By Sarah Maciejewski

These locusts will wipe out more than your crops.

The Hébrard family is still reeling from the loss of their father/husband from suicide, and things have become dire since the locusts they raise for meal have stopped laying eggs, threatening the family’s financial security. Virginie (Suliane Brahim) is desperate to maintain her farm while trying to care for her rebellious daughter Laura (Marie Narbonne), and younger son Gaston (Raphael Romand). In one heartbreaking scene after another Virginie is forced to beg for money, consider insultingly low offers, and fend off (reasonable) accusations that her children are not getting the support they need. When she accidentally discovers that the locusts enjoy and respond well to blood, she has already reached the end of her rope and sees it as being offered a chance to do right by all. 

Obviously, it’s not a great development for Virginie that the locusts are bloodthirsty, but her exhaustion and desperation cloud her judgment, and she plows ahead delivering the goods in horrific ways. Virginie will possibly be a polarizing character, with some declaring her the film’s villain, and others seeing the blood sacrifices as a parent’s diminishing mental and physical health in a time of family crisis. Know going into it there is some indefensible animal cruelty, proof of how far Virginie will go to keep her locusts thriving.

There’s no denying that Grief Horror is an increasing theme and burgeoning subgenre of modern horror films. So I should not have been as surprised as I was that The Swarm is not exactly an eco-thriller, animal attack, or disaster film, and instead uses grief to deliver the fear.

Those looking for an animal attack horror like Them! or an eco-disaster like 1978’s identically titled The Swarm might be disappointed. But those in the mood for a slow-burn, grief-driven, family drama with great performances, some gratuitous gore, and an effective score combining classical music and droning locusts could be as pleasantly surprised as I was.