Largely celebrated for designing some of cinema's most unique and memorable opening titles and one sheet posters for such acclaimed directors as Otto Preminger, Alfred Hitchcock and Martin Scorsese, graphic designer Saul Bass is every bit a skilled filmmaker in his own right. Having already won an Oscar for the short film WHY MAN CREATES (1968), which he co-directed with his wife Elaine, Saul’s only foray into full length features is an atmospheric sci-fi yarn that explores man’s fragile relationship with the creatures that often go unnoticed, right under our very feet.

A bizarre and unexplainable cosmic event has forever changed the Earth's ant population as we know it. Around the globe, ants are communicating at a level previously thought impossible and organizing themselves in such a manner to suggest the formation of a collective mind. Biologist, Dr. Ernest Hubbs (Nigel Davenport, THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU '77) and information specialist, James Lesko (Michael Murphy, COUNT YORGA, VAMPIRE) have traveled to the small desert town of Paradise City to research the most recent occurrences of odd ant behavior. The community, once occupied with golf courses and county clubs, has become a barren landscape, as a gathering of ants has driven the town’s population to abandon their homes. In their place, the bugs have constructed an impressive number of towering monoliths, which strike upward toward the hot desert sky. After consulting with the town's only remaining family, the two men set up a domed research center adjacent to the impressive earthen sculptures. While James works on a mathematical way to communicate with the infestation, Dr. Hubbs becomes increasingly impatient and destroys the dirt towers, hoping to provoke a more direct response.

The following morning the two men discover that the colony has rebuilt several smaller structures with mirrored curved faces, which point toward and surround the research facility. As the desert sun rises, the sun's rays are reflected off the new formations, causing the research station’s temperature to rise dramatically. While testing a poison to subdue the encroaching pests, the town’s last occupants are accidentally killed when they are driven into the toxic wash while escaping from the tiny menace intruding on their home, leaving only young Kendra (Lynne Frederick, VAMPIRE CIRCUS) left standing. As the temperature rises, the stranded survivor’s only hope is to establish some form of communication before the epidemic of ants can take their place above man, on top of the food chain.

If watching insects and other creepy-crawlies makes you squirm in your seat, PHASE IV may not be for you. The film's first eight minutes are almost entirely comprised of ants scurrying around, often framed in close up, almost microscopic shots. This footage was the work of micro photographer Ken Middleham, who would focus his camera on the insect world a year later for William Castle’s BUG. Such a realistic take on one of Mother Nature’s smallest creatures is in stark contrast to similar science fiction fare of the period. Films like THEM! or EMPIRE OF THE ANTS found their conflict by enlarging such critters to make them more overtly threatening. By keeping the insects a familiar size, PHAZE IV is able to remain planted in reality, while exploring topics that are anything but. The threat seems more eminent as the human race finds itself being threatened, not by being overpowered physically, but by being knocked down a step on the evolutionary ladder.

Such cautionary tales are synonymous with sci-fi cinema of the 1970s, with seemingly every aspect of nature eventually taking a swing at an ungrateful mankind, i.e. FROGS, DAY OF THE ANIMALS and PIRANHA. PHASE IV however is more akin in story, and especially in tone, to THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN, than it is to its fellow “nature run amok” brethren. While the narrative is admittedly not its strongest facet and many may find the film's plot a slow burn, the atmosphere and pace are deliberate and highly effective under the capable direction of Mr. Bass. Saul was a master at graphic design and knew exactly how and where to place images for optimal effect. With very little dialogue to work with, Saul let’s the landscapes and environments help lead the plot along, pushing you deeper into the story. You can feel the heat and desperation of the desert town just as thick as you can sense the urgency within the two scientists as they bustle frantically around their research facility, anxiously looking for a way to lower the temperature.

Saul and writer Mayo Simon (FUTUREWORLD) were not about to leave you with any clear explanations either. PHASE IV raises more questions than it answers, but does so with a clever hand, so as not to leave you feeling cheated. As the film opens, it is never fully explained what cosmic anomaly has occurred to cause such a dramatic change with Earth’s ant population. While the circular imagery used implies an alignment of heavenly bodies, no clear illumination is provided as to exactly who or what has caused such a biological imbalance to occur. Likewise the film's ending is open to discussion, with the only clear facts being that the ants have consistently had the upper hand. Such open-ended plot points are left for the viewer to fill in, but rather than feeling resentful at such loose ends, Saul has cunningly presented enough visual information to satisfy your curiosity and allow you to fill in such holes with a number of possibly interpretations.

With a runnning time of 84 minutes, it appears that this is the same version of PHASE IV as the old home video release through Paramount/Gateway Video. There is some debate in regards to a longer cut that is said to have exceeded 90 minutes and was released, albeit briefly, theatrically. This longer cut is rumored to feature an elongated ending, reminiscent of Stanly Kubrick’s seminal 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY and is said to be comprised of varying visual and optical effects, edited in such a way to convey the eventual outcome on Earth after undergoing the title Phase IV. Apparently cut by the distributor for VHS release, such an extended cut has yet to find its way onto any form of official release, but imagery from both the films opening and finale display an obvious Kubrick influence.