BRING ON THE BIG BUGS - THEM! (1954) TURNS 70!!!

HORROR 101 with Dr. AC

THEM! (1954) d. Gordon Douglas (USA) Unleashed upon a hungry for sci-fi movie-going public in the summer of 1954, Them! was the first of the “big bug” movies and proved to be the year’s biggest moneymaker for Warner Brothers. Originally slated to be shot in color and 3D, the studio cut the budget at the last minute, although the stark black and white cinematography may have worked to its advantage, yielding an impressively eerie visual landscape. These elements, combined with extraordinary sound design, art direction, and solid ensemble performances, resulted in a true genre classic that would go on to earn an Academy Award nomination for its imaginative and thrilling special effects. Them! is also famous for inspiring nuclear monster movies to come, conjuring a common formula for countless imitators to follow. Among the many atomically revived or mutated creatures rampaging through the 1950s, we saw Them’s cinematic DNA in It came from Beneath the Sea, Tarantula, The Deadly Mantis, The Monster that Challenged the World, The Black Scorpion, Beginning of the End, Attack of the Crab Monsters, and Attack of the Giant Leeches, to name but a few. In a decade where science fiction movies reined supreme, Them! remains one of the most influential films ever made, one that allowed moviegoers of the moment to process their fears of the atomic age in a safe, exciting, and entertaining fashion. Join AC and his awesome panel of guests (Matthew Amador, Cati Glidewell aka The Blonde in Front, Doug Long, Alan Tromp) as they celebrate 70 years of THEM!!! ------------------------------------------ MATTHEW AMADOR is an actor and owner of Matador Behavioral Health, where he utilizes narrative fiction as a means to process trauma and anxiety through psychotherapy. www.MatadorChicago.com CATI GLIDEWELL (aka The Blonde in Front) is a Chicago-based film critic, lifelong cinephile, film festival jury member, and a member of Chicago Indie Critics since 2020. You can find her on all social media platforms, as well as Post mortem radio and Radio of horror on YouTube. DOUG LONG teaches film-related classes at DePaul University and writes book reviews for film journals, including Film Quarterly and mise-en-scene. ALAN TROMP is a golden age Monster Kid, who has published articles in Filmfax, Twilight Zone Magazine, and We Belong Dead publications in the UK. He was scriptwriter for the shot-on-video nightmare, The Soul Eaters. ------------------------------------------------ Keep Searching, Keep Exploring, and, Most of All, Keep Sharing the Scare!