Swarmed is a long way from the worst movie I've ever seen, but it was to me still rather lame. The photography and scenery are quite good though, as is the decently spooky music and the acting, Richard Chevolleau especially is a lot of fun. While the characters are very clichéd with not much development to them, they thankfully didn't annoy me as much as I feared they would. Apart from it, Swarmed just doesn't cut it. The special effects are very cheesy and cheap, while the wasps are nowhere near menacing enough for my tastes. The dialogue is constantly awkward and the comical moments(mainly at the banter and the stereotyping of Tiny) feel forced and annoying. On top of that, complete with a predictable ending and a lack of suspenseful atmosphere or a sense of genuine horror the story plods like mad, it does take ages to get going and when it does it's too late and I didn't care anymore. All in all, not terrible but just didn't buzz for me. 4/10 Bethany Cox

Another day, another Sci Fi Channel TV movie, this time from Canada. SWARMED is, unsurprisingly enough, a film about killer wasps, although it's not enough for them to be mere killer wasps. They're genetically engineered killer wasps, don't you know, ones which escape from the lab and go on a low budget rampage for the film's duration.

You get exactly what you expect in a film like this and nobody disappoints you. Director Paul Ziller has made a string of cheap and cheesy movies with titles like ICE QUAKE, STONEHENGE APOCALYPSE, and SEEDS OF DESTRUCTION, and SWARMED fits into his resume quite neatly. It's certainly not one of his better films as this isn't even so-bad-it's-good kind of viewable for half the time as there are long boring stretches where nothing much happens.

The usual B-movie flaws of bad special effects are present here (the appalling CGI is something to behold),along with wooden acting from the lead star Michael Shanks. The old-timer part is played by Tim Thomerson with less screen time than they usually give to these familiar faces. The film follows the age-old storyline that originated in the likes of JAWS and PIRANHA and never for a moment does it offer anything out of the ordinary.

Well, you know what you are getting when you sit down to watch the 2005 TV movie "Swarmed". And I must say that writer Miguel Tejada-Flores and director Paul Ziller delivers exactly what you would expect.

And what would you expect from a movie such as "Swarmed"? A generic creature feature? A predictable and somewhat implausible storyline? Check and check. But still, "Swarmed" actually turned out to be entertaining and enjoyable for what it was. Sure, it was cheesy and campy, but at least you get what you can expect from a movie such as this.

The storyline in "Swarmed" is pretty straight forward; a laboratory is running genetic mutation tests on German yellow jacket insects, and of course some specimens manage to escape captivity and start wrecking havoc on the small community just in time for a local faire.

Visually then "Swarmed" was adequate. I mean, the special effects and CGI worked to their end. Mind you, this was by no means fantastic special effects, so you shouldn't expect to be bedazzled. However, for a creature feature such as this, "Swarmed" fared well enough in the effects department, as there are other movies out there with far worse special effects.

The acting in the movie was adequate, and the only familiar face on the cast list for me was Tim Thomerson. So I was enjoying watching the casted actors and actresses in the movie, because I like seeing new and unfamiliar faces on the screen.

If you enjoy a good old campy creature feature, then "Swarmed" might actually prove entertaining enough for a single viewing. I did enjoy it for what it was.

My rating of "Swarmed" lands on a five out of ten stars.