Joe Dante on THEM!

Nine years after Hiroshima the atomic chicken has come home to roost in the shape of giant ants, soon to be followed by jumbo mutant radioactive lizards, locusts, scorpions, etc. The near-biblical template for the dozens of nuclear monster movies that followed it, this is one of the most influential movies ever.
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[@kyokogodai-ir6hy]

The last couple of generations don't have the imagination it takes to watch a film like this. If everything isn't shoved into their faces, they either don't get it or don't want it. A crying shame, because films like this are incredible!!!!

[@schizoidboy]

The scene where the little girl comes out of her stupor and starts screaming "Them!" is one of the best scenes in the movie and for that scene alone this film should be remembered.

[@only257]

schizoidboy best scene was when the giant ant kills the cop great scene👍

[@danieldickson8591]

That child actor did an exceptional job, in a small but crucial role. Her performance really sells that we (the audience) should be terrified.

[@nicholasmoose6574]

Spielberg TRIED to capture that with Poltergeist but no. THEM! is scarier.

[@reptomicus]

You can see this movie served as the blueprint for James Cameron for Aliens. The girl sole surviver and the military fighfight in the nest area in search for the queen seem inspired from this.

[@studinthemaking]

reptomicus Good point. But Everything a copy of everything else in holly weird

[@only257]

reptomicus them is a great movie 🍿

[@mikesilva3868]

@@studinthemaking Hello men... everybody all busy studyin' for their goddamn exams and all? Hey Fuz, how'd it go with that Dee Dee chick, huh? She's got some bod' you have to admit... ol' Charlene isn't bad either... like, wow! Heinz, you swine, ol' buddy pig, ya groove behind Alvina and get some kicks tonight, huh?love the fritz the cat movie 🎲

[@TheTerryGene]

This film still stands up today due to it's production values, the fact that it truly cares about it's characters and the performances of it's principal cast, in particular James Whitmore.

[@only257]

TheTerryGene agreed when I was 7 in 1991 my CBS station aired classic b movies at 1 am couldn't sleep so I saw this movie and earth vs flying saucers, I married a monster from outer space and invasion of the saucer men 👻

[@RSEFX]

Indeed. I was really upset when the Whitmore character got killed. THAT was a real shock.

[@danieldickson8591]

The movie is also working from a thoughtful, intelligent script. The subject matter is treated as seriously as any other drama.

[@duddbunny5432]

Terrific giant insect creature feature then and now. I still enjoy it whenever I get a chance to watch it.

[@Titan52berg]

This movie is a classic from the golden days of sci-fi cinema! The other one that competes on a slightly similar scale is "Tarantula!" But, "Them!" comes out just a tad ahead, because of the ominous presence of those full-scale, giant ants!

[@only257]

Titan52berg sci-fi classics ❤️

[@RSEFX]

THEM to me is so much better, due to the realistic, dramatic treatment of the characters. TARANTULA was too "formula" for me in those terms.

[@Curtiz2008]

Another favorite from my childhood. It does hold up well. I saw this with the original King Kong in a theater a few years ago. Better than many films made today, way before CGI. A movie I can watch over and over again.

[@adamchase3256]

I made my 14 year old watch Them. I intentionally didn't tell him what it was about except that it was a murder mystery. He was genuinely surprised by the first shot of a giant ant!

[@FCSchaefer]

It was a rite of passage for a couple of generations to have the hell scared out of them watching this for the first time on TV.

[@drewlovelyhell4892]

He's not wrong. I watched THEM expecting a cheesy monster movie and was very surprised by the quality. I also recommend "The Day The Earth Caught Fire". Puts modern sci-fi disaster movies to shame with it's intelligent writing.

[@danieldickson8591]

My favorite line from the movie is when they're exploring the nest, and Pat Medford points out the walls: "Look. Held together with saliva." And Ben Peterson replies, "Yeah? Spit's all that's holding me together too."

[@thecursor1]

I watched this while sitting in my family's attic on a tiny portable black and white TV in the late 80s/early 90s. I was a little kid and this movie broke me as a kid. Scary as hell.

[@believecross1597]

Thank you I love the old 50s scfi movie's been watching THEM!!!!! for years LOL!! Better then some newer movie's..

[@tommyt1971]

Joe, we need you to do one of these for Reptilicus!

[@SeungYeonFan]

Love this film, not just the first giant insect movie, but the best.

[@only257]

Saw this movie when I was 7 in 91 on cbs on a Saturday if I remember

[@danieldickson8591]

THEM! spawned a whole sub-genre of giant mutant insects movies, which carried through for decades after.

[@garfieldsmith332]

A remarkable film. As the saying goes "Often Imitated, Never Duplicated".

[@bryanmiller5060]

A excellent job with the ants and the acting and action was excellent.

[@only257]

Bryan Miller agreed👍

[@sachaput]

Really one of the best of the giant insect genre that was so popular back then. Still some good scares if you are in the right frame of mind.

[@AlanBondFilms]

I have this on DVD and interestingly the actual title, "THEM" is in colour!! It looks in 3D.... Jack Warner was not always right, look at "Camelot"!!! Another interesting thing is that I can view this in widescreen 1:85 ratio and not lose a thing like a character's head, etc. Films in those days were designed to be shown in both academy ratio (1:37) or the 1:85 depending on how the theatre was equipped. I watch it on a 8ft screen with a video projector. I also enjoy seeing the late (unfortunately) Leonard Nimoy in his brief appearance which I now refer to as a cameo!!!

[@only257]

Alan Bond saw this film when I was 7 in 1991 on CBS on a Saturday afternoon love this movie 👻

[@jackgrattan3144]

My all time favorite '50's sci-fi/horror movie. The first movie where EVERY SCENE was indelibly etched into my brain. I think that the reason it holds up so beautifully is because it is scripted and shot like an early '50's semi-documentary, film noir police procedural. It's also one of the last Warner Bros. films to have that distinct "Warner" studio look to it's photography, courtesy of Warner mainstay Sid Hickox (WHITE HEAT, THE BIG SLEEP).

[@only257]

+Jack Grattan the big sleep was good

[@vo1non]

A true sci fi classic. It stands the test of time!

[@RevengeCreatureDelux]

Man I love these old 50's B-Movies! Also, Joe Dante is a super cool guy and I love his work! Oh, fun fact: This video is 4:20.

[@only257]

Me too, huge 50s and 60s scifi fan have you seen the green slime film it came out in 1968

[@bturner999]

THEM! is not really a B-movie

[@KRhetor]

Met him myself a few years ago and had a lot of fun discussing our favorite 50s SF films. I'm especially glad I got the chance to thank him for making me a fan of the movies of the era.

[@only257]

KRhetor 😎

[@Drforrester31]

Had to look up James Whitmore, and I was correct about his character. He really was quite awesome in the movie and Joe is completely correct about him stealing pretty much every scene he's in. Even if he went out nobly, it's a crime that he ended up not making it!

[@only257]

Dr. Forrester love your channel icon huge mst3k fan here, agreed👍

[@maxthepupp]

Man, the ants getting James Whitmore at the end (um...spoiler alert ) bums me out more than any other giant monster movie! Even the great Russ Johnson getting clipped by the Crabs! ( oops. Another spoiler alert)

[@mikesilva3868]

Love this movie 📼

[@johnminehan1148]

THEM! The Street Car Named Desire of giant insect movies . . . .

[@richardmurphy9006]

Dig them FUNKY GLASSES

[@isaacpriestley]

The structure reminds me of The Naked City in its not-melodramatic, fact-based procedural approach.

[@xwidget]

I have seen a film print of THEM! that had some 3D content. As is common with the old red/blue glasses system the 3D aspects of the film were not obvious in most scenes.

[@RevengeCreatureDelux]

3-D is a fun gimmick best left in the past. About every 30 years it rolls back around (50's, 80's, and now) but I'd rather filmmakers concentrate on good stories and interesting characters. Plus, I see in 3-D everyday.

[@scotpens]

3-D movies never used the anaglyph (red-blue) system. They used horizontally and vertically polarized light to separate the left and right images. The anaglyph method was used for 3-D comic books and other print media.

[@RSEFX]

This film was not shot in 3-D. It was scripted for the process (as well as color) but was just your ordinary flat, black and white movie. I shouldn't say "ordinary" actually, as it is a very very good film!

[@RSEFX]

What is kind of weird is that the monster ants featured on the poster were ridiculous looking, with big almost-human type eyes! Who made that choice? I mean, it was a film made with a decent budget, not a quickie, and Warner Brothers was a major studio. If I had actually seen the poster for THEM ahead of time I probably would've skipped it. (Actually, I did that with THE CREEPING UNKNOWN from a year or 2 later: I saw the horrible poster, and that---coupled with the crass title---steered me away from what is actually a very very good SF/horror film.)

[@azrielhopkins7795]

The Master of Disguise from 2002.

[@Jimvanhise]

The modern DVD version has the film's title THEM in the color red.

[@garfieldsmith332]

That is apparently how it was shown in the theaters.

[@darrenburnfan]

This film was rated X by the British Board of Film Censors at the time, which meant that no one under the age of 16 years was allowed into a cinema to see it. The censor considered it too frightening for children to see. Meanwhile, over in America, seven year olds like Joe Dante were allowed into cinemas to see this and many other horrific films and were allowed to see the most horrifying images. No wonder they had nightmares. In fact, they were allowed to see any amount of horror and violence on screen as long as they didn't see anything to do with sex. Yes, the sight of a married couple sharing the same bed was considered more horrifying by the Hayes Office than any amount giant ant pictures.

[@jeffsmith2022]

I think that this film is more of an A than a B science fiction movie...

[@CuffColl]

THEM was an excellent film, but there's no way that it "topped (THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS) in all departments." Sorry, Joe: BEAST was one of the Top Ten Films of AAALLL Time!!! CuffColl (Steve Vance).

[@kritikitti3868]

It's 💟THEM💟. Drop everything. Watch it. Mostly men in suits running around in 110% heat fightly cool giant ants. Now giant ants & giant spiders would take over the earth, prob fight The Zilla for good measure.😘

[@only257]

Scifi classic

[@gilraybaker826]

STAY AT HOME! STAY AT HOME!...FULLY COOPERATE WITH YOUR MILITARY AUTHORITES...