Swarmed (2005)

Sadly Over-hyped

Absolutely the worst movie.

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

Swarmed is set in the small Southern Indiana town of Dundas where an annual best burger cook off competition is fast approaching, mega rich businessman Phineas Washburn (Tim Thomerson) is sponsoring the event & local mayor Darel Gibson (Christopher Bondy) can just see the dollar signs in his eyes so doesn't want anything to spoil the cook off. However at genetics laboratory MGA scientist Kenth Horvath (Michael Shanks) is developing a new pesticide, the one Kent has developed has the unwanted side effect of increasing the toxicity of Wasp's he's testing it on. Idiot night janitor (John Baktis) accidentally lets a couple of the genetically altered Wasp's go & they sting him to death & one escapes the laboratory. Then idiot Wasp exterminator Q (Richard Chevolleau) uses the new pesticide to try & destroy a Wasp nest which also turns them into genetically altered killers that can kill with one sting, with the cook off happening & hundreds of people attending Kent & entomologist Cristina Brown (Carol Alt) must find a way to stop the swarm...This Canadian production was directed by Paul Ziller & is your typical standard 'Creature Feature' fare the likes of which the Sc-Fi Channel churn out with monotonous regularity, while not the worst example of it's numerous kind Swarmed isn't really anything to get excited about & seasoned 'Creature Feature' watchers will be throughly bored by it. All the usual clichés are here, a genetically altered creature of some sort, a misguided scientist, the hero expert, the city official, the greedy town Mayor who doesn't want a scandal so doesn't warn anyone, some annoying comedy relief black character & some news reporter. It's all here like the laboratory accident that sets the menace loose, the town gathering where lots of potential victims are located as said menace lurks nearby & in the end all the bad people get killed & all the good people live even though it was a combination of these so called good people that got the ball rolling in the first place as it were. There's also a metaphor for the state of the world as it is, the thick black guy is told in no uncertain terms not to use the pesticide in the red bottles yet he still does anyway, that in a nutshell is why the world is so messed up folks. At 90 odd minutes not enough happens, it takes ages for Swarmed to get going & then it never really comes to life with small scale attacks & people just generally running around doing nothing in particular.The film looks alright, it has decent production values & seems fairly competent although my eyes had glazed over & my brain had all but shut-down by the half hour mark. Swarmed doesn't even feature that much gore, there are a few dead bodies with Wasp stings & a shot of a Wasp stinging someone's eyeball who is seen later with his eye missing. There are some odd moments too as a mad secretary uses a double barrelled shotgun to kill one Wasp (after she has hunted it) in a ridiculous scene. The CGI computer effects are poor, it's quite amazing that in 2005 the makers of Swarmed couldn't convincingly reproduce a swarm of Wasp's which is just basically lots of little black dots flying in the air.This was made for telly & it shows with no blood, gore, profanity or nudity. Although set in the US this was filmed in Ontario in Canada. The cast look bored & the acting isn't great especially from the really annoying Q who has nothing to do with the James Bond films.Swarmed is yet another 'Creature Feature' with all the usual clichés & bad CGI computer effects, definitely one to avoid.

This made for TV film is another in a long line of science fiction human versus nature films, and unfortunately it is not one of the best of the genre. The directing, cinematography, pacing, script, and acting are poor. It may fulfill cable TV's need to fill a time slot with inexpensive fare, but does not compare well with the vast selection of viewing available to the modern cable viewer.Who will like this film? If you relish watching bad guys get their due, you'll get plenty of satisfaction. If you like films that are so bad that they are funny, you'll get plenty to mock and laugh at. If you love the B films of the 1950's, you might find this a entertaining way to waste ninety minutes. If you like the campy and quirky, check out Richard Chevolleau's portrayal of Q, the exterminator.Chevolleau does a great job in the role and is a pleasant distraction in an otherwise dull and plodding flick. I did not recognize him as the same actor who played Marcus 'Augur' Deveraux in "Earth: Final Conflict" or Charlie in "Flowers for Algernon" (2000). His performance made me want to re-watch both.Who will dislike this film? Any die hard science fiction fans will be disappointed by the lack of thought in the plot and the unoriginal scenario. Special effects junkies will be in heavy withdrawals by the cheap effects. The scientifically inclined will be at a loss with the weak to absent science and logic in this flick. Connoisseurs of fine film will be horrified than the horror occurred behind and in front of the lens.In all, there is not much to recommend in "Swarmed." As I was voting at IMDb, I was conflicted in giving it as low a score as I did. If it was that bad, why did I watch the whole thing? Was it such a train wreck that I could not pry my eyes away? Was there a belief that it had to get better? In the end, it was one actor's performance and a desire to be intellectually honest in this review.Should you watch? Well if you are actually thinking about it, probably not. This is more a movie for a mindless moment.

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.

Predictable, dry and continuous, this movie is all about yellowjacket wasps, and how they turn deadly, thanks to the scientific researcher and his fickle so-called bug-killing friend. Although this is all an accident, the deadly wasps are caused by the curious minded bug killer guy. The science man TOLD you not to get the BIG RED BOTTLE of bug juice which stands out from all the other normal clear jugged ones, because it was "stronger" and there were a "few glitches" to fix up with that one. Well guess what. It would be too un-interesting for that bug killer guy to pick up a clear bottled one. SO, he gets the red one!! Making ALL yellowjacket wasps DEADLY! whoo! Just in time for the city burger cookout too! And it just so happens that all these people cannot hear very well. The wasp is half a metre away, you still cannot see where the heck it is! Guess what?! it kills you now. too late! and it chews out the mayor's eye as well. how brilliant... So it attacks the whole city, and all the burgers. Now what!? Drive a golf cart with meat and drag the wasps into the gargage! BUt do they actually kill all the yellowjackets!? You should drag yourself to watch this movie to find out.