The Hellstrom Chronicle (1971)

Right from the start when the opening piece to camera sees "Hellstrom" almost walk into a tree, there's something a little dodgy about the presentation. No, he's not a real scientist. He's an actor called Lawrence Pressmann and he's not delivering his own painfully garnered research, but an hybrid of that of others. That gimmick doesn't really matter, though, as once this docu-drama gets under way, it's turns into a well photographed investigation into just how easily insects could take over from mankind as the dominant species on Earth. The narration is a bit over the top, alarmist, you might even say but the imagery displayed - especially of the close ups of the menacing features so readily fodder for the sci-fi and horror film industries, is quite effective. These creatures morph from the most unlikely and ugly looking entities into the most beautiful; they work and live in massive swarms and hives existing in concert with nature peacefully pollinating whilst at the same time they can wield enormously potent destructive power. They can be hugely loyal and equally cruel - mating then eating your partner always seems a tad brutal to me (however bad it was!). It lingers briefly on the role of plants in managing their ambitions - some Venus fly traps amongst those quite capable of luring and devouring. Essentially, this illustrates that these animals can be poisonous and/or just hungry, exist in ginormous quantities and the thrust of the narrative is that if they were ever to turn their attentions to mankind, then we'd be ill-equipped to fend them off. Just because this is being linked by an actor doesn't make it less fascinating, and this is well worth watching.

Mar 31, 2024