Movie Review: ‘Dead Ant’

Review by James Lindorf

It has been years, if not decades since’80s hair-metal band Sonic Grave had their last hit song, a power ballad they hate performing. Fighting to remain relevant, the band’s manager books a set for them at the lesser known Noachella. All they need now is a new hit song, and the team decides there is no better way to do that than to take peyote in Joshua Tree the night before the event. Their plans fall apart when they find themselves under attack by rapidly growing killer ants. Dead Ant is a comedy with a splash of horror starring Tom Arnold (True Lies), Sean Astin (The Lord of the Rings), Sydney Sweeney (The Handmaid’s Tale), Jake Busey (The Predator), Leisha Hailey (The L-Word) and Rhys Coiro (Entourage). Director Ron Carlson partnered with writers Hank Braxton and Dan Sinclair to come up with the story for Dead Ant which opens in theaters in LA and On Demand and Digital HD on January 25th.

Everything about Dead Ant is over the top: the performances, the song ideas, and the humor. The only thing that wasn’t larger than life was the film’s CGI. Given that this was a low budget independent film the special effects were never going to be amazing. Carlson smartly kept the CGI limited to as few scenes as possible and focused on individual ants versus the swarm.
Most of the film’s humor is found in lots of references and throwback jokes. There is a Native American who helps protect the land but with the twist of having a grenade tossing little person as a partner. Even the horror elements are played for jokes, the injuries and comments from the surviving members of the group are excessive and sometimes silly and could endear or repulse viewers.

Carlson combined his love for the hair metal bands of the ‘80s with creature feature films that were at their peak in the ‘50s and ‘60s. This choice makes the film, like its “heroes,” the ultimate underdog for the attention of young moviegoers. He was able to put together a cast that is perfect for something like this. The cast may have taken up the bulk of the budget, or someone was able to call in a few favors. No one here may be A-list, but it is filled with recognizable names and faces, which usually doesn’t come cheap. Dead Ant is the best Syfy movie, it just happens to not be on Syfy. Fans of hair metal, classic monster movies or anyone who enjoys Sharknado and films of that ilk should have a great time with Dead Ant.