Phase IV (1974)
★★★ — Phase IV (1974)
Phase IV was the only feature film ever directed by Saul Bass, the graphic designer whose title sequences for Hitchcock, Preminger and Scorsese had made him one of the most recognisable visual talents in Hollywood, though directing a narrative feature was another matter entirely. Produced for Paramount through the small British outfit Alced Productions, the film arrived in 1974, a period when low-key, cerebral science fiction (following in the wake of 2001 and THX 1138) had briefly found studio backing. Shot largely on location in Arizona and Kenya, it stars Nigel Davenport and Michael Murphy as scientists holed up in a desert research station, with a very young Lynne Frederick in a supporting role shortly before her profile rose considerably in British cinema.
Phase IV (1974) is a curious relic of 1970s sci-fi. A B-movie with A-movie ambitions that never fully gels, but lingers in the mind nonetheless. Directed by legendary title-sequence designer Saul Bass (in his only feature film), it imagines a chilling premise: ants evolve collective intelligence overnight and begin methodically dismantling human civilization. No explosions, no bug-eyed monsters, just quiet, geometric precision as the insects build towering crystalline spires and manipulate ecosystems with eerie coordination. Visually, it's often striking. The macro-photography of ants swarming in hypnotic patterns still impresses, and the desert cinematography carries a sun-bleached dread that feels authentically unsettling. The score (a theremin-heavy ambient soundscape) adds to the otherworldly mood. But the human drama falters: two scientists holed up in a geodesic dome deliver stiff dialogue, the pacing drags in stretches, and the infamous alternate ending (restored in some cuts) feels more confusing than profound. An interesting misfire with genuine atmosphere and a brilliantly simple "what if?" concept. Dated, uneven, and never quite as gripping as it should be, but worth a watch for sci-fi completists and anyone who's ever side-eyed an anthill with newfound suspicion.
Rating: ★★★ | Year: 1974 | Watched: 2026-03-17
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