PHASE IV Intelligent Movie about Intelligent ANTs... In the Phase IV DVD A bizarre and unexplainable cosmic event has forever changed the Earth's ant population as we know it. Around the globe, ants are communicating at a level previously thought impossible and organizing themselves in such a manner to suggest the formation of a collective mind. Biologist, Dr. Ernest Hubbs ( Nigel Davenport ) and information specialist, James Lesko ( Michael Murphy ) have traveled to the small desert town of Paradise City to research the most recent occurrences of odd ant behavior. The community, once occupied with golf courses and county clubs, has become a barren landscape, as a gathering of ants has driven the town s population to abandon their homes. In their place, the bugs have constructed an impressive number of towering monoliths, which strike upward toward the hot desert sky. If watching insects and other creepy-crawlies makes you squirm in your seat, Phase IV may not be for you. On The Phase IV DVD The film's first eight minutes are almost entirely comprised of ants scurrying around, often framed in close up, almost microscopic shots. This footage was the work of micro photographer Ken Middleham, who would focus his camera on the insect world a year later for William Castle s Bug. Such a realistic take on one of Mother Nature s smallest creatures is in stark contrast to similar science fiction fare of the period. Films like Them! or Empire of the Ants found their conflict by enlarging such critters to make them more overtly threatening. By keeping the insects a familiar size, Phase IV is able to remain planted in reality, while exploring topics that are anything but. The threat seems more eminent as the human race finds itself being threatened, not by being overpowered physically, but by being knocked down a step on the evolutionary ladder...