After a recent screening of Empire of the Ants at the Tampa Theater, I thought 'maybe I should read this cheap, paperback copy of a Book with the story in it.' Did I mention that I bought a cheap, paperback copy of a Book with the story in it?
Oh, well, I did.
In this new segment, I am going to diagram the difference between the original Book versions of stories and their usually-vastly-different Film versions. Why not start here?
In the Film, a group of potential home-buyers go to an Island. Unfortunately, there are giant Ants there- thanks to a toxic spill.
In the Short Story, a small ship is sent to South America to stop an outbreak of vicious Ants. They're not gigantic- just mean as hell.
In the Third Act of the Film, they discover that the Giant Ants have taken over a nearby town and control them with pheromones shot from the Queen's thorax. They blow up the Ants and live to fight another day. The End.
In the Climax of the Book, one of the men goes on board, gets bitten and dies. The Captain sends the boat back to get more help. The End.
So yeah, the Book Version and the Film are VERY different. There are zero Giant Ants, zero people being eaten and no Ant Pheromone Mind-Control. I was expecting *some* of that to show up in the Story, but it doesn't. So by 'Based on the Book 'Empire of the Ants,'' Bert I. Gordon just meant 'It is about Ants.' Thanks, Bert.
Hmm...I wonder if I should read 'The Howling' books next?
Oh, well, I did.
In this new segment, I am going to diagram the difference between the original Book versions of stories and their usually-vastly-different Film versions. Why not start here?
In the Short Story, a small ship is sent to South America to stop an outbreak of vicious Ants. They're not gigantic- just mean as hell.
In the Climax of the Book, one of the men goes on board, gets bitten and dies. The Captain sends the boat back to get more help. The End.
Hmm...I wonder if I should read 'The Howling' books next?
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