IT CAME FROM THE DESERT (2017)

It Came From the Desert (2017)
Directed by: Marko Mäkilaakso
Written by: Hank Woon Jr., Marko Mäkilaakso, Trent Haaga
Starring: Alex Mills, Andrew Horton, Callum McGowan, Harry Lister Smith, Vanessa Grasse

IT CAME FROM THE DESERT (2017)
Directed by Marko Mäkilaakso

Lukas, a brilliant dirt bike competitor, is celebrating his big win with a party in the desert with his mechanic and best friend Brian, friend Lisa and a whole host of guests with movie star The Eradicator a special attendee. However, midway through the party, Lukas and Brian stumble upon an abandoned testing base and discover something big… bigger than they ever could have imagined – mutant ants! With the ants requiring ethanol to mate and reproduce, the guys must race back to the party before the ants get loaded on their party booze and unleash a wave of terror upon the town and beyond!

Inspired by a 1989 action-adventure videogame of the same name for the Amiga, IT CAME FROM THE DESERT is an action-packed, teenage monster romp, pitting drunken, party-loving teens against an onslaught of oversized ants. What more could you possibly want?

What starts off as a story of a teenage lad with a crush, feeling inadequate and unloved, soon transforms into an excuse for said lad to prove his worth to the girl of his dreams, whilst dodging death from killer creatures he’s more used to stepping on than hiding from. Cue gun battles, dirtbike chases and a whole host of madness as two young guys attempt to save the town.

As you can probably imagine, IT CAME FROM THE DESERT is chock full of humour with reckless but likeable Lukas often the one to come out with the quips, that is between his beer-guzzling. The film’s sole female character Lisa also has a few funny interactions, mainly when in company of Lucas and Brian or with sleezeball dirtbiker Craig. In contrast, Brian’s character is more straight-laced, playing the smart and less adventurous of the Lucas-Brian duo and spends his time pining longingly for Lisa who he believes is out of his league. He’s not as whiny as he could be, thank God, and has a fair few action scenes to get his teeth into when not bouncing off Lukas’ dumb yet playful banter.

The giant ants, though the villains of the piece, almost feel like they play second fiddle to the ongoing adventure that the characters find themselves in. Of course though, the lads wouldn’t be in the mess they find themselves if these alcohol-loving, arachnid-ant hybrids weren’t scurrying around the place, a la Jurassic Park, stealing all the humans for food to allow their unborn young to consume on. Their CGI creation is pretty decent considering the film’s budget and I had a hoot watching the ants jump around and chase after the the guys as they dodge and fight back against the mutant beasties.

All in all, IT CAME FROM THE DESERT is a bit of fun and this film achieves that. It knows exactly what and who it’s target audience is and plays directly to it with some thrilling dirtbike stunts thrown in for good measure. A hoot of a movie that doesn’t require many brain cells and allows you to sit back and enjoy the B-movie daftness.

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