The Swarm

The Swarm is a 1978 disaster film about a deadly swarm of African killer bees descending on Texas. After the insects wipe out a military base near the town of Morrisville, entomologist Brad Crane survives the attack and tries to convince the authorities of what happened. General Slater is sceptical at first but is ordered from above to give Crane whatever help he needs. As the bees move across the countryside, killing people and animals in their path and heading towards Houston, Crane and a small group of scientists and soldiers race to stop them. A train derailed by the swarm is among the large-scale set pieces.

Irwin Allen directed and produced the film, working from a screenplay by Stirling Silliphant. It was the first of the two films Allen directed, followed by Beyond the Poseidon Adventure in 1979. Michael Caine heads the cast as Crane, alongside Katharine Ross as Helena, Richard Widmark as General Slater, Richard Chamberlain as Dr. Hubbard, Olivia de Havilland as Maureen and Ben Johnson as Felix. The credited cast runs to 61 names.

Released on 26 June 1978, the film cost around 21 million USD and took about 8 million USD worldwide, a poor return on its budget. Audiences have been unenthusiastic since: it holds an IMDb rating of 4.5 from roughly 9,300 votes and a TMDB rating of 5 from 209 votes. A critics' score of 3.8 from 23 reviews places it below even those modest audience figures.