Them! (1954)

Today's movie of the day = Them! How in the world hadn't I seen this before? Being a fan of Mysterious Island and Journey to the Center of the Earth, I figured I would have seen this one but no. Thankfully I have remedied that problem. This movie was surprisingly good. I didn't read the description beforehand but it was up for an Academy Award for special effects. In a time when films either relied on cheesy overlays, this one stood out because the giant ants were built. Yes, they moved slow, but they looked good. I honestly wonder how many models they created for this film as they burned quite a few of them (with flamethrowers). I like that they put some thought into the story on this one as well. It's not just them throwing a monster at people and that is the meat of the story. Instead it played upon the fear of nuclear fallout and its effects. Being a film from nine years after the United States dropping the bombs on Japan, it likely played will into the Cold War fears. This is actually one of my favorite films I've watched this month and it will be on my rewatch list for a long time. If you couldn't tell, yes, I definitely recommend this one.