Glass Trap (2005)

There's nothing special or significant about Glass Trap that hasn't been done about a thousand times before in these types of B-grade Sci-Fi movies. A large metropolitan office building is gradually overcome by gigantic radioactive ants who trap the helpless maintenance workers and office staff. Things get really bizarre when a SWAT team is called in to blow up the over-sized bugs. The project seems to play out like a funny RAID bug-spray commercial from the 70's! However, the corny situations and stupid dialog make this movie mildly entertaining. I am a fan of B-grade movies that bring back 1950's-1960's low budget special effects. Glass Trap makes an honest effort at doing that. It's not a good film by any means, and certainly the talented Stella Stevens is completely wasted in this. You will recognize some actors such as C. Thomas Howell as the janitor, and Martin Kove as a law enforcement official. Howell, best known for his role in The Hitcher, and for Kove, playing the sadistic karate school instructor in The Karate Kid.There is just enough amusement in Glass Trap to keep it from being a bomb. The pacing is faster than you might expect. One mild spoiler, is that I thought the photo shoot scenes were completely stupid and unnecessary. As another reviewer commented, it appears that these scenes were almost part of another movie, because they didn't fit at all! With the acting as bad as it is in this film, viewers might just want to cheer for the ants! Go into this film with the mindset of it being a B-grade horror flick and you'll find it an acceptable late late show movie. However, Glass Trap is certainly nothing more than that.

"The Glass Trap" is an okay creature feature.**SPOILERS**The Waldman Apartment Building is getting ready for the holidays, and the newest client, Joan Hightower, (Stella Stevens) and her assistant Sharon, (Siri Baruc) are checking in, making everyone on their toes. When it's discovered that there's been some illegally transported into the apartment. Weird occurrences start happening all over the building, prompting janitor Curtis, (C. Thomas Howell) decides to investigate. He finds most of the tenants missing and no one knows why, even though he knows something is wrong. Rounding up the guests and trying to find what is going on in the building, they find that giant ants have invaded and slowly picking them off one by one.The Good News: This had some parts that weren't all that bad. There are some moments of actual suspense in the film. The car attack in the garage is the main one, and is one of the main scenes in the film. A high-top escape over city streets is perhaps the highlight, as it actually goes for some spectacle to add to the suspense. The final resolution is one of the best parts of the movie, and it really makes you care about what happens to what happens. The fact is, the film has one of the best throwback films ever. There is a spirit and tone evident in the film that captures the giant monster films of the part. The film starts off fast, with the invasion coming in quite quickly and it never really has time to slow down for much of anything. The rapid pace is mostly the film's greatest strength, as everything pretty much happens right after something else, so it can become a continuous rush as it goes along.The Bad News: The fact is, most of the film's weakness is it's over-abundant and totally unnecessary CGI work. The ants look totally cheesy and fake, and when they use puppets, they fare little better. You can at least tell that there's a physical object there, but it still looks really fake and at all convincing in either format. They look accurate, but not realistic. It's not really the budget's fault, but it's still a problem to get over. Also, there are a few parts that don't really make much sense. It's well known that ants are one of the strongest creatures on the planet, yet they are routinely kept out of places by doors or other blocking devices that they should easily pull out, considering that their size would give them even more strength. A slowly closing door is able to keep them out, and they can't yank the door open at all. A creature that size would be able to rip the door off it's hinges and part of the wall as well, and a couple characters are able to fend off the ants inside a locked car. Another perfect example is using a stereo to keep the ants at bay. The fact that they don't hear is mentioned several times in the scene, an yet it's not laid down on the ground but held up in the air. It's just a small collection of scenes that show the stupidity of the scenes in the film.The Final Verdict: Not all that bad, but still needs a lot of work to really be of upper-tier of monster flicks. It's got an old-school quality to it, but might lack in appealing to newer creature feature fans. Worthy of a look, at the least, but keep expectations low.Rated PG-13: Violence and brief Language

I just watched this fine piece of entertainment and I must say that it's one of the best films that I have seen in a very long time. The premise is truly original. It features some great performances by veteran actors and even C. Thomas Howell! The special effects were truly mind-blowing and unique. It's so refreshing to see a movie without the use of CGI these days. I can't praise this film enough. Do yourself a favor and go see it. Earlier in the day I was contemplating suicide, but when I flipped to the Sci-Fi channel and started watching Glass Trap I remembered how great life really is. Glass Trap saved my life, it could save yours too. rofl

Be warned, the acting in this movie is HORRIBLE. I don't think anyone really wanted to do this film, and I'm wondering what kind of financial trouble C. Thomas Howell is in to have to do this ...He, along with Martin Kove are the only "stars" you'll recognize, the rest of the players are unknowns and are likely to go down in history as the most unemotional "horror" movie actors of all time.Not only were the "special effects" laughable (the ants were made of paper mache' it looked like), but even the DVD effects weren't on par! The ants used as selecting tools weren't lined up properly so on certain options all you got were legs.There are some serious plot malfunctions with "Glass Trap." Let's consider the following: * We don't find out how the ants became mutated until halfway through the film, and then this information comes from a "super secret" federal agency, and yet podunk sheriff is apparently special enough to get the scoop.* There is no mention of how Paolo and Curtis get off the roof.* Where did Uncle Hank's body go? * Why did Carley not call the cops when she first saw the ants? Or even use the phone when she and the security guard were trapped together? These are just some of the MANY indiscretions with this film. Regardless, it still gave me one of the best laughs I've had in a while. Highly recommended for a night in with a big group of friends!