The Hive (2008)

I have got to move on from bugs. You know, watching films about killer bugs while dealing with ants in the kitchen. it starts to play tricks on your mind, you start to see them all over the place. Anyway, let's now go onto 'The Hive'. With ants. Which should mean that the film should be called The Colony. Or have bees.

Deep in the jungles of...wherever, a colony of flesh eating ants have basically declared on everything in their sight. This prompts the country of...wherever to call in Thorax Team, basically a high budget pest control. The problem however, appears to be that these ants seem to be getting smarter.

I'll admit it, the story is pretty good. It's the usual 'expand your sense of disbelief' stuff, but for the most part it's pretty enjoyable. It's watchable. Well, until the second half and then it gets too bizarre to take seriously. Granted there were some bits in the first half which were...stupid I suppose you could say, but you could at least...take it. The direction the story goes in the second half is really convoluted. They attempt to explain the background of the ants which really does take the biscuit.

The acting is about as good as you'd expect from this sort of film...but the second half! I'm sorry, but the second half of this film really gets to me. Seriously the first half is tolerable, including the acting, though anyone who is from the country of...wherever then that person is a poor actor. Everyone else, okay they're not great but they're tolerable. And then the second half! You can really see how bad the acting is in this.

Now the effects, oh boy. It really says something when the ants on the DVD menu and the one ant crawling along the opening credits are the best effects this film can come up with. The weaponry that the Thorax team bring with them? Looks stupid. The weapon looks like a Ghostbusters reject and the blast it fires is just as bad.


Okay, let's just get down to it, this film is a big disappointment. I was expecting a completely different approach to the whole killer ant film. Instead we get mediocre at best, ruined mostly by a horrendous second half. Until then, it was an okay film but the final payload leaves you underwhelmed and feeling that the film had nowhere to go in the last act. Tell you what, watch the film up until two main characters have a little girl in a boat, then make up your own ending.

Maybe it's because I'm sick of bugs. Let's turn to man's best friend.