Gordon's King of the Ants DVD

Stuart Gordon's latest film, the book based crime thriller, King of the Ants, hits DVD June 29th, and you can see a look at the cover art and specs here:

http://www.fangoria.com/news_article.php?id=2213

Having read the book, and being a big fan of most of Gordon's films, I'm really looking forward to seeing this one. From the pics and article in Fango a while back, it looks like Gordon's got him another winner here. I've also heard that George Wendt's villainous turn in the film is very well done, and on top of all that, the gorgeous Kari Wuhrer has a part in the film too. Can't wait to see this!

[Suicide]

Egad, man! That cover isn't looking too hot, anyone with me? But I read the article in Fangoria back whenever it was in there and I'll be giving this one a shot. But good grief that cover, it almost offends me.

The film's concept is a nice throwback to the torture-and-revenge flicks of old, but the acting is generally subpar and the visuals are nothing special. It all just felt a bit too amateurish. There is at least one moment of nutty Gordon special effects, but it's not really worth seeing for just that alone.

DJ

[Hellbilly]

Did anybody pick this up yet?

I've got it sitting in my netflix queue. I figure it's worth that much at least. But I still haven't seen Dagon yet (also sitting in queue). I need to burn through my DVD's faster!

[shift]

Its out today!!

Did anybody pick this up yet?

Yes, it arrived in the mail yesterday. I watched my Deathdream disc first though, and am watching this one in just a bit, followed by Driller Killer.

[Katatonia]

I rented it earlier, can't wait to see it.

[marcx]

I watched this last night..I thoguht that although there were a few flaws it was for the most part gripping and disturbing...I liked it!

[Katatonia]

Just got through watching this it. It's one seriously disturbing film. The first 20 minutes are a little slow, but then it just goes into complete weirdness. There's some really shocking imagery throughout the film.

*MINOR SPOILERS*

This is a truly outstanding film, and a magnificent addition to Gordon's stellar filmography. As I said before, I'm a big fan of the novel, and I think they did it a damn good bit of justice with this film.

Newcomer McKenna is good as the lead, not to mention very believable, which is no small task considering the type of role he's saddled with, portraying an average guy turned half insane killer because of the hell he's put through. Great debut for him. Wendt is sheer perfection as Duke. Its a very different kind of role for him, and he pulls it off remarkably like the pro he is. I also give him all the praise I can, as he's the one who strived to get the novel made into a film, going through several studios that said it was too dark and disturbing for many years. I'm very pleased he went through all that to get the great novel filmed. Also, Daniel Baldwin is superb as Mathews, the villain ringleader. He seems to be a natural in the role. Then there's the beyond gorgeous Kari Wuhrer of course. She's fine as the grieving widow, Susan.

There's some very dark and disturbing imagery here, much in tone with the novel. The bulk of said imagery appears during McKenna's hallucinations, including one in which he imagines Susan as a grotesque queen ant-like creature taunting him while eating dung, to name just one of several instances. McKenna's torture is also quite brutal, and the aftermath on his head is really nasty and painful looking.

Gordon's direction here is wonderful, from the gritty shots to the well edited hallucination sequences. There's also some great pieces of music, all of which invoke randomly different feelings in the viewer during the scenes they play over. The film is also just a perfectly realized piece of work, plain and simple. I am very pleased with this adaptation, and I think its also definitely one of Gordon's very best films.

[Hellbilly]

I read at lasersedge.com that the film is presented in full screen.
I hope that ain't true?

No, its widescreen.

[Katatonia]

Originally Posted by Hellbilly

I read at lasersedge.com that the film is presented in full screen.
I hope that ain't true?

They're wrong. It's widescreen.

if gordon was going for the amateur student film look, he succeeded. i couldn't believe how bad the acting got, almost like they did one take and moved on. in a particular shot a piece of whatever kind of dolly or car they were using came on screen and in another the huge reflection of a light reflector. i was into it at the beginning, but it just went downhill too quickly. definately felt like a waste of time.