The Hellstrom Chronicle

"The earth was created not with the gentle caress of love, but with the brutal violence of rape."

This portentous statement opens THE HELLSTROM CHRONICLE, a stunning quasi-documentary which is, in its own way, one of the most frightening movies I've ever seen, with themes that are eerily prescient in today's world.

Winner of the 1971 Oscar for Best Documentary, this mostly non-fiction film - the dark side of MICROCOSMOS - recounts the history and nature of the insect world, as well as the myriad ways insects are more equipped to outlive Man in the long run. Insects have a 200-million-year head start, don't have feelings, don't ponder their own existence, don't fight within their species, can adapt to their surroundings, live harmoniously with their environment, have been using "robots" and the airwaves long before we came to be, and aren't afraid to die. Nothing Man throws at them (like pesticides) can stop their reproduction; insects quickly develop immunities while Man chokes on its own weaponry while polluting its environment. And, it would take Man a million years to repopulate the world after nuclear fallout; insects could do it in three weeks.

This ominous storyline is framed in the film with Dr. Hellstrom, a fictional entomologist who narrates with an effectively brooding yet pragmatic tone that somehow comes off as dire but soothing. Some may feel that the human segments of the film distract from the force of the narrative. I, however, believe these breaks from the storyline give the viewer a breather, for the foreboding menace would be nearly unbearably intense otherwise. Also, there is one segment of the film that's obviously faked, but that's okay: it wouldn't have been prudent to film it realistically, and it nonetheless succeeds in making its point as is.

Similar to THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT in that what's waiting for us in nature is scarier than any boogeyman, THE HELLSTROM CHRONICLE raises questions about Man's arrogance - our fatal flaw which will be the reason for our ultimate downfall. While the film never uses the word "God," it speaks of a "Creator," and ponders the significance of the only species that believes in a higher power yet uses "intelligence" to disprove its existence. THE HELLSTROM CHRONICLE is edge-of-your-seat drama about the horror of war and our inevitable fight to the death with the insect world - a battle that we're sure to lose.

10/10

In 1971 a film arrived at our campus and our school was privileged to see it. Witness, would be a better word as what we learned was so fantastic. To ignore what was being shown and investigated, would be to doom our existence to the fact, we were warned of the impending doom and did nothing. The star of this film is the incredible and versatile insect as illustrated by a narrator/biologist Dr. Neil Hellstrom (Lawrence Pressman). His research takes the audience around the world in a desperate attempt to awaken our poor understanding of the mightiest creatures on the planet. Despite the fact man has the potential to destroy the world and its populations with his awesome weapons, it is the Insect who will eventually reclaim what's left. The film is informative and insightful as well as incredible with it special cameras going where only the mind can venture. Want to learn who our greatest enemy is? See this film and then guess which species will inherit the Earth. ****

The Hellstrom Chronicle is a documentary about insects wrapped within a fiction. Visually it's incredibly stunning, very similar to Microcosmos in its "how did they get that shot?" camerawork. The film is narrated by a fictional scientist who claims that the final two lifeforms on earth will be man and insect, and when they face off man will lose. This places a very ominous slant on the action, and instead of Microcosmos's wonderment at nature we are treated with Hellstrom's dire dissertation on the various advantages insects have over humans. The voiceovers are hilariously over the top, and the musical accompaniment is splendid in its portent of doom. The movie does tip its hand with an obviously set up hidden camera segment 3/4 of the way through, though the knowledge that Hellstrom is a fiction doesn't diminish the drama. By the end I actually appreciated the kooky construction, which gave the filmmakers a rationalization to deal with some of the harsher aspects of insect life.

Well, why not? The way things were/are going here on Earth, the speculation presented by the narration in this film could come true. Might serve us right! Anyway, the cinematography is terrific! Excellently done on a whole, even tho some critics panned the narration. It is unique, so see it. I gave it a 7 out of 10, and it could be rated higher.

I may be biased for this movie, but I love it and loved it as a child. I was completely into insects as a kid, so this movie didn't scare me. To the contrary I was probably exited by the possibility of a world ruled by insects. I guess I assumed they would let me hang around or something!

The movie is still great today, a quasi- documentary of the ways and purposes of insects and how they blindly and without hesitation follow that purpose even to the death.. Very well played by 'Dr. Hellstrom' and beautifully filmed, it stands the test of time very well with this viewer. I just watched it today.