TheLittleSongbird
Swarmed is a long way from the worst movie I've ever seen, but it was to me still rather lame. The photography and scenery are quite good though, as is the decently spooky music and the acting, Richard Chevolleau especially is a lot of fun. While the characters are very clichéd with not much development to them, they thankfully didn't annoy me as much as I feared they would. Apart from it, Swarmed just doesn't cut it. The special effects are very cheesy and cheap, while the wasps are nowhere near menacing enough for my tastes. The dialogue is constantly awkward and the comical moments(mainly at the banter and the stereotyping of Tiny) feel forced and annoying. On top of that, complete with a predictable ending and a lack of suspenseful atmosphere or a sense of genuine horror the story plods like mad, it does take ages to get going and when it does it's too late and I didn't care anymore. All in all, not terrible but just didn't buzz for me. 4/10 Bethany Cox
Vomitron_G
Some time ago, I had this crazy idea of seeing as much Killer Bee-movies possible (since I never saw any in this sub-genre). I started with the soap-opera vehicle "Killer Bees!" (starring C. Thomas Howell), which was a boring pile of crap. So, fortunately, I did have a reasonable amount of fun watching "Swarmed" (in my country known as the less imaginatively titled "Killer Bee"). "Swarmed" gets it at least half right. The plot is sort of a "Jaws" rip-off with all the possible clichés. The effects are pretty good (this time no crappy black CGI killer dots, but nice-moving CGI close-ups of flying yellow jacket wasps). Some fine gory make-up FX's (the mayor with one of his eyes eaten away by a wasp), some corrupt politicians and cops, a male/female duo of scientists trying to stop this mayhem, a pretty fast pace, and an okay climax. This one also stars Carol Alt (I don't know how I do it, but I regularly get this: watching random movies in a short period of time which, as it turns out, can be related to each other in one way or another), and let's not forget Tim"Jack Deth"Thomerson, always a pleasure seeing him pop up in a flick. "Swarmed" is just fun to watch in a not-scary way (killer bees, or wasps or ladybugs or whatever just aren't scary...), it's unpretentious B-movie entertainment, really. Watch it for the scene where the mayor's assistant blows away one wasp with... a shotgun!
drystyx
On the surface, this movie is about mutated wasps that make a huge swarm to kill people.In effect,it is light comedy, and obviously done on purpose. This is one of those movies that has a lot of little things, and probably a lot in the background that I didn't bother noticing, but that the geeks surely will.The formula story of the officials who refuse to believe in an emergency situation, straight from "Jaws", the ambitious reporter, the camera man who will do anything to get a camera shot, the few people who know what is going on that no one will listen to (which is actually true to life, which is what makes these movies work.) All of these are in this movie.There are then the light hearted comic bits. The head honcho macho guy who has a spotter for his 65 pound bench press will crack up any gym goer. The attacks as seen from the bug's point of view is purposely comical. The girl using a rifle to shoot at a wasp. These and other little things make this formula movie almost bearable. It is possibly made for those who will try to spot little things. A great movie for the dorks, but with enough obvious comedy to appease the masses somewhat. Not a great flick, but not a bad one.
krorie
Did you know that you can kill a deadly mutated yellow jacket wasp with a shotgun? You'll find out if you watch this SciFi channel flick. The script is intentionally campy and funny with lines such as, "Why don't you go out and play with the cows or something?" The acting runs the gamut from Joe Namath level to a screamingly funny performance by the awesome bug buster Richard Chevolleau with a trusty Robin-like assistant he is sort of keeping out of trouble. Tasty Sauce King Phineas Washburn (Tim Thomerson) is almost as hilarious. Don't miss Miss Washburn Tasty Sauce 2005. Don't expect anything on the level of "Them" or "Arachnophobia" and you won't be disappointed. The special effects are really cheesy and the ending is as predictable as the sun going over the mountain. Otherwise, it's fun all the way right down to the comical stereotyping of the rather stout, donut-loving police chief everybody calls Tiny. And, oh, yes, the satirical commercials within the film are better than the real-life commercials that appeared during the showing. Actually many of them are much better.
AD
