Stuart Gordon's new film, King of the Ants, is a study of revenge and the anti-hero. This movie tells the story of an (un)likeable, naive young loser who ends up doing odd jobs for some very crooked construction bosses. He gets in a bit over his head, and things go very, very wrong.

I have a thing for anti-hero stories. It's a real art, as it is in this movie. The difficulty lies in presenting a character that, for all practical purposes, is a rather loathsome individual, yet is presented in such a way that we bond with them; maybe even grow to like them a little or a lot. How do you show someone ruthlessly crush a person's head in with a large kitchen appliance and then go on to make an audience like them? It's tricky. Very tricky. Our lead character, Sean Crawley (Chris McKenna), is a rather despicable person, yet his affable personality, his dogged persistence and rugged (at least, over the course of the film) inner strength forces us to like the bastard. We even root for him. As the character finds some vicious success in the dark struggle he has found himself in, we feel vindication, even if it's the vindication of a swine.

This is a smart film, and a good character study. George Wendt puts in a particularly excellent performance. I initially hadn't known he was in the movie and compulsively shouted "NORM!" when I saw him. It's a dog eat dog world and he's wearing milk bone underwear. But it is a far grimmer role that Wendt brings to the screen, and he is a wonder in this movie. Daniel Baldwin makes an appearance as a crooked construction boss, and he does a good job of playing an arrogant sadistic shithead. Chris McKenna does the lead role, our anti-hero, brilliantly. This movie is a deviation from Gordon's other films (Re-Animator, Dagon), in that it plays out in the real world. This movie could happen somewhere near you, perhaps at your neighbor's house. Or maybe even yours. Hey, who's knocking on your door?

Along with the movie itself, the DVD also brings us a commentary track by Stuart Gordon and a behind-the-scenes featurette.

(Click Here for DVD's Technical Specs)

TRISTAN SINNS