Freddie Francis was one of the less reliable directors working in horror during the 60s and 70s (often for Hammer and Amicus): at his best, he gave us enjoyable Tales From The Crypt and the serviceable Dracula Has Risen from the Grave, but at his worst he was responsible for The Creeping Flesh, Torture Garden, Trog, The Vampire Happening, and this boring pile of drivel, The Deadly Bees.
Suzanna Leigh stars as pretty pop singer Vicki Robbins, who, suffering from exhaustion, goes to stay at a farm on Seagull Island to recuperate. While there, she begins to suspect that the farmer (Guy Doleman) is breeding a strain of deadly bees that will attack anyone who has come in contact with a special serum. With the help of friendly bee-keeper Manfred (Frank Finlay) she tries to find proof of his wrong-doings
Featuring leaden direction from Francis, a predictable script that holds few surprises, and some truly dreadful special effects, The Deadly Bees is utterly abysmal from start to finish, offering absolutely nothing in the way of suspense or scares, no matter how urgent or loud the music gets. In the end, Francis resorts to some cheap titillation to try and keep the viewer from nodding off by having Leigh wander around in her bra for a while, which I'm all in favour of, but it doesn't stop the film from being a disaster.
Suzanna Leigh stars as pretty pop singer Vicki Robbins, who, suffering from exhaustion, goes to stay at a farm on Seagull Island to recuperate. While there, she begins to suspect that the farmer (Guy Doleman) is breeding a strain of deadly bees that will attack anyone who has come in contact with a special serum. With the help of friendly bee-keeper Manfred (Frank Finlay) she tries to find proof of his wrong-doings
Featuring leaden direction from Francis, a predictable script that holds few surprises, and some truly dreadful special effects, The Deadly Bees is utterly abysmal from start to finish, offering absolutely nothing in the way of suspense or scares, no matter how urgent or loud the music gets. In the end, Francis resorts to some cheap titillation to try and keep the viewer from nodding off by having Leigh wander around in her bra for a while, which I'm all in favour of, but it doesn't stop the film from being a disaster.