What follows is relentlessly bleak; using violence intelligently (and rarely) to maximise the impact of certain scenes. The brutality - and realism - of the murder makes you feel desperately sorry for the victim. Equally, the torment that Sean is put through - being strapped to a chair and beaten by a golf club until he suffers hallucinations - is very uncomfortable viewing. And that's how a good horror should operate. KING OF THE ANTS doesn't sugar-coat the violence, but it also never allows you to become numb to it.

Baro • Bat • Boki • Carabid Beetle • Centipede • Flutter • Frog • Gorilla • Gun-toting Ant • Hina • Hollow • Ikalgo • Koala • Mosquito • Ortho Siblings • Pike • Rammot • Rhino • Small Beetle • Snake The plot: A double-crossed hit-man has to choose between redemption and vengeance, until the the choice is made for him. To the Royal Guards) "I nipped a life in the bud for no reason. Heh. Heh. And what of it? It means... incredible power!! I swoop in, unjustly crushing the countless other fragile "strengths", trampling and destroying them with ease!! That is my power. Violence is the ultimate force in the world!!" [24]Immense Stamina: Meruem defeated the shogi and Go champions of East Gorteau without resting between matches, [13] [14] and did not show the slightest hint of physical or mental fatigue even after playing Gungi with Komugi for three days straight. [20] He was so engrossed in their games that he apparently ate nothing for six days, [16] and still seemed unaffected. Baumgarten, Marjorie (2003-12-12). "King of the Ants". The Austin Chronicle . Retrieved 2014-01-16. There are a handful of effects in here to grab our attention, but for the most part, this is a different type of Stuart Gordon film, one that focuses more on story than anything else. And while there are no Jeffery Combs appearances, or monsters breaking through into our dimension, there is a style and a skill here that make watching King of the Ants effortless, even for someone who was hoping for more of the familiar from the director. There is also a good deal of tension and suspense built up, as we aren’t really sure what to expect from the climax of the story, especially once we see Sean making his way into the life of the woman whose husband he killed. And while the ending is not perfect, it is satisfying enough given all that we were treated to in the body of the film.

When both sets of protagonists are equally vile examples of humanity, it is strange to find yourself rooting for Sean when the bloody finale arrives. This is a guy who has destroyed a loving family unit for money, yet we still feel that somehow he has been wronged. This is the brilliance of Gordon's film; it makes the viewer uneasy about identifying with Sean after everything he has done, questioning our own sense of morality. Meruem's defining trait was his pride. From his birth to his death, Meruem exhibited strong confidence in himself and conviction in his actions. Because of his pride and confidence in his abilities, he displayed a code of honor as when he tried to defeat Komugi by shaking her resolve. Believing that all humans would succumb to fear or desire he challenged her with the conditions that should she win he would give her anything in his power, but her failure would mean one of her limbs cut off. Contrary to his assumptions, she displayed neither fear nor greed, even asking that if she was to fail, instead of losing a limb, to take her head; and as an apology for thinking so low of her, he tore off his own arm and kept his word when Komugi told him to allow for his arm to be treated by not killing her outright, and instead letting the game to decide her fate. Sean thinks they may beat him up a little but they won't kill him as long as they don't have the file. That's when Sean gets dragged out to a shed in the desert and Ray informs him that they aren't going to kill him. They're just going to beat him until he's left a brainless vegetable. Maybe the file will come out and maybe it won't. Ray is willing to take his chances on that. What follows is a series of beatings that are closer to the unvarnished brutality of the original The Last House on the Left than most movies ever try to get and hallucinations that are honestly disturbing. If you want to know what happens to Sean after the shed and what becomes of the dead accountant's beautiful wife…you'll have to watch the film yourself.

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I couldn't avoid relating it to the most disturbing novel I've ever read: "Lord of the Flies" (William Golding, 1954) I won't go into details, but suffice to say that both this movie and the book deal with the dark side of human nature and both have perturbing effects on our minds and consciences. Those who are familiar with the book will know what I mean. At midnight, Zeno's Dragon Dive rains down on the palace. The King immediately rushes to the guest suite on the second floor of the west tower, where Komugi resides. Finding her mortally wounded, he clutches her limp body as his aura and his expression reveals his devastated state of mind to Neferpitou. The Royal Guard, Netero and Zeno, who located him through En, [27] stand motionless, petrified by the sight. After recomposing himself, Meruem gently lays down Komugi and commands Neferpitou to heal her. He then requests the intruders to fight somewhere else. The moment Neferpitou activates their Nen ability, Netero and Zeno freeze and Meruem disappears from their sight, casually strolling between them. [28] He takes the southern exit, followed by the two assassins. [29] Having realized their intent is to separate him from his Royal Guards with the minimum number of human casualties, he allows himself to be relocated. Zeno shoots his Dragon Head, which Meruem and Netero ride away from the palace. [30]