Leofwine_draca THE HIVE is another in a long run of creature features that premiered on the Sci-Fi Channel. A low budget TV movie adopting the same kind of rubbishy effects that marred the likes of VIPERS and IN THE SPIDER'S WEB, THE HIVE is actually something different. It starts off as a typical monster-on-the-loose flick but then turns into a science fiction movie, complete with guys in hazard suits firing plasma guns at the enemy and obliterating them in great swathes. The fact is, these aren't just ants – they're alien ants that somehow can build computer systems (!) in their cave system and turn into floating, writhing tentacles kind of like the water alien in THE ABYSS.Despite these novel plot elements, the film is as mundane as many of its kind. The acting is of a low calibre, although kudos for casting more individual looking actors and actresses rather than just relying on blonde bimbos and wooden hunks as many of these movies do. I enjoyed the fact that this was filmed on location in Thailand, as that at least means the locations are nice to look at. Despite the alien angle of the story, it's business as usual – people fight ants, win, then the ants regroup, then there's another fight, etc. until the story ends on a predictable twist. There's even the huge 'queen' ant making an appearance at the climax. The CGI effects are pretty poor and the movie is virtually devoid of gore, with only two scenes of interest to the horror fan. The first is a nice moment at the beginning in which a villager is stripped to the bone by the marauding insects, and the second is when a guy gets his visor cracked and the ants swarm into his helmet and strip the flesh from his skull. More of these bits would have made a more enjoyable, spot-the-effect type film experience.In the end, though, despite being a nice try, this is nothing more than a low rent creature flick. I liked plot elements such as the guy with the ant in his ear canal, but nothing much is made of them. For the definitive treatment on killer ants, try the Charlton Heston flick THE NAKED JUNGLE or alternatively read Peter Tremayne's The Ants or the excellent short story Leiningen vs. the Ants.

kai ringler i really can't think off hand the last time i seen a supposed horror movie this lousy,, Tom Wopat's acting was well very wooden at best. the storyline well was totally unbelievable,, " we don't negotiate with ants" oh boy,, and the part where the ants got that thing going on , like they are talking to the humans, where do they actually get this stuff, the only part i think i actually liked was where one of the ants crawled in the guys ear, and kept messing with him the whole entire movie. i have seen some bad horror movies but this one i think really takes the cake , because it is so unbelievably bad, and for the most part very unrealistic, i think that this movie could have been better, with a better director, and better actors would have helpled quite a bit, you could have had the ants swarming and stuff,, and terrifying people , but i think that you would have to cut the crap out about the ants communicating, that has to go .

atoner69 Bad, bad, bad. And worse! This flimsy piece of Sci-Fi wish-wash is so contemptuously awful, I could not suffer to watch it all. After forty minutes of mind-numbing banality, I was forced to switch it off. So where did it go wrong? My timer indicated 00:00:30. For a start the acting was so lame, in some scenes (notably the party scene,) not even a vet could have saved it. The CGI was quite possibly the worst set of special effects ever to have inflicted itself onto my screen. Perhaps if I'd watched it through a woolly sock after rubbing olbas oil into my eyeballs it might have looked half decent, but I'm not going to give it the satisfaction. The plot I can't really comment on as I was fortunate enough to stop it in its tracks. However, I can say that the first forty minutes that I did see must have been written on the back of a napkin, and then accidentally washed. The script must have been on the other side. It was so jam-packed with pointless rhetoric and hackneyed clichés that the six or seven lines that did try to drive the plot must have had delusions of adequacy. My verdict: Maybe this was meant for the ants to enjoy. That said, though, if I was an ant, I'd rather find a magnifying glass on a sunny day.

Espinete_pincho This is one of those misleading films that you see in IMDb and you instantly assume that are utter trash. I guess most people will dismiss this film as silly and awful without haven't even watching it. I pity them. And I'm not talking about your regular "This is so bad its good!!!". No dear internet fellows, I'm talking about, "This is so good its awesome!".The, for most people I guess, apparently laughable plot (a film about killer ants, you say?) hides an extremely satisfactory script that manages to deliver thrilling action and top of line dialog lines. Not many low-budget TV films manage to capture the essence of what every sci-fi should aim at: originality, compelling story and, above all, credibility. The final twist of the film is the perfect example of that: pure indie brilliance.I'm not giving the film a 10 since CG scenes are a bit blurry because of the film's low budget, but don't let that mislead you: this is one film you owe yourself to see.