The Swarm

2020

1h 41m

Drama

Fantasy

Mystery & Thriller

List

80%

Tomatometer

15 Reviews

27%

Audience Score

100+ Ratings

Virginie lives on a farm with her children Laura (15) and Gaston (7) and raises locusts as a high-protein crop. Life is hard: money worries and practical problems are piling up, tensions with her kids and neighbors are running high. But everything changes when she discovers the locusts have a taste for blood.

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Richard Brody

New Yorker

What Alfred Hitchcock did for birds the French director Just Philippot does for grasshoppers in this extravagantly eerie, rootedly practical horror film.

Aug 2, 2021

Full Review

Charles Hartford

But Why Tho? A Geek Community

The Swarm drags far too long, setting up its eventual ending, which compounds the film’s problems by delivering an ending that I can’t imagine anyone being satisfied with.

Rated: 3/10

Jan 16, 2023

Full Review

Filipe Freitas

Always Good Movies

It's one of those examples where the message and the execution go hand-in-hand with appreciable results.

Rated: 3/5

Oct 25, 2021

Full Review

Brian Costello

Common Sense Media

This is a French horror movie with brilliant execution and a thoughtful message that's slightly marred by stale horror movie tropes and predictability.

Rated: 3/5

Oct 15, 2021

Full Review

Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

Absurd and tense story seems almost believable as it combines social drama with horror.

Rated: B

Sep 10, 2021

Full Review

Robert W. Butler

Butler's Cinema Scene

Can a horror movie be too classy for its own good? That's the question raised by Just Philippot's The Swarm.

Rated: C+

Aug 12, 2021

Full Review

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Luis M. D

Don't expect cheap scares. It's a rather dark and atmospheric thriller. Though the ending may be somehow predictable, the movie is very well acted and soberly done. And it feels very realistic (by most movie standards).

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

11/21/23

Full Review

Rar R

I literally made a rotten tomatoe account just to tell anyone who is considering watching this movie to change your mind.. Worse movie I've seen of all time, I wish you could start rating movies negatives because that was a waste of time..

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

09/03/23

Full Review

Wolfgang G

Schwarm der Schrecken ist ein französischer Tierhorrorfilm von Just Philippot… Um ihre Farm vor dem Bankrott zu retten, beginnt eine alleinerziehende Mutter ein Geschäft mit der Zucht von essbaren Heuschrecken… Ein sozialkritischer Horrorfilm, der anfangs sehr langatmig beginnt… Ein düsteres Familiendrama, das sich zu einer Horrorgeschichte entwickelt…

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

07/28/23

Full Review

Gerd Eduardo H

Unlikable characters, cinematography feels pretentious, every decision made by the protagonist feels like she's suffering from late stage brain rot.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

07/13/23

Full Review

Andrea Emanuele M

There's some good blood in this french film, but don't expect a genuine horror movie: it's more of a slow-paced gloomy parable on the frontiers of "sustainable" fashionable food, blended as usual with some biting family drama. The atmosphere is tense, the plot is straightforward, the photography is neat and, in the end, the working-through of the bereavement is accomplished. Bien joué!

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

06/09/23

Full Review

David E

Such a shame. Too many episodes and could all have been said in 2 at the most. It dragged on and the end was seriously disappointing,

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

05/11/23

Full Review

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Just Philippot

Director

Suliane Brahim

Virginie

Sofian Khammes

Karim

Marie Narbonne

Laura

Raphaël Romand

Gaston

Victor Bonnel

Kevin

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Synopsis

Virginie lives on a farm with her children Laura (15) and Gaston (7) and raises locusts as a high-protein crop. Life is hard: money worries and practical problems are piling up, tensions with her kids and neighbors are running high. But everything changes when she discovers the locusts have a taste for blood.

Director: Just Philippot
Screenwriter: Jérôme Genevray, Franck Victor
Production Co: Auvergne Rhône-Alpes Cinéma, Capricci Films, arte France Cinéma, The Jokers films
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: French (France)
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 6, 2021
Runtime: 1h 41m
Aspect Ratio: Digital 2.39:1

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