Black Swarm (2007) (TV)

Director:

David Winning

Writers:

Todd Samovitz (story)
Todd Samovitz (teleplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

13 March 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

Intelligent. Deadly. And Out To Destroy Us. Meet The Ultimate Buzz-Kill.

Plot:

The widow, Deputy Sheriff Jane Kozik, moves from Manhattan to Black Stone, New York, with her daughter Kelsey Kozik...

Plot Keywords:

Wasp | Color In Title | Killer Animal | Killer Wasp

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Sebastien Roberts	...	Devin Hall / Dan Hall
Sarah Allen	...	Jane Kozik
Jayne Heitmeyer	...	Katherine Randell
Rebecca Windheim	...	Kelsey Kozik
Robert Englund	...	Eli Giles
Michel Perron	...	Mayor Blatz
Sheena Larkin	...	Beverly Rowe
Robert Higden	...	Father Francis
Andrew Shaver	...	Homeless Man
Mike Paterson	...	Ice Cream Man
Gordon Masten	...	Coroner Dr. Fogg
Jacques Monast	...	Neighbor / Policeman
Joey Dufault	...	Sniper #1
Gerardo Lo Dico	...	Sniper #2

Directed by
David Winning

Writing credits
Todd Samovitz		(story)
Todd Samovitz		(teleplay) &
Ethlie Ann Vare		(teleplay)

Produced by
Robert Halmi Jr.	....	executive producer
Robert Halmi Sr.	....	executive producer
Irene Litinsky	....	producer
Ric Nish	....	producer
Jesse Prupas	....	associate producer
Michael Prupas	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Mario Sévigny

Cinematography by
Daniel Vincelette

Film Editing by
Simon Webb

Production Design by
Gaudeline Sauriol

Costume Design by
Janet Campbell

Makeup Department
Penny Lee	....	key makeup artist
George Tucci	....	key special makeup effects artist
Camiel McLean	....	daily makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Karl Archambault	....	unit manager
Elissa Lewis	....	post-production supervisor
Diandra Yoselevitz	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Nadine Brassard	....	second assistant director
Ross Clyde	....	first assistant director

Sound Department
Scott Donald	....	supervising dialogue editor
Philippe Espantoso	....	sound re-recording mixer
David Gertsman	....	sound designer
David Gertsman	....	supervising sound editor
Steven Gurman	....	post sound consultant
François Guérin	....	boom operator (as Francois Guerin)
Roger Guérin	....	sound re-recording mixer
Michel Lecoufle	....	sound recordist
Louis Molinas	....	sound effects editor

Special Effects by
Gary Coates	....	special effects
Marc Reichel	....	special effects coordinator

Visual Effects by
Eric Aubry	....	digital effects artist
Marie-Eve Bedard-Tremblay	....	visual effects coordinator
Eric Fortin	....	animator
Carl Gagnon	....	lead modeler
Daniel Gaudreau	....	digital compositor
Virginie Goulet	....	digital compositor
Jonathan Laborde	....	digital effects artist
Bruno-Olivier Laflamme	....	digital effects artist
Jean-Francois Lafleur	....	visual effects supervisor
Etienne Laroche	....	digital effects artist
Guillaume Mainville	....	digital effects artist
Jonathan Paquin	....	animator
Mario Rachiele	....	visual effects supervisor
David Raymond	....	visual effects artist
Kristen Tooley	....	digital effects artist
Emily Vaillancourt	....	digital effects artist

Stunts
Annie Carignan	....	stunts
Mike Chute	....	stunt coordinator
Naomi Frenette	....	stunt double
François Gauthier	....	stunts
Nathalie Girard	....	stunt double
Stéphane Lefebvre	....	stunt performer
Thomas Luccioni	....	stunts
Louis Paquette	....	stunt performer
Derek Seguin	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Jean-Philippe Bernier	....	second assistant camera
Michel Bernier	....	focus puller camera "b"
Michel Paul Bélisle	....	chief lighting technician
Denis-Noel Mostert	....	a cam/steadicam operator
Pantazidis Panagiotis	....	still photographer

Casting Department
Andrea Kenyon	....	casting
Johanne Titley	....	extras casting

Editorial Department
Catherine Henry	....	assistant editor
Marie-Christine Potvin Bouchard	....	assistant editor
Evan Tussman	....	post-production supervising producer
Sarah Vachon	....	assistant editor
Serge Verreault	....	on-line editor

Other crew
Sophie Boyer	....	script supervisor
Charles Castonguay	....	production assistant
Vincent Colpron	....	production secretary
Alexander Sandy Jesion	....	chief financial officer
Mélanie Lebrun-Lacouvée	....	production coordinator
André Nicholas Malouf	....	production assistant
Betty Palik	....	unit publicist
Lexi Pathak	....	assistant publicist

Production Companies

• Muse Entertainment Enterprises
• RHI Entertainment

Distributors

• Hallmark Entertainment (2008) (USA) (all media)
• IPA Asia Pacific (2009) (Thailand) (DVD)
• IPA Asia Pacific (2009) (Vietnam) (DVD)
• RHI Entertainment (2009) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Premium Sound  post-production sound services
• Société Cine Multi  unit supplies

Also Known As:

Runtime:

USA:89 min

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Certification:

Germany:16 | Portugal:M/12

Filming Locations:

Montréal, Québec, Canada

Company:

Muse Entertainment Enterprises

Quotes:

Eli Giles:Nature can be that way, young lady. Nature can be awesome, as in inspiring awe. Not as in awesome, dude.

Movie Connections:

References "I Love Lucy" (1951)

Where to begin?

Usually I try to be generous with my ratings and encouraging with my comments, but I have come across movies that are so bad and make you so angry that they aren't deserving of either. Black Swarm is one such movie. To start with, it is choppily edited with dull lighting and scenery and poor if not quite atrocious effects. I have come across worse acting, but these actors still seem largely uninvolved with their characters and don't deliver their lines with anywhere near enough passion and care about what's happening to them. The music is generic and you don't remember any of it afterwards, while the wasps are lacking in menace and the attacks are done with a great deal of predictability and no real sense of horror or suspense. The script, story and characters are the worst assets. The dialogue is just terrible, full of cheesy lines, stilted delivery, no sense of logic and everything just feels aimless. The story is thin and very predictable, with an unatmospheric and abrupt climax and no explanation as to the wasps' control. In regard to the characters, I don't mind if they are clichéd, but they have to be likable and well-written to make me not care about that and just empathise with the character. The characters aren't just clichéd, they are undeveloped and annoying and I found myself not only not caring for any one of them but actually shouting at the screen at the countless times a character did something dumb, and these ladies and gentlemen are simple common sense things that you should've already learnt at five years old that they get so wrong here. Pacing is also an issue, because the story is so thin in structure already Black Swarm does become tedious to watch. Overall, it is difficult to begin criticising Black Swarm as everything imaginable was wrong with it. 1/10 Bethany Cox