Legion of Fire: Killer Ants

Dr. Jim Conrad and his friend are out fishing in Burly Pines, Alaska when they stumble upon a moose that has been stripped clean of meat. They assume it’s hunters leaving the carcass for scavengers, but the scene is unsettling and hints something else may be at play. The discovery sets the town on edge and foreshadows that more danger is looming.

The hunters arrive and claim they shot the moose two hours earlier, saying they had been tracking it. Their narrative clashes with the earlier assumption of scavengers, prompting Jim to suspect something more dangerous is at play. The tension between locals and authorities grows as uncertainty spreads.

A shopkeeper is found in his home in a condition similar to the moose incident, fueling suspicions of a predator at work. Authorities speculate it might be a wild animal, while Jim remains skeptical. The scene widens the sense of threat hovering over Burly Pines.

During the autopsy, Jim notices something on the shopkeeper’s body that doesn’t fit a typical predator. Under a microscope, he identifies the jaws of a marabunta, a dreaded South American ant. This discovery connects the killings to an unusual, invasive threat.

Jim questions Chief Jeff Croy and his men and deduces the ants arrived on a boat that crashed years earlier. Logs of South American wood sheltered the ants, which slept until seismic warming woke them. The idea explains how an exotic threat could exist quietly under the radar.

Realizing the danger, Jim joins forces with Police Chief Croy and schoolteacher Laura. They devise a plan to locate a way to stop the ants and evacuate the town if necessary. The alliance brings together science, law enforcement, and local knowledge to face the crisis.

The trio travels to the beach where wrecked ship timber has washed ashore. They hope to exploit the ants’ reliance on the wooden supply to kill the queen or disrupt the colony. The moment marks a turning point as they take direct action against the insects.

While fighting the ants, Jim’s friend piloting a helicopter is attacked and forced to pull away. The struggle causes the chopper to lift off and crash into the mountain. Jim and Laura barely survive the encounter, continuing their efforts on foot and by makeshift weapons.

Jim and Laura fend off the ants with a flame thrower and shotgun, then reach a canoe and ride downstream. They go over a waterfall, surviving the peril and moving closer to safety. The escape underscores their determination to reach help and stop the invasion.

After the fall, they find an old cabin containing a motorcycle, which they start and use to speed back toward town. The improvised return transport becomes a crucial part of their plan to reach help in time.

Jim, Laura, and the town mobilize an evacuation led by Gray Wolf, who assigns his son Chad to travel with them. They plan to blow up the road out of town to prevent ants from following. The community bands together with local heroism to ensure the population’s safety.

The ants attack the school where Jim and Laura have created a chemical mixture to kill them. Chad gets trapped in a school bus while Jim, Laura, and Croy escape to the building’s top floor with help from Jim’s formula. They flee as the situation grows more desperate.

After learning the ants’ pattern, they decide to blow up the local dam to flood the valley and kill the ants. Jim and Laura prepare dynamite, placing charges along the earthen dam with varying fuse lengths. Chad is left as lookout in Croy’s truck, while Gray Wolf rigs the setup.

A rescue helicopter arrives to evacuate them as they light the fuses. Jim struggles to ignite his, but an aftershock finally lets him complete it. The helicopter transports them away while the dam explodes, flooding the valley.

The flooded valley reveals the extent of the disaster, but the film hints that not all ants died. Survivors look on as ants appear on rocks near the water, and the queen is shown alive with wings. The cycle might resume, leaving a note of lingering danger.