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4.2/10
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Trouble strikes when an exhausted pop singer, sent on a vacation to a farm, realizes that the farm's owner raises deadly bees.Trouble strikes when an exhausted pop singer, sent on a vacation to a farm, realizes that the farm's owner raises deadly bees.Trouble strikes when an exhausted pop singer, sent on a vacation to a farm, realizes that the farm's owner raises deadly bees.
Percy Edwards
- Tess the Dog
- (voice)
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe special effects for the bee attack sequences were quite simple. Often footage of swarming bees would be superimposed over footage of the actors and fake plastic bees would be glued to the actors. Some shots of swarming "bees" was actually footage of coffee grounds, floating and swirling in water tanks, that was superimposed over landscape footage.
- GoofsWhen Doris is chased through the woods by the bees, it is a grey overcast day, yet the close up shots of the hovering swarm feature a bright blue sky without a cloud in sight
- Quotes
H.W. Manfred: [Referring to a liquid he has] I've made this especially for you, Vicki.
- Alternate versionsFor its 1998 appearance on the series Mystery Science Theater 3000 several scenes were cut from the film. Among them a scene of Mr. Manfred at the pub, more plot involving David Hawkins, additional scenes about the investigation of Mary Hargrove's death, and more conversations between Vicki and Mr. Manfred.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Deadly Bees (1998)
- SoundtracksStop the Music
(uncredited)
Written by Milton Subotsky and Clive Westlake
Performed by Suzanna Leigh (dubbed by Elkie Brooks)
Featured review
Gripping Hammer horror style mystery
A London pop star suffering exhaustion is sent to convalesce in the country-side where she encounters a toxic mix of deranged ambition and a hybridized strain of killer bees that threatens not only her fragile sanity, but also her life. Leigh is a relative lightweight amongst her accomplished co-stars, with Doleman as the no-nonsense farmer and Finlay as his eccentric neighbour jostling for position as the dominant bee keeper. It's a rather unusual premise on which to base a complex whodunit, but provides a surprisingly strong basis for the mystery to unfold. Doleman's strained relationship with his apparently invalided wife, and the curiosities of relationships in an isolated rural community serve as an intervening backdrop to the troubled Leigh and her increasing concern at the strange events she witnesses.
Veteran Hammer-horror director Francis has crafted an eerie little mystery, lacking none of the essential ingredients of a conventional mystery, with the notable exception of an impartial investigator. Most of the detective work is done by the protagonists, drip feeding the naive Leigh with twisted facts to conjure alibis and implicate the culprit. Francis does a fine job of concealing the mystery, carefully playing the doubt card, and tempering clues with red herrings and faux staging.
Opening to the groovy fusion of art-house pop culture, Leigh's character is framed as a victim of excesses in a progressive London scene (there's an implied drug addiction, but it's vague) and from there, the film juxtaposes to the opposite extreme - an ultra conservative, socially incestuous rural setting, a deep isolation both geographically and socially for the central character. It's an engaging tussle between old-fashioned values and an emerging modern liberalism.
Slated by critics, the film almost cheats itself with its bold title, because it's not ostensibly a movie of this genre. The bees are present as a vehicle only, and certainly they have comparably little to offer by way of shock value. But the intrigue that the many layers build, is compelling. Try it from a different angle and you may like what you find.
Veteran Hammer-horror director Francis has crafted an eerie little mystery, lacking none of the essential ingredients of a conventional mystery, with the notable exception of an impartial investigator. Most of the detective work is done by the protagonists, drip feeding the naive Leigh with twisted facts to conjure alibis and implicate the culprit. Francis does a fine job of concealing the mystery, carefully playing the doubt card, and tempering clues with red herrings and faux staging.
Opening to the groovy fusion of art-house pop culture, Leigh's character is framed as a victim of excesses in a progressive London scene (there's an implied drug addiction, but it's vague) and from there, the film juxtaposes to the opposite extreme - an ultra conservative, socially incestuous rural setting, a deep isolation both geographically and socially for the central character. It's an engaging tussle between old-fashioned values and an emerging modern liberalism.
Slated by critics, the film almost cheats itself with its bold title, because it's not ostensibly a movie of this genre. The bees are present as a vehicle only, and certainly they have comparably little to offer by way of shock value. But the intrigue that the many layers build, is compelling. Try it from a different angle and you may like what you find.
helpful•162
- Chase_Witherspoon
- Apr 30, 2011
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Details
- Runtime1 hour 24 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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