Kainai, Piikani as well as the Îyâxe Nakoda and Tsuut’ina nations. We acknowledge that this territory is home to the Métis Nation of Alberta, Region 3 within the historical Northwest Métis homeland. Finally, we acknowledge all Nations, Indigenous and non, who live, work and play, as well as help steward this land, honour and celebrate this territory.