When The Swarm was released in 1978, it quickly earned a reputation that no filmmaker or actor associated with a particular film wants. The reviews for the film were abysmal. The Sunday Times went as far as to call the movie ‘simply the worst film ever made’. And this moniker has stuck with The Swarm as it’s regularly been in ‘worst films ever made’ lists ever since. But does it warrant this dubious accolade?

The plot involves a swarm (the clues in the title) of killer bees who are invading Texas. A scientist is trying to stop them.

This is an Irwin Allen film and follows the conventions regarding the disaster films he made in the 70’s, namely an all-star cast, a huge budget and a situation that has potentially life-changing consequences for the characters involved. His other titles include The Towering Inferno and The Poseidon Adventure.

I’ve always loved bee (or should that be ‘B’) movies ever since I saw a poster for a double-bill of The Savage Bees and The Incredible Melting Man outside a local cinema when I was young. I thoroughly enjoyed The Swarm and would have loved to have been old enough to see it on the big screen on its original release.

Some of the original reviews mention terrible acting and wooden performances. I didn’t see any of that. I just saw a cast to die for (led by Michael Caine in arguably his 70s equivalent of Jaws: The Revenge) giving really solid performances. There was no ham, there was no cheese. There is plenty of camp, though.

There were also trippy scenes that cult cinema afficienardios will appreciate- the boy who is now hallucinating giant bees after seeing his parents being stung to death at a family barbeque (Caine asks him to reach out and touch the giant bee he sees and he’ll see that it’s not real. It works too!), the scene involving the bee getting into the driver’s cabin of a train journey, the scene which involves Olivia De Havilland telling a small-town’s residents through their outdoor loudspeaker system not to panic but a swarm of killer bees are now in town and to find refuge…

Another criticism that people had with The Swarm back in the day was its running time. Two and a half hours must have felt like an eternity back in 1978, but it’s small-fry now. The Brutalist has a running time of 3 days.

I love these 70s disaster movies, and I remember when I was growing up in the late 70s/early 80s that one of these movies would always be shown on a Sunday night here in the UK. The Swarm would have made a great Sunday night movie. The cast is amazing and Caine seems to be in his 70s peak wearing many shades of brown and tope (no huge glasses though) and being uber cool because of it. Just think, two years after this he would be playing a homocidal transvestitie in Brian De Palma’s Dressed To Kill. From killer bees to Angie Dickinson. Now that’s cool.

Verdict- The Swarm has aged incredibly well and obviously isn’t the worst film ever made. History judges everything, and has been very kind indeed to this eco-disaster movie. Let the 70’s vibes wash over you, and you’ll love it too.