A small, United Nations-like team full of representatives from the world over is working to figure out a way to make the production of honey easier. The idea is that if it becomes easier to obtain honey then it’ll be more readily available for the public to purchase. Once honey is cheaper for the public to buy they’ll choose it over things like sugar. At least that appears to be the line of thinking used by this corporation headed by Dr. Sigmund Hummel (John Carradine).

In South America the organization has Dr. Miller (Claudio Brook) running some tests and experiments on African killer bees. The plan is to crossbreed the killer bees with other bees to create a new, less aggressive breed. Unfortunately a villager and his son sneak into the test compound one night and anger the bees resulting in the son’s death. The nearby village blames the death on Dr. Miller and storms his compound, letting most of the bees loose and killing Dr.Miller in the process.

Dr. Miller’s wife Sandra (Angel Tompkins) smuggles some of the remaining bees back to America and takes them to Dr. Hummel, who also happens to be her uncle. Along with assistance of John Norman (John Saxon), Sandra and Dr. Hummel try to continue Dr. Miller’s work. They begin to make progress but then the bees evolve turning into a species smarter and more deadly than anyone could have imagined.

I really wish I liked The Bees more than I did. I’m a big fan of John Carradine and this was a pretty sizable role for this late in his career. And he’s very good. So that’s definitely a plus that I absolutely enjoyed. Then you’ve got Saxon and who doesn’t love some Saxon? Right, we all love Saxon and rightfully so. He seems to be phoning it in here though. Still, he does manage to have some cool moments and breaks out some nice martial arts. I like the overall concept of the movie which is basically a man vs nature story. The overall moral is hey, we’re screwing up our world. If we don’t get our act together the world will eliminate us. But still, the movie as a whole left me a bit disappointed.

Ultimately the movie just feels a bit boring. There are plenty of bee attacks, but they leave a bit to be desired. The opening attack is really cool. Then there are a few more scenes throughout that are awesome, including one with two boys who are paid a dollar to go capture a bee. Unfortunately the majority is a bit underwhelming.

Plus the characters are kind of dull and outside of Carradine and the brief role from Brook, none of the actors seem all that engaged. Sandra is actually kind of awful. A couple days after her husband is brutally killed she hooks up with Norman. And this isn’t just one of those weird things that happens in a B-movie that is brushed over. Dr. Hummel actually gives Sandra a hard time about moving on so quickly. Sandra just sort of laughs it off.

The film features a ton of stock footage, which I’m mostly fine with. Most of this stock footage features various place crashes. The footage that intrigued me the most is of the Rose Parade in Pasadena, California. I don’t know if they ever call it the Rose Parade in the movie, but we can clearly see that’s what it is. During this parade Gerald Ford rides by on the back of a car waving to the audience. What I don’t know is whether or not this is stock footage of the parade that was used in the movie or if this footage was specifically shot for the film. The film came out in 1978, the same year Ford was the Grand Marshal of the parade. So it’s possible, though unlikely, that the footage of former President Ford was shot specifically for The Bees. I want it to be specific to the film because then it’s way more fascinating.

While the movie may be a bit boring, the music from Richard Gillis certainly isn’t. It feels almost jazzy at times or like it could be out of a silent film. It’s really bizarre and for the most part out of place but I kind of dig it. The stuff on screen may fail to entertain but the music always keeps your interest.

The Bees is now out on Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome. I don’t think I need to tell you that this is a superb looking Blu-ray. Once again VS delivers on a product with top notch audio and picture quality. Only one special feature is included, but it’s a nice 11-minute episode with the film’s director Alfredo Zacarias. I would check out this interview for sure. Zacarias talks with a lot of passion and obviously loved making The Bees. Even though I don’t love the movie, I appreciate the love Zacarias has while talking about it.

I think low budget horror fans will find something to enjoy with The Bees. The message is good, but for me it falls a tad shot. The Blu-ray is very good, however. So if you’re a Vinegar Syndrome completest you’ll want this for sure. Otherwise I’d only recommend picking it up if you can snag it for a good deal. I wouldn’t recommend going out of your way for it. The ending though is fantastic so if you do watch it, stick around until the end.