The Savage Bees

1976 "They're coming this way...not to make honey, but to kill."
5.1| 1h30m| NR| en| More Info
Released: 22 November 1976 Released
Producted By: Alan Landsburg Productions
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Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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Synopsis

In this horror-drama the festive fun of the annual Mardi Gras celebration is brought to a halt when a swarm of African killer bees escape from a foreign freighter.

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Alan Landsburg Productions

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Reviews

CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.
Aubrey Hackett While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.
Jakoba True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.
Janis One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.
meathookcinema The other half of a double-bill in UK cinemas with the other film being the far better The Incredible Melting Man. This was actually made for television in America.Killer bees have flown into America and are claiming their first casualties disturbingly close to New Orleans when their Mardi Gras is due to kick off. A bee expert (of course) and a guy who isn't quite a coroner yet (so he isn't taken seriously) are on the case but come up against obstacles in the form of sniffy officials who don't want to see Mardi Gras cancelled- at any cost (hints of Murray Hamilton's character in Jaws here).We learn that the bees don't like noise and the colours black and red. The first human victim is a coloured girl in a red dress blowing a toy horn. Not her lucky day.The finale involves Ms Bee Expert being nudged into a sports stadium in her red Beetle which the bees have covered as she was earlier using the horn near them (doh!). The temperature of the Super Dome is then lowered as the bees die when temperatures reach below 35 Degrees Fahrenheit. This sequence is very unexpected and works well with tension being ramped up as the temperatures come down (we see this on huge displays which show the actual countdown).This is an above average TV movie which received a video release in some territories. There aren't enough action sequences and some of the more talky bits are quite pedestrian. But when it gets going its quite exciting. Because I saw it on TV when I was a small child and loved it then it will always hold a special place in my little black heart.Look out for the scene in which someone in fancy dress tries to take on the bees with a sword. Yes, a sword!
DecaturCentaur Loved this movie! Watched it on TV back in '76, six days before my 12th b'day and it absolutely terrified me...the only movie that ever made me shake(my sister had to call my mother home from visiting her mother to calm me down)- my reaction could have been caused by me getting a bit to close to a hive a year earlier and being chased more than a quarter of a mile and stung an estimated 75 times...I still have nightmares about it- and it was exactly like in the movies...screaming and swatting wildly while their buzz filled the air. Anyway, I watched the movie again about 15 years later, and, of course, it didn't have the same effect, but this time, I actually got to enjoy the movie. It's a charming '70's movie with a lot of personality. It's well acted, well written...and the action scenes are well done and not to slick(like so many of todays' flicks). It also gives some factual history on how the Africanized bees came to be. I loved the background being New Orleans, with my favorite scene being the couple dressed as pirates who, I think, had had a bit to much to drink, drove their Cougar convertible to a bee infested hotdog stand. They just don't make them like this anymore(and I don't think it would work now..not enough gore and computerized effects). GOOD STUFF..and one of the best of the killer insect movies of the '70s.
Sturgeon54 This is not just another cheapy television movie from the 1970s, but actually an intelligent, scary horror film worth seeing, something along the lines of "Kingdom of the Spiders" or "Phase IV" - 2 other very good underrated insect attack movies. There is some good location filming of New Orleans and the swamps of Southern Louisiana, and veteran Ben Johnson is solid in the lead role of the local sheriff. Movies like this need to know how to push the right buttons, and this one does, containing one scene with a scientist in a protective suit poking a giant beehive that really impressed me with how skillfully it was set up. This ain't Shakespeare, but it is the finest quality you will find for this genre.
jnsavage3 I remember seeing this movie on T.V. as it was starting back in the 70's and being just too lazy to get up and change the channel thinking "not another killer bee movie". I'm glad we didn't have remote controls back then, as this proved to be very good little made-for-TV flick.First off, the movie does a very good job with the "science" aspect, explaining how the very aggressive African Killer Bees are making their way to the U.S. and are almost unstoppable. Also, the cast does a very good job in building suspense and empathy in the characters they portrayed, with the strongest by Gretchen Corbett as the lead female character, with the weakest character being the sheriff.In spite of being made in 1976, this movie is surprisingly not all that dated in look and atmosphere. The pacing is good and the effects are fine for this type of movie, although, with all of the computer tricks available now, they could have enhanced some of the final scenes. But, again, the performances are good enough to make up for any short comings in the effects department.I recently dug this movie up in a box of video tapes I had recorded in the 80's and decided to put it to the real test. I invited my 13 year old son in to watch some of it with me, and after 15 minutes or so he was hooked and wanted to watch the whole movie.It seems that they never show these good old made-for-TV movies on T.V. any more, so a DVD release would be nice. This one gets 8 out of 10. You will forever associate the Voltz-Wagon Bug with this movie.