THE SWARM is the first of Irwin Allen's big-budget disaster movie flops, not surprising really when you consider the premise: Earth itself threatened by a deadly swarm of mutant African killer bees! Yes, it's a thoroughly preposterous kind of set-up, yet if you're a fan of cheesy movies and disaster movies in particular, like me, then the whole thing is rather irresistable. Allen follows the template set by the likes of EARTHQUAKE with big action set-pieces interspersed with character relationship melodrama, although it's not quite as assured or well worked-out here. Still, an ensemble cast does well to sell the idea, with Michael Caine on top deadpan form and Richard Widmark continuing in his quest to appear in every 1970s film out there. Other fun cast members include Olivia de Havilland, Richard Chamberlain, and of course the great Henry Fonda who stars in perhaps the film's most dramatic moment. Yes, the effects are dated and this is an often laughable viewing experience (especially the hallucinations of the giant bees) but despite being overlong it's also very funny, intentionally or otherwise.
Review of The Swarm
