You know you’re in for a wild ride when the movie begins with killer bees from South America invading America—not on passports or student visas, mind you, just swarming across the border, no wall in sight. And yes, friends, I’m talking about “The Bees” (1978) — a film so drenched in eco-doom, anti-corporate screeds, and “humans-are-the-real-problem” moralizing, you’d think it was co-written by Greta Thunberg and Karl Marx during a fever dream.
The basic plot? Bees get mad. Bees get organized. Bees develop the IQ of Berkeley undergrads. Bees start murdering people. Humans—especially capitalist, cigar-chomping, suit-wearing types—are portrayed as greedy jerks who brought this on themselves by messing with nature, polluting, exploiting, and generally being jerks. The only folks with a brain cell are—shocker—scientists, environmentalists, and the obligatory sensitive United Nations diplomat who thinks maybe we should talk to the bees. (Let that sink in. Negotiate. With. Bees.)
The Villain? Spoiler: It’s Us.
The true terror in “The Bees” isn’t the swarming death from above—it’s the 1970s left-wing paranoia flying straight into your face like a Greenpeace drone. According to this movie, humanity is the problem. Bees are just reacting. “Why won’t the bees let us strip mine their habitat and turn it into a parking lot for a Whole Foods?” cries no one in the film—but they should have.
In a stunningly subtle (read: not subtle at all) twist, the real villains are the American corporations and right-wing politicians who refuse to take the bee threat seriously. One guy in the government literally says, “We can’t let these bees ruin the economy.” Another complains about “alarmists.” Meanwhile, the film practically breaks the fourth wall to say, “See? This is what happens when Republicans run things.”
Even the music swells like a Greenpeace ad when the bees start organizing—yes, organizing—into what I can only describe as a pollinated proletariat. If this film were made today, they’d be wearing little Che Guevara berets and buzzing, “No bees, no peace!”
The Climax? A TED Talk with Bees.
And just when you think it can’t get more absurd, the movie ends with the idea that we must enter into peace negotiations with the bees. Because, as any good international relations major from NYU will tell you, all conflict stems from misunderstanding, even when the other party is a six-legged insect with a stinger and a hive mind.
Imagine Henry Kissinger showing up with honeycombs and a notepad: “Tell me, Mr. Buzz, what are your terms?”
The movie actually ends with the bees sending signals—they want peace, but only with those who respect the environment. And of course, that doesn’t include conservatives. If you’re a truck-driving, meat-eating, lawn-pesticide-using patriot, these bees are not here for you. They’re here for vengeance.
Final Thoughts
Look, I get it. It was the ’70s. Everyone was hopped up on disco and existential dread. But The Bees is less a horror movie and more of a hippie sermon in a yellow jacket costume. It’s like Inconvenient Truth: The Insect Edition. Had this film been any more preachy, it would’ve been screened at a vegan co-op with a post-film meditation circle and fair-trade pollen snacks.
If you enjoy unintentionally hilarious dialogue, scientists screaming about “inter-bee communication,” and B-roll of bees flying over stock footage of Washington D.C. while someone rants about environmental collapse, then this movie is your honey-soaked nightmare.
But if you’re like me—and you think maybe, just maybe, we shouldn’t surrender the planet to bugs with an attitude—then “The Bees” is a buzzing, stinging example of how the 1970s tried to convince us that nature would forgive everything… if we just voted for McGovern.
Rating: 🐝🐝/5 bees — one for unintentional comedy, one for the scene where the bees fly over the UN building like they’re about to deliver a manifesto.
Best Line: “They’ve developed a language! They’re communicating!”
Yes, Karen. So does Twitter. And that’s not always a good thing either.
Buzz off. (not to be confused with the He-Man hero Buzz-Off)
Ian Schwartz, Contributor to Direct Line News. Ian can be reached at Ian.Shwartz@mcgopclub.com
Direct Line News is a Maryland-based free-access publication committed to the Republican reform tradition.
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