Black Swarm

View Movie

Lang:

Canada • 2007 • 89m •

• Directed by: David Winning. • Starring: Sebastien Roberts, Sarah Allen, Jayne Heitmeyer, Rebecca Windheim, Robert Englund, Michel Perron, Sheena Larkin, Robert Higden, Andrew Shaver, Mike Paterson, Gordon Masten, Jacques Monast, Joey Dufault. • Music by: Mario Sévigny.

The widow, Deputy Sheriff Jane Kozik, moves from Manhattan to Black Stone, New York, with her daughter Kelsey Kozik. There she expects to find a safe place to live. The day after moving, a homeless man is found dead in the tool shed of Jane's blind friend Beverly Rowe. Devin Hall and the entomologist Katherine Randell are summoned to help with the investigation. Devin is Jane's brother-in-law and former boyfriend, and Jane still has a crush on him. Meanwhile, Kelsey befriends the scientist Eli Giles, who has developed genetically modified wasps to the army as a weapon, and now he is trying to revert the process. When the wasps attack Black Stone, Jane, Devin and Eli team-up to attempt to destroy the swarm.

Trailers:

Length:

Languages:

Subtitles:

Trailer

1:38

Review:

BLACK SWARM is one of many diabolical TV movies produced by the Sci Fi channel in the USA which have somehow found international distribution via TV networks. This is a good example of a poor, schlocky B-movie at its very worst; it really is the nadir of the B-movie cycle and doesn't even exploit the various attributes which could have made it more entertaining – if ever there was a plot and premise ripe for some good old fashioned sex 'n' violence then this is the one. Instead, this feels like a tacky soap opera with some muddled genetic dialogue thrown into the mix and somebody's half-assed attempt to make a zombie movie.

Yes, that's right – zombies. They're part of this movie, controlled by the killer wasps and with icky pustules over their bodies. What do they do? You'll be thinking they kill people in messy ways, or explode, or turn other people into zombies. Well the latter option is right, but in a very lacklustre way; a few extras are transformed but that's it. These zombies just wander around in the background for ages without affecting the plot in any way. One of the actors, the one who plays the vicar, is hilarious, copying the style of the cemetery zombie at the beginning of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD but in a totally exaggerated, ludicrous-looking way.

What of the 'black swarm' of the title? Well, they're not black for starters – I think that's got something to do with the town being called Black Stone. Essentially they're just wasps, slightly bigger and tougher than the usual breed. I've got something of a phobia of wasps but these ones didn't scare me for a second. The CGI animation is adequate but apart from some scene-setting shots of them gathering in the sky, they're never shown to be menacing. One supposed 'scare' scene features a zombie spitting a cloud of them from his mouth; the problem was I already saw this moment in one of the CANDYMAN films – yet another rip-off moment.

Another problem is the lack of budget, which is pretty noticeable. This was shot in Canada on the cheap and the climax features laughably bad CGI explosions and missiles and a hilarious interlude where our heroes enter a giant wasp nest, which looks like it was inspired by ALIENS (same music) except this one appears to have been made with papier mache. The biggest fault, however, with BLACK SWARM, and the factor that makes it a worthless movie, is the absolutely awful acting. The only experienced actor of note is Robert Englund, here playing a good guy for once. The producers obviously realise they're on to a good thing with Englund, because he's the consummate professional and they figure a way for him to be in the entire movie. Everyone else is terrible, especially Sarah Allen who simply cannot emote – at all – as the 'tough' female lead. Sebastien Roberts is a wooden, charisma-free hero and child actress Rebecca Windheim is intensely irritating. Aside from Englund, this is strictly amateur night stuff, making it a struggle to sit through till the boring, pointless ending. BLACK SWARM is probably the worst "film" I've seen in recent months.

Review by Leofwine_draca from the Internet Movie Database.