..Not really, but before watching THE DEADLY BEES, I was all set to have loads of fun with my review. I couldn’t use “O Death, Where Is Thy Sting?” as someone else had already come up with that so I came up with my own title. The problem is that after watching it, it’s not half bad. In fact I really enjoyed it so my title is inappropriate but it’s too good to waste. What makes KILLER BEES work for me is how low key it is. The script by Robert Bloch is solid and the characterizations are varied and believable. Most people bitch about the swarming bee effects but I have a good imagination and don’t need for everything to be literal so I took them for granted and then moved on.
Long time Amicus regular director Freddie Francis put his photographic eye to good use here. The film not only looks good but the compositions of the camera shots and the movement within those shots keeps things interesting and at 82 minutes, the movie moves pretty quickly. I love the opening where we’re treated to a behind the scenes look (ca. 1965) at how a live television program is staged. The pop group featured at the beginning show off a young Ronnie Lane on guitar years before his gig with The Rolling Stones. Susanna Leigh makes for an attractive and an intelligent female lead. Guy Doleman is suitably dour, practicing for his Colonel Ross role in the Harry Palmer movies. Frank Finlay is quietly over-the-top and Michael Ripper is Michael Ripper yet again.
The story involves a pop singer who is sent to a remote island for some R&R. Once there she becomes involved with two local beekeepers, one of whom turns out to be a murderous psychopath. No points for figuring out which one as it’s fairly easy and that’s not really the point of the film. The point is how the story unfolds, slowly, which allows us to spend time with the characters and get to know them within the limited restrictions of an 82 minute film. The fact that Francis refuses to sensationalize the bee attacks, compensates for the lack of literal, high tech effects. THE KILLER BEES is not a great movie and has no pretensions of being one, but it is a remarkably well crafted old school thriller (not a horror film) that still manages to entertain even if it’s only in a nostalgic way.
The Capsule Critic 