King of the Ants (2003, USA) C-102m. ** D: Stuart Gordon. Starring Chris McKenna, Kari Wuhrer, Daniel Baldwin, George Wendt, Timm Sharp, Ron Livingston, Vernon Wells. Aimless youth McKenna takes up surveillance job, gets himself in deeper than he should by agreeing to kill the guy he's been observing. Then nobody wants anything to do with him, let alone pay him the money they promised. When he insists and refuses to give them the files they need, they subject him to torture and almost kill him. Almost. Strangely low-key crime drama with horror touches becomes a DAY OF THE WOMAN for the slacker generation. Kudos to director Gordon for trying to make this thoughtful, but Charles Higson's adaptation of his own novel seems contrived and ultimately pointless.