DVD Review: Black Swarm
Black Swarm (2008)
Studio: Genius Products
DVD Release Date: February 3, 2009
Directed By: David Winning
Cast: Robert Englund, Sebastien Roberts, Sarah Allen, Rebecca Windheim
Brutal As Hell Rating: 2 ½ out of 5 stars
Review By: Marc Patterson
If you have a phobia of just about anything in the natural world then Maneater Series from Genius is the perfect place for you. This latest B-movie (no pun intended) stars Robert Englund and manages to be a cut above other previous releases (see Vipers starring Tara Reid) but still doses us with enough lowbrow hijinks to ensure a rather niche audience, and by that I don’t mean “cult”.
A deadly swarm of killer wasps is infecting the populace of Black Stone, a small neighborly community that you’d all but miss on any good map. While the source of these mutated insects is a mystery one thing is not… their effect. Those who have been stung are turning into killer drones and threaten the life of everyone in the good township. Exterminator Devin Hall (Sebastien Roberts) alongside the new deputy Sherriff Jane Kozik (Allen) and her cute daughter Kelsey (Windheim) must quickly determine who or what has caused this outbreak and quickly bring it to an end.
Okay, let’s talk about some killer bees! If the thought of being stung to death by some oversized wasps only to return as a killer drone is enough to make you squirm and wiggle then maybe you should see this film. Maybe. This latest Maneater outing is typical low budget wretchedness all around. The acting is horrid. (The young girl Windheim actually was the best of the lot, and that includes Englund.) The special effects? They were as good as they could be all things considered. But seriously, let’s pause for a moment and cut to the chase… What exactly do you expect from a film like this? If you expected anything more than cheap FX and bad acting, along with a goofy plot then shame on you. It’s hard to critique the film because it was exactly what it was meant to be. You don’t churn out a series of 12 of these flicks and not have a clue as to who your audience is. And on those merits Black Swarm deserves to get four stars. Really. Director David Winning did exactly what he was paid to do.
This sort of boneheaded brain dead filmmaking isn’t my particular cup of gore, but it was good dumb fun. Sure, it’s going to shortly be relegated to Sci-Fi Channel (I just caught parts of Grizzly Rage over the weekend), but the fact remains: There is an audience for this, and those folks should make a point to rent it. All you other gorehounds… well, you’ve been warned.
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