King of the Ants
Encyclopedia
King of the Ants is a 2003
film from director Stuart Gordon
. It is based on a novel by writer Charlie Higson
, who also wrote the screenplay for the film. The film played at various festivals, but was not released wide theatrically due to its grim nature and content.
The film was produced by Gordon, Higson and George Wendt
(whom Gordon previously knew from their days in the Chicago theatre community).
), a struggling young man trying to make ends meet by painting houses in suburban Los Angeles
. One day, Sean meets "Duke" Wayne (George Wendt
), who introduces Sean to his boss, a shady developer named Ray Matthews (Daniel Baldwin
). Ray hires Sean as a spy, and orders him to follow Eric Gatley (Ron Livingston
), an accountant who has been investigating Ray's company. Problems start when Ray, while drunk, offers Sean $13,000 to kill Eric. Sean accepts his offer and, although ambivalent, ends up killing Gatley by breaking into his house and beating him to death. When Sean goes to collect his pay, however, he is double-crossed and when he insists that they pay him, he is kidnapped and taken to Ray's secluded farm. It emerges that Matthews never had any intention of paying Sean for the killing, for he only wanted to use and eliminate him. But Sean survives from having a bullet put in his head then reveals that he had taken Gatley's work file of evidence and hidden it along with his documentation of events leading to the murder.
When torture fails to make him disclose the whereabouts of the file, Sean is then brutally beaten about the head with golf clubs many times by Ray and his henchmen daily for weeks, in an effort to destroy his memory. After suffering a heavy amount of trauma, Sean escapes, killing Duke, and finds his way to a downtown homeless shelter where Gatley's widow, Susan (Kari Wuhrer
), takes him under her wing, oblivious to his role in her personal tragedy. After she nurses him back to normal, he feels he has been reborn and they become lovers and he moves into her house. But after a few weeks, Susan finds his file describing the murder and, enraged, physically attacks him. Defending himself, Sean accidentally kills her.
Having lost what he saw as his redemption and rebirth, more angry and cynical than ever, Sean returns to Ray's farm and methodically and ruthlessly exacts revenge on his captors; having arrived before Ray, he finds Duke's body and decapitates it, removing the wounds that would implicate his involvement. While waiting for Ray, Sean burns Duke's head in a fire pit along with pictures of Susan, exclaiming that if it wasn't for him and his friends he could have had a happy life. He hides in the house while Ray's henchmen search for him. Sean jumps Carl upstairs and hits him in the chest with a sledgehammer and kicks him down the stairs, Carl lies on the floor unable to move from internal bleeding. Beckett comes into the house to find Carl, when Sean breaks his leg and hits his back, paralyzing him.
With the two henchmen unable to move, he moves on to Ray, dousing him in gasoline and setting him on fire, he returns to the house to deal with the wounded Carl and Beckett, begging him for medical assistance and asking why. Sean simply replies asking if there needs to be a reason for his revenge. Sean turns the stove on and leaves the house, he changes Ray's shoes to make it appear that the trio were working on the house when an accident occurs. Sean lights one of Ray's shoes on fire and throws it in the house, Beckett and Carl scream and cry as Sean walks away from the house before it explodes, and the screen fades to black.
The title of the film refers to an episode after the murder, when Sean and Duke are at the zoo and Duke is musing about the game of deciding which animal most closely resembles a person, not physically, but on a deeper level. After roughing Sean up to discourage him from pursuing his quest for payment, he disparagingly remarks that he's found which animal resembles Sean: an ant.
2003 in film
The year 2003 in film involved some significant events. Releases of sequels took place with movies like The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, 2 Fast 2 Furious, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, Pokémon Heroes, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines,...
film from director Stuart Gordon
Stuart Gordon
After the University of Wisconsin demanded future theatrical productions by Screw Theater be overseen by a University Professor, Gordon cut his University ties to form Broom Street Theater. Its first production, the new translation of the risque Lysistrata, premiered in May 1969. Gordon is...
. It is based on a novel by writer Charlie Higson
Charlie Higson
Charles Murray Higson , more commonly known as Charlie Higson - also Switch - is an English actor, comedian, author and former singer...
, who also wrote the screenplay for the film. The film played at various festivals, but was not released wide theatrically due to its grim nature and content.
The film was produced by Gordon, Higson and George Wendt
George Wendt
George Robert Wendt III is an American actor, best known for the roles of Norm Peterson and Tug Clarke on the television shows Cheers and Modern Men.-Early life:...
