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6.5/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 6.5/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Microscopic Mysteries remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
Honestly, only if you find the idea of an ant’s face looking like a medieval knight’s helmet interesting. If you are a bug person, you will love it. If you have any sort of phobia, stay far, far away.
Pete Smith narrates this thing with the kind of calm, steady voice you usually hear in those old school science films from the fifties. It is almost too calm. There is a moment where a beetle is just struggling on its back for what feels like a solid three minutes, and Pete is just talking about its wing structure. I started rooting for the little guy to flip over.
It lacks the narrative punch of something like Oh'phelia, but it isn't trying to be that. It is just… bugs. Lots of them. Sometimes the focus is a bit soft, and you can see the grain of the film stock acting up, which actually kind of adds to the vibe.
I found myself thinking about how small everything is. It’s a bit humbling, I guess? Or maybe I was just bored. It is hard to tell. 🐜
It’s definitely not as frantic as Roving Thomas in Chicago, and thank god for that. Sometimes you just want to sit still and look at a magnified grasshopper leg. Don't judge me.
The soundtrack is mostly just some light orchestral stuff that sounds like it was pulled from a stock library. It fills the gaps, but it doesn't do much else. You really don't come here for the score.
If you want a movie that doesn't demand you track a complicated plot like The Phantom, this is your winner. It is a weird, itchy, little experience. 🧐