A lot of people are freaked out by bugs. You may be one of these people. Hollywood has made a lot of movies that capitalize on people’s fears. I’m working on a book about insects and their effect on human history. And as part of my research, I’ve been watching a lot of insect fear films. During the heydey of these giant bug movies, the 1950s, Hollywood produced a whole bunch of horror films that depicted oversized insects (and other arthropods) terrorizing citizens.
If you’re interested in checking some of these out (Netflix has most of them), here are a few suggestions.
Them! (1954): This one features ants that grow to giant size after being exposed to radiation from atomic bomb tests.
The Fly (1958): This is the original version, which was remade in 1986. A scientist’s experiment goes horribly wrong. It features Vincent Price, who for a change doesn’t play a creepy bad guy. (Side note: I had no idea he was over 6’4.)
Tarantula! (1955): OK, I know they’re not insects. But this one is too fun not to include: a mutated giant spider stalks and kills unsuspecting citizens, leaving large pools of venom behind. Not to spoil it for you, but the bizarrely-abrupt ending is notable because it features a young Clint Eastwood as a fighter pilot who drops napalm on the beast and saves the day.
Is it possible for insects to get that big? The short answer is, duh!—no. If something—say, a large tarantula—were to get a lot larger, its surface area would decrease relative to its volume. And its demand for oxygen would increase out of proportion to the rate of oxygen supply in the atmosphere.
During the Carboniferous period (about 300 million years ago) insects and other creepy-crawlers were able to grow larger because many scientists now think there was extra oxygen in the air. There were giant cockroaches and dragonflies with 2 ½ foot wingspans. Millipede-like bugs reached lengths of six feet.
Next on my Netflix list? Beginning of the End (1957): It’s about another experiment gone awry—this time, adding chemicals to grow huge grain results in giant, man-eating grasshoppers.