(whom Gordon previously knew from their days in the Chicago theatre community).
Plot
The film follows the story of Sean Crawley (Chris McKennaChris McKenna (actor)
Chris McKenna is an American actor born 18 October 1977 in Queens, New York. McKenna is known to daytime television audiences for his portrayal of Joey Buchanan on ABC's daytime soap opera One Life to Live from 1990 to 1993. The character of Joey is the son of Victoria Lord, the longtime heroine...
), a struggling young man trying to make ends meet by painting houses in suburban Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. One day, Sean meets "Duke" Wayne (George Wendt
George Wendt
George Robert Wendt III is an American actor, best known for the roles of Norm Peterson and Tug Clarke on the television shows Cheers and Modern Men.-Early life:...
), who introduces Sean to his boss, a shady developer named Ray Matthews (Daniel Baldwin
Daniel Baldwin
Daniel Leroy Baldwin is an American actor, producer and director. He is the second oldest of the four Baldwin brothers, all of whom are actors. Daniel Baldwin is known for his role as Detective Beau Felton in the popular NBC TV series Homicide: Life on the Street...
). Ray hires Sean as a spy, and orders him to follow Eric Gatley (Ron Livingston
Ron Livingston
Ronald Joseph "Ron" Livingston is an American film and television actor. His roles include a disaffected corporate employee in the film Office Space, a sardonic writer in a short-term relationship with Carrie Bradshaw in the TV show Sex and the City, and Captain Lewis Nixon in the miniseries...
), an accountant who has been investigating Ray's company. Problems start when Ray, while drunk, offers Sean $13,000 to kill Eric. Sean accepts his offer and, although ambivalent, ends up killing Gatley by breaking into his house and beating him to death. When Sean goes to collect his pay, however, he is double-crossed and when he insists that they pay him, he is kidnapped and taken to Ray's secluded farm. It emerges that Matthews never had any intention of paying Sean for the killing, for he only wanted to use and eliminate him. But Sean survives from having a bullet put in his head then reveals that he had taken Gatley's work file of evidence and hidden it along with his documentation of events leading to the murder.
When torture fails to make him disclose the whereabouts of the file, Sean is then brutally beaten about the head with golf clubs many times by Ray and his henchmen daily for weeks, in an effort to destroy his memory. After suffering a heavy amount of trauma, Sean escapes, killing Duke, and finds his way to a downtown homeless shelter where Gatley's widow, Susan (Kari Wuhrer
Kari Wührer
Kari Samantha Wührer is an American actress and singer, mostly credited as Kari Wuhrer, sometimes as Kari Salin.-Early life:...
), takes him under her wing, oblivious to his role in her personal tragedy. After she nurses him back to normal, he feels he has been reborn and they become lovers and he moves into her house. But after a few weeks, Susan finds his file describing the murder and, enraged, physically attacks him. Defending himself, Sean accidentally kills her.
Having lost what he saw as his redemption and rebirth, more angry and cynical than ever, Sean returns to Ray's farm and methodically and ruthlessly exacts revenge on his captors; having arrived before Ray, he finds Duke's body and decapitates it, removing the wounds that would implicate his involvement. While waiting for Ray, Sean burns Duke's head in a fire pit along with pictures of Susan, exclaiming that if it wasn't for him and his friends he could have had a happy life. He hides in the house while Ray's henchmen search for him. Sean jumps Carl upstairs and hits him in the chest with a sledgehammer and kicks him down the stairs, Carl lies on the floor unable to move from internal bleeding. Beckett comes into the house to find Carl, when Sean breaks his leg and hits his back, paralyzing him.
With the two henchmen unable to move, he moves on to Ray, dousing him in gasoline and setting him on fire, he returns to the house to deal with the wounded Carl and Beckett, begging him for medical assistance and asking why. Sean simply replies asking if there needs to be a reason for his revenge. Sean turns the stove on and leaves the house, he changes Ray's shoes to make it appear that the trio were working on the house when an accident occurs. Sean lights one of Ray's shoes on fire and throws it in the house, Beckett and Carl scream and cry as Sean walks away from the house before it explodes, and the screen fades to black.
The title of the film refers to an episode after the murder, when Sean and Duke are at the zoo and Duke is musing about the game of deciding which animal most closely resembles a person, not physically, but on a deeper level. After roughing Sean up to discourage him from pursuing his quest for payment, he disparagingly remarks that he's found which animal resembles Sean: an ant.