Invasion der Bienenmädchen

Inspired 70's b-movie about a colony of bees that manage to infiltrate the minds and bodies of glamorous women, and use them as vessels for a takeover of mankind. Here's the rub, so to speak: they 'sting' their prey during copulation with the male species. Hence the 'R' rating. A bevy of buxom b-movie starlets (and loops, e.g. Rene Bond, Kathy Hilton), work their way around the campus of a university under the watchful eye of the sultry Anitra Ford, as she pilots their take-over of the town of Peckham. Alarmed at the increasing rate of stiffs being wheeled into the morgue, local police captain (Osmond) welcomes Federal agent William Smith (in fine, fighting form) along with bimbo sidekick Victoria Vetri, sent to investigate the strange phenomena.

Witty dialogue (courtesy of noted word-smith and director Nicholas Meyer) sets this cult sci-fi apart; Denis Sanders' direction isn't especially taut and momentum does tend to sag, but the constant influx of quirky characters and situations is irresistibly entertaining. Some of the special effects used to depict the bee-vision isn't bad either, considering its vintage. The cast is an interesting assembly of talent, with experience (Smith, Hammer, Osmond, King in particular) offset by rank amateurism. Anitra Ford is a beguiling woman, but her acting talents here are lamentable. Fortunately, her looks do tend to compensate.

Don't be mislead by some of the associated press and commentary concerning this film: while it isn't soft porn, nor is it "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" in narrative or technical standard. Disbelief aside, if you can appreciate the dry humour and lusty amateurs who adorn the screen (sometimes being smothered in bee wax for good measure) you should enjoy this, one-of-a-kind movie experience.

Invasion of the Bee Girls (1973)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Cult classic science fiction film has a bunch of beautiful women killing men with sex. This film has a rather notorious reputation for its camp value and it certainly lives up to those standards. If you're wanting something serious then go check out The Day the Earth Stood Still as you aren't going to find anything serious here. The film is pure exploitation that only a drive-in could deliver and the movie features plenty of sex, naked women and wacky violence. Even better is some insane dialogue that will certainly make you laugh out loud. The actual story gets boring after a while and I'm sure a little editing would have helped.

Invasion of the bee girls is a unique little movie purely because of its premise: Sexy women, er, loving guys to death to take over the world. Sounds great, huh? The fact that these deadly babes are "bee" girls really isn't that important. They could be just about anything and the premise would still sell tickets. Is this premise well used, though? The answer is, not entirely. For a movie that focuses on sex, there is a surprising absence of sex in the movie. In fact there are only 3 "love" scenes in the whole movie. This wouldn't be so bad if they filled in the rest of the movie with something interesting. Instead, the filmmakers filled in the time with a bunch of "officials" just wandering around wondering what killed all the men. There are a few additional nude scenes (not sex scenes though) scattered about that make the more pointless scenes bearable, but the movie would be better if it were played as more of a camp/comedy/action/horror/porn flick rather than a dull mystery yarn. There is a surprising lack of humor in all this as well. The filmmakers even go as far as to put looks of fear and pain on the faces of the bee girls' mates rather than go for the obvious joke of putting smiles on them. This review may sound like I hate this movie but in fact, it is just the opposite. This movie is a real favorite of mine. This is probably due to the premise, which is alone worth the price of admission, the excellent acting, the sex (of course), and the well-done but scarce cheese/humor elements. I give Invasion of the Bee Girls **** out of **** but most viewers would probably rate it a * or ** out of ****.

Never has world domination seemed more appealing than in "Invasion of the Bee Girls." How can you NOT root for these Bee Vixens from outer space? Their "coming and going" strategy seems "sure-fire" and is definitely a lot more fun (and effective) than in blockbusters such as "Independence Day."

But of course some dumb secret agent is out to spoil all of their over-sexed shenanigans. Nonetheless, