Marabunta is a 1998 American horror feature film about flesh-eating South American ants attacking people in a small Alaskan town. It has also been released as Legion of Fire: Killer Ants!
Directed by James Charleston and [uncredited] producer George Manasse (Blue Sunshine; Squirm) from a screenplay written by Linda Palmer and Wink Roberts, the Producers Entertainment Group movie stars Eric Lutes (The Manor; Inhabited; Legend of the Mummy), Julia Campbell, Mitch Pileggi (The X-Files) and Jeremy Foley. Executive producer Irwin Meyer directed Honeymoon of Horror in 1964, his sole directorial credit.
The soundtrack score was composed by Daniel Licht (Dexter series; Necronomicon; Thinner).
Reviews:
“Lasting 95 minutes it is far too long for such a paper-thin story & it inevitably becomes a struggle to stay awake through yet another lengthy talk about what they’re going to do next. The action scenes don’t liven the film up much either because it’s near impossible to suspend your disbelief enough to see the ants as anything but bad CGI.” Games, Brrraaains & A Head-Banging Life
” …Marabunta is not anything we have not seen before in a dozen 1970s Nature’s Revenge films. Its treatment here emerges as only dull and entirely cliched. The story seems to take forever to get to the main action with the ants.” Moria
” …it’s not the best or most ‘fun’ film of its type, nor the worst or most ‘ironically fun’, but I guess it’s…acceptable. Yeah, let’s go with that. It’s certainly better than I’d expect from not just a cheesy killer ant movie, but a TV movie at that.” Shameless Self Expression
Choice dialogue:
Police Chief Jeff Croy [Mitch Pileggi]: “Come on you bitch!”
Cast and characters:
- Eric Lutes … Doctor Jim Conrad
- Julia Campbell … Laura Sills
- Mitch Pileggi … Police Chief Jeff Croy
- Jeremy Foley … Chad Croy
- Bill Osborn … Officer Dave Blount
- Dallen Gettling … Bob Hazzard
- Patrick Fugit … Scott Blount
- H.E.D. Redford … Maynerd Perth
- Rob Greyhill … Hunter #2
- Jorge Heredia … Chad’s friend #2
- Kim Landry … Sarah
- Rick Lichtenhan … Resident at Pass
- Jeanette Puhich … Margie
- Kevin Rahm … Glenn
- Christine Romeo … Fran
Filming locations:
Heber City, Utah
Technical details:
- 95 minutes
- Aspect ratio: 1.33: 1
- Audio: Stereo
Release:
Broadcast on Fox in the USA on June 24th 1998.
