Locusts: The 8th Plague
Locusts: The 8th Plague
R | 12 November 2005 (USA)
Locusts: The 8th Plague Trailers

A group of scientists try to stop a swarm of flesh-eating locusts that escape from a top secret government lab in the USA Midwest.

Reviews
Interesteg

What makes it different from others?

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Konterr

Brilliant and touching

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Stoutor

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

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SpunkySelfTwitter

It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

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By-TorX-1

Locusts: The 8th Plague is really, really bad. Now, many of these CGI-laden creature/disaster films have a goofy charm and are endearingly awful, but Locusts: The 8th Plague is simply spirit-sappingly dreadful. The plot is formulaic and there is no energy in any of the performances (but given the script, I can't say that I could find the strength or will to pull out top-drawer thesping, so they all have my sympathies and I give them the courtesy of remaining unnamed within this missive). Of course, one does not watch a film like Locusts: The 8th Plague for the actors, but the dread and thrilling insect threat, and so, do the winged fiends deliver? No, they do not. For the most part, the locusts are just indistinct shapes flitting across the screen, or rubbery insect carcasses lying about (or splattered ones on various windshields). Furthermore, the swarm is not that immense, yet the winged critters still have the power to send their victims flying in the air when only a handful crash into them. In this regard, they seem to be jet-propelled. Now, this could be a further element of their DNA tinkering, but that is probably giving the film a degree of inventiveness that it does not possess. In terms of action, when the team seek and (easily) find the elusive locust nest, the fact that they have brought guns and not enough flamethrowers makes one doubt their professional qualifications. For instance, the lead character, Vicky, bravely goes into the locusts' lair armed with only a pistol. Now, I'm no locust-busting expert, but I strongly suspect that a handgun is not going to be very effective against a horde of flesh-eating locust (loci?), and you would think that one of the intrepid crew would point this out. As for set-pieces, well, there is a fairground attack, but it raises more laughs than terror. However, there is Catatonic Boy, and Catatonic Boy will stir your emotions (it might only (probably) be your mirth centre, though), and one must not forget the Old Testament proselytising Preacher, whose biblical warnings of apocalyptic doom still continue as he becomes a locust banquet. Now that's dedication to the Lord! In terms of visuals, the CGI is really poor (the titular locusts, and especially the laughable helicopters in flight), and our hero, Colt, is not the most commanding figure that I have ever seen in such movies (where is Doug McClure when you need him?). Finally, the solution to the aerial menace is something that the nefarious creators of the mutated schistocerca gregaria could have figured out and executed themselves, and thus saved a lot of shredding time (and, of course, the numerous bodies feasted upon by the voracious and gregarious short-horned grasshoppers). So, while some bad movies deliver a myriad of pleasures, this one is just a pest.

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billwilliams2002

Why this piece of cinematic effluent ever made it past the napkin it was written on is beyond me. I am almost at a loss for words to describe just how horrific it was. Think of every bad cliché you could ever put in a movie and it was in this one... twice.The acting was terrible, including a scene where the scientist trying to eliminate the swarm, has to watch her father (who was, of course, responsible for creating the super-bugs in an amazingly original twist in movie plot-line history) die in a terrific explosion, then manages to conjure up a look akin to that one might give to the meal selections in Craft Services. The editing was beyond embarrassing; at one point a group of scientist-onlookers (who have for some reason elected to stay in an area the locusts are being deliberately drawn to so they can be eliminated), duck and cover from a helicopter that has not yet started to crash but will in the scene immediately following. The CG is laughable... at various points throughout the movie the locusts (who are supposedly uniform in size and color) range from a low of about 3" in apparent length to a high of about 8" and are either brown, maroon or pink depending on the particular scene.The real-world physics are... stupid. Just stupid. Locusts chasing a crop duster, flying at full-speed, and not only keeping up but gaining on it. Sure. Right now the world's fastest insect (a locust) tops out at 20mph... this writer has his swarm exceeding 100. Seriously. Go back to school. To echo the other user who commented on this page, don't waste your time.

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jrgreenmd-1

The Sci-Fi Channel has once again cranked out another "made for TV" movie in their tired formula of species versus human engagements. As the film title indicates, the locusts have the honor of being man's nemesis this time.A good director, cast, crew, writer, et al could have made this a passable piece of entertainment, but alas not in this case. The writing is predictable. The editing and photography are generic. The special effects are far, far from special. These scenes are particularly disappointing for a science fiction movie. While acceptable for a student film or a sci-fi spoof, they lack believability and appear to indicate a project with a meager budget.David Keith does a good job as Gary Wolf, the corporate head. He has become a staple of The Sci-Fi Channel's flicks. Among this swarm of bad acting, he is a welcome relief, but has a limited amount of screen time.Dan Cortese is very disappointing as Colt, the organic researcher and "good guy." His performance was stilted and uninspiring.However, this is not unique in this film that lacks originality and recycles old themes. The evil cooperation versus the little guy. The government drone versus the civilian. The testosterone toxic military type versus the rebel. The industry versus the environmentalist. The geneticists verses the organic farmers. ... The banal list continues culminating in the human versus species of the week theme that is reflected in the title.If you have a free moment with nothing to do and are bored out of your mind, consider this as a possible option.

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jack7

Man. Either David Keith and Jeff Fahey are that poor, or they love acting so much they don't care what is involved. Either answer is tragic. Worse than tragic. Keith did Lord of Discipline, and Jeff Fahey was in Silverado. What were they thinking. Of course I couldn't watch the whole thing. I was too stunned that these two actors were actually in this movie. Then I saw the advertisement for Swarmed, on next. Swarmed, starring Carol Alt and Tim Thomerson, the guy from Cherry 2000 and Trancers, both cinematic masterpieces compared to Swarmed and Locusts: The 8th Plague. I think the 8th plague is the horrifyingly awful made for TV computer special effects sci fi movies that have come out over the past 3 years...this century's B Horror flicks, only worse because they are so shameful and unoriginal. If actors find it hard to act in front of a blue or green screen for such movies as Star Wars and so on, then the actors for these TV sci fi flicks must find it dizzying to act in front of everything regular whilst the special effects crew adds on the monsters using computers when the rest of the set has gone home for the day. Even helicopter explosions were phoned in. C'mon, man. Just awful stuff. Steer clear if you value your time.

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