More than twenty-five years after being released for play on Amiga computers, Cinemaware's giant ant infestation video game IT CAME FROM THE DESERT is finally getting a feature film adaptation, thanks to Finnish production company Roger! Pictures.
With Raven Banner Entertainment having secured distribution deals for the movie in Germany, France, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, China, and Taiwan, the project is very close to getting financing and producer Teemu Virta says they hope to be filming by the end of this year.
The action/horror/comedy will be directed by WAR OF THE DEAD's Marko Mäkilaakso.
If you're unfamiliar with IT CAME FROM THE DESERT, which was inspired by the sci-fi horrors of 1950s B-movies, the game went like this:
The player assumes the role of Dr. Greg Bradley who comes to remote Lizard Breath, Nevada on June 1st, 1951. As a geologist, he wants to study a recent site of a meteor crash somewhere in the desert south-west of the small town. Early in the game, he learns that the radiation of the meteor has enlarged a local ant population to an enormous size. However, few take his observations seriously. Worried that the ants will soon mate and spread, he must work against a ticking clock and devise a plan to stop the ants from terrorizing the world.
I'm all for more giant insect movies, and with Marvel set to make ants cool again with next month's release of ANT-MAN, what better time could there be for a cinematic adaptation of IT CAME FROM THE DESERT?
While we wait for the film, check out this proof of concept video that was shown to prospective buyers at the Cannes Film Festival –