PopHorror Let's Get Scared
One of my first loves in horror is monster movies. I grew up watching King Kong, Godzilla, Rodan, Mothra, and Frankenstein Conquers the World. To this day, no matter the budget or affect quality, I still love creature features and will watch any I can get my hands on, so when I was offered the chance to review the killer ant movie It Came From The Desert, I jumped at the chance. Did it meet my expectations?
Based on the 1989 video game of the same name, It Came From the Desert was directed by Marko Mäkilaakso (War Of the Dead 2011), who also wrote the screenplay alongside Hank Woon, Jr. (Age of Dinosaurs 2013). The movie stars Vanessa Grasse (Leatherface), Mark Arnold (Teen Wolf TV series) and Harry Lister Smith (Murder on the Orient Express).
Synopsis for It Came From The Desert:
A pulpy monster movie inspired by the cult classic 1980s video game “It Came from the Desert,” featuring rival motocross heroes and heroines, kegger parties in the desert, secret underground military bases…and, of course, giant ants!
What I Liked
It Came From The Desert is a film that doesn’t take itself too seriously, which means its a lot of fun. The effects are pretty solid, given the low budget nature. The ants look badass.
What really sold me on the film is the chemistry between the 3 leads: Harry Lister Smith, Vanessa Grasse, and Alex Mills. They play off each other well and provide many of the films funny moment, with the relationship between Lisa and Brian being the heart and soul of the film.
What I Didn’t Like
After an effective opening, the film takes almost half its runtime to get to the killer ant action (which would be a deal breaker if the leads weren’t so engaging) and once it hits, we really don’t get enough of them. There are a couple scenes of large groups of people being attacked, but they are very brief.
On top of the ants not receiving as much screen time as I would have liked, I also felt they were defeated relatively easily. The film also plays it relatively safe, with all of its main cast surviving to the end credits.
Final Thoughts
While ultimately It Came From The Desert is a bit of a mixed bag, it’s still an enjoyable watch. The ants look cool, the cast and their chemistry are great and the film, while being a little light on creatures for my taste, is still a lot of fun. If you are a creature feature fanatic like I am, you will probably still find a lot to enjoy here. Recommended. You can preorder by clicking – here!
