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Phase IV

Phase IV

Horror · Science Fiction · 1974

Arizona ants mock the food chain on their way to a desert lab to get two scientists and a woman.

Movie details

Phase IV

“The day the Earth was turned into a cemetery!”

1974 Horror · Science Fiction 1h 26m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.3 / 10

Community rating

Arizona ants mock the food chain on their way to a desert lab to get two scientists and a woman.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Phase IV?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

Willard

Willard

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A social misfit, Willard is made fun of by his co-workers, and squeezed out of the company started by his deceased father by his boss. His only friends are a couple of rats he raised at home, Ben and Socrates. However, when one of them is killed at work, he goes on a rampage using his rats to attack those who have been tormenting him.

Return of the Fly

Return of the Fly

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Fifteen years after his father's experiments with matter transmission fail, Philippe Delambre and his uncle François attempt to create a matter transmission device on their own. However, their experiments have disastrous results, turning Philippe into a horrible half-man, half-fly creature.

The Return of Doctor X

The Return of Doctor X

Sci-fi · 1939

When news reporter Walter Garrett arrives at the hotel room of bombshell actress Angela Merrova to conduct an interview, he finds her dead from multiple stab wounds. He returns with the police to find the hotel empty and the body vanished. Garrett writes about the incident but is fired when Merrova, alive and well, goes to the paper to complain. Now his only chance to get his job back is to find the truth, which involves the grisly scheme of a madman.

Mark of the Vampire

Mark of the Vampire

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Sir Borotyn, a prominent Prague resident, is discovered murdered in his home, with all indications pointing to a vampiric assault. The victim's friend, Baron Otto, and the physician who analyzes the body, are certain that the vampire is either the mysterious Count Mora or his daughter. Receiving little help from the law, occult expert Professor Zelen is sought to assist with their investigation.

Island of Terror

Island of Terror

Horror · 1966

When a small island community becomes overrun with creeping, blobbish, tentacled monsters that liquefy and digest the bones from living creatures, the community struggles to fight back.

Twilight Zone: The Movie

Twilight Zone: The Movie

Horror · 1983

An anthology film presenting remakes of three episodes from the "Twilight Zone" TV series—"Kick the Can", "It's a Good Life" and "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet"—and one original story, "Time Out."

The Curse of Frankenstein

The Curse of Frankenstein

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Baron Victor Frankenstein has discovered life's secret and unleashed a blood-curdling chain of events resulting from his creation: a cursed creature with a horrid face — and a tendency to kill.

Them!

Them!

Sci-fi · 1954

As a result of nuclear testing, gigantic, ferocious mutant ants appear in the American desert southwest, and a father-daughter team of entomologists join forces with the state police officer who first discovers their existence, an FBI agent and, eventually, the US Army to eradicate the menace, before it spreads across the continent — and the world.

The Asphyx

The Asphyx

Fantasy · 1972

Hugo is a brilliant turn-of-the-century scientist, loved and respected by his family and friends, admired by his colleagues. But he is a man quickly becoming obsessed with a curious and frightening question...What is the mysterious apparition found in the photographs of his dying subjects?

Time Lapse

Time Lapse

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Three friends discover a mysterious machine that takes pictures 24 hours into the future and conspire to use it for personal gain, until disturbing and dangerous images begin to develop.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Saul Bass

Written by

Mayo Simon

Nigel Davenport

Nigel Davenport

Dr. Ernest D. Hubbs

Michael Murphy

Michael Murphy

James R. Lesko

Lynne Frederick

Lynne Frederick

Kendra Eldridge

Alan Gifford

Alan Gifford

Mr. Eldridge

Robert Henderson

Robert Henderson

Clete

Helen Horton

Helen Horton

Mildred Eldridge

David Healy

David Healy

Radio Announcer (voice) (uncredited)

Court is in session

Put Phase IV on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Arthouse Gremlin

“Its refusal to behave is the point.”

The strange choices create the kind of friction that follows you out of the theatre and into the argument.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Oddness is not depth.”

A film can break every rule and still leave nothing behind but the memory of how hard it tried to be singular.