Them! (1954)

Them! (1954) — A tense, classic 1950s science‑fiction horror about the unintended consequences of atomic testing. When a little girl is found wandering alone in the New Mexico desert, local police discover evidence of something monstrous at work. Sgt. Ben Peterson and FBI agent Robert Graham soon join forces with entomologist Dr. Harold Medford and his daughter, Dr. Patricia Medford, to investigate a series of disappearances and gruesome deaths. They uncover a nest of ants mutated to enormous size by early atomic blasts — and though they destroy the desert colony, two winged queens escape and establish a new threat beneath Los Angeles. Watching Them! you’ll experience a briskly told detective-thriller that grows into large-scale, claustrophobic monster action. The film mixes investigative procedure, scientific explanation, and military response: quiet, suspenseful fieldwork and laboratory analysis give way to tense confrontations with the ants in sewers, tunnels and high-stakes rescue efforts. The mood is distinctly Cold War — fear of unseen, human-made dangers — and the practical creature effects, cinematography and sound design heighten the menace without modern CGI spectacle. The characters anchor the story: the determined sheriff and FBI agent, and the Medfords, whose scientific expertise provides both exposition and moral weight. Pacing alternates between methodical sleuthing and sudden bursts of horror and action, building to a race against time to find and stop the queen ants before they can spawn a citywide infestation. If you watch Them! you’ll get a memorable example of mid-century American monster cinema — equal parts science-tinged cautionary tale, suspenseful thriller and creature feature. Expect suspense, occasional melodrama, hands-on special effects, and a satisfying, high-stakes climax typical of the era.

Actors: James Whitmore, Edmund Gwenn, Joan Weldon

Director: Gordon Douglas

Runtime: 94 min

Genres: Horror, Sci-Fi

6.8 /10 74 /100 7.2 /10 7.1 /10