The Hellstrom Chronicle
Release date: 1971-05-05
Votes: 32
Genres: Science Fiction, Documentary
A scientist explains how the savagery and efficiency of the insect world could result in their taking over the world.
Reviews
CinemaSerf
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.
Movie Recommendation
Summer of '421971-04-19Over the summer of 1942 on Nantucket Island, three friends -- Hermie, Oscy and Benjie -- are more concerned with getting laid than anything else. Hermie falls in love with the married Dorothy, whose husband is an army pilot recently sent to the battlefront of World War II.More...
A Study in Terror1965-10-01When Watson reads from the newspaper there have been two similar murders near Whitechapel in a few days, Sherlock Holmes' sharp deductive is immediately stimulated to start its merciless method of elimination after observation of every apparently meaningless detail. He guesses right the victims must be street whores, and doesn't need long to work his way trough a pawn shop, an aristocratic family's stately home, a hospital and of course the potential suspects and (even unknowing) witnesses who are the cast of the gradually unraveled story of the murderer and his motive.More...
Money Cat2021-08-13When a financially-strapped couple encounters a mysterious Money Cat, one of them touts it as a good luck charm while the other remains a skeptic. They’re both surprised when good fortune seemingly befalls them, but everything comes with a price.More...
BTS World Tour: Love Yourself - Japan Edition2019-10-09BTS perform their Japan concert at Tokyo Dome and Fukuoka Yahuoku Dome during their Love Yourself World Tour.More...
Everybody Knows2018-05-09Laura, a Spanish woman living in Buenos Aires, returns to her hometown outside Madrid with her Argentinian husband and children. However, the trip is upset by unexpected events that bring secrets into the open.More...
The Disaster Artist2017-03-12An aspiring actor in Hollywood meets an enigmatic stranger by the name of Tommy Wiseau, the meeting leads the actor down a path nobody could have predicted; creating the worst movie ever made.More...
Werewolves2024-12-04A year after a supermoon’s light activated a dormant gene, transforming humans into bloodthirsty werewolves and causing nearly a billion deaths, the nightmare resurfaces as the supermoon rises again. Two scientists attempt to stop the mutation but fail and must now struggle to reach one of their family homes.More...
Mothra vs. Godzilla1964-04-29Journalists Ichiro Sakai and Junko cover the wreckage of a typhoon when an enormous egg is found and claimed by greedy entrepreneurs. Mothra's fairies arrive and are aided by the journalists in a plea for its return. As their requests are denied, Godzilla arises near Nagoya and the people of Infant Island must decide if they are willing to answer Japan's own pleas for help.More...
Love Addict2018-04-18Gabriel can't resist a beautiful woman. But his womanizing attitude is taking a toll on his career and social life. He decides to hire a life coach to help him.More...
The Invisible Guardian2017-03-03When the naked body of a teenage girl is found on the banks of the River Baztán, it is quickly linked to a similar murder one month before. Soon, rumours are flying in the nearby village of Elizondo. Is this the work of a ritualistic killer or is it the basajaun, the ‘invisible guardian’ of Basque mythology? Inspector Amaia Salazar leads the investigation, taking her back to the heart of the Basque country where she was born, and where she hoped never to return. Shrouded in mist and surrounded by impenetrable forests, it is a place of unresolved conflicts and a terrible secret from Amaia’s childhood that will come back to haunt her. Faced with the superstitions of the village, Amaia must fight the demons of her past to confront the reality of a serial killer on the loose. But as she is drawn deeper into the investigation, she feels the presence of something darker lurking in the shadows…More...
Pitch Perfect 32017-12-20After the highs of winning the world championships, the Bellas find themselves split apart and discovering there aren't job prospects for making music with your mouth. But when they get the chance to reunite for an overseas USO tour, this group of awesome nerds will come together to make some music, and some questionable decisions, one last time.More...
Mean Girls 22011-01-23Confident senior Jo begins the new school year by breaking her own cardinal rule: don't get involved in girl drama. but when she sees timid Abby preyed upon by Queen Bee Mandi and her minions, she takes sides in a viciously funny girl-world-war that turns North Shore High School upside down.More...
Piranha II: The Spawning1982-08-14A scuba diving instructor, her biochemist boyfriend, and her police chief ex-husband try to link a series of bizarre deaths to a mutant strain of piranha fish whose lair is a sunken freighter ship off a Caribbean island resort.More...
LEGO Scooby-Doo! Knight Time Terror2015-11-25Mystery Inc. is summoned to investigate occurrences in a haunted villa, where a black knight terrorizes anybody who tries to get close to treasure hidden by the former owner of the building.More...
Hillbilly Elegy2020-11-09An urgent phone call pulls a Yale Law student back to his Ohio hometown, where he reflects on three generations of family history and his own future.More...
Creep 22017-10-14After finding an ad online for “video work,” Sara, a video artist whose primary focus is creating intimacy with lonely men, thinks she may have found the subject of her dreams. She drives to a remote house in the forest and meets a man claiming to be a serial killer. Unable to resist the chance to create a truly shocking piece of art, she agrees to spend the day with him. However, as the day goes on, she discovers she may have dug herself into a hole from which she can’t escape.More...
Christmas Inheritance2017-12-15To inherit her father's company, socialite Ellen must first visit his small hometown, where she learns the value of hard work and helping others.More...
Officer Black Belt2024-09-12A talented martial artist who can't walk past a person in need unites with a probation officer to fight and prevent crime as a martial arts officer.More...
Knife+Heart2018-06-27In the summer of 1979, gay porn producer Anne sets out to film her most ambitious film yet, but her actors are picked off, one by one, by a mysterious killer.More...
Similar Movies
IO
2019-01-18As a young scientist searches for a way to save a dying Earth, she finds a connection with a man who's racing to catch the last shuttle off the planet.This Island Earth
1955-06-01Aliens have landed and are hiding on Earth, but need Earth’s scientists to help them fight an inter-planetary war.The Day After Tomorro...
2004-05-26After paleoclimatologist Jack Hall is largely ignored by UN officials when presenting his environmental concerns about the beginning of a new Ice Age, his research proves true when a superstorm develops, setting off catastrophic natural disasters throughout the world. Trying to get to his son, Sam, who is trapped in New York City with his friend Laura and others, Jack and his crew must travel to get to Sam before it's too late.Grizzly Man
2005-07-28Werner Herzog's documentary film about the "Grizzly Man" Timothy Treadwell and what the thirteen summers in a National Park in Alaska were like in one man's attempt to protect the grizzly bears. The film is full of unique images and a look into the spirit of a man who sacrificed himself for nature.Snake Man
2014-01-22It is with an old bus an about thirty snakes that Franz Florez struggles for the preservation of nature in Colombia, one of the most environmentally diverse country in the world. His snakes are his pass to enter the deep jungle, where guerrillas fight the regular army and where narco-traffickers meet coca growers. Facing the threat of the industrial exploitation of these preserved areas, he tries to gather support among the population, including the armed actors.Hulk
2003-06-19Bruce Banner, a genetics researcher with a tragic past, suffers massive radiation exposure in his laboratory that causes him to transform into a raging green monster when he gets angry.Final Fantasy: The Sp...
2001-07-02Led by a strange dream, scientist Aki Ross struggles to collect the eight spirits in the hope of creating a force powerful enough to protect the planet. With the aid of the Deep Eyes Squadron and her mentor, Dr. Sid, Aki must save the Earth from its darkest hate and unleash the spirits within.Fantastic Voyage
1966-08-24In order to save an assassinated scientist, a submarine and its crew are shrunk to microscopic size and injected into his bloodstream.Intelligent Trees
2017-09-27Trees talk, know family ties and care for their young? Is this too fantastic to be true? German forester Peter Wohlleben and scientist Suzanne Simard have been observing and investigating the communication between trees over decades. And their findings are most astounding.Beneath the Planet of...
1970-04-23The sole survivor of an interplanetary rescue mission lands on the planet of the apes, and uncovers a horrible secret beneath the surface.The Incredible Hulk
2008-06-12Scientist Bruce Banner scours the planet for an antidote to the unbridled force of rage within him: the Hulk. But when the military masterminds who dream of exploiting his powers force him back to civilization, he finds himself coming face to face with a new, deadly foe.An Inconvenient Truth...
2006-05-24A documentary on Al Gore's campaign to make the issue of global warming a recognized problem worldwide.Fantastic Four: Rise ...
2007-06-13The Fantastic Four return to the big screen as a new and all powerful enemy threatens the Earth. The seemingly unstoppable 'Silver Surfer', but all is not what it seems and there are old and new enemies that pose a greater threat than the intrepid superheroes realize.Mystery Science Theat...
1996-04-19Dr. Clayton Forrester figures he can rule the world if he deadens his subjects' brains by making them endure terrible movies. Exploiting his access to nearby satellite-dwellers Mike Nelson and his robot pals, Crow T. Robot and Tom Servo, Forrester makes them watch "This Island Earth", a cheesy 1950s spaceship film. But when Mike and friends make funny comments throughout the movie and others that follow, Forrester's plan looks increasingly flimsy.Frankenstein: The Tru...
1974-09-19Victor Frankenstein witnesses his creation turn uncontrollable after he's duped by his associate, Dr. Polidori.Lady Frankenstein
1971-10-22When Dr. Frankenstein is killed by a monster he created, his daughter and his lab assistant continue his experiments.Frankenstein Conquers...
1965-08-08During WWII, Germans obtain the immortal heart of Frankenstein's monster and transport it to Japan to prevent it being seized by the Allies. Kept in a Hiroshima laboratory, it is seeming lost when the United States destroys the city with the atomic bomb. Years later a wild boy is discovered wandering the streets of the city alone, born of the immortal heart.Blackenstein
1973-08-03Eddie is a Vietnam veteran who loses his arms and legs when he steps on a land mine, but a brilliant surgeon is able to attach new limbs. Unfortunately an insanely jealous assistant (who has fallen in love with Eddie's fiance) switches Eddie's DNA injections, transforming him into a gigantic killer.Frankenstein Island
1981-11-27A hot air balloon crew and a dog find themselves on an island with scantily-clad part-alien women, zombies, and other monsters.Terror of Frankenstei...
1977-01-03Victor Frankenstein's search for the secret of life leads to the creation of a monster that consumes his life and family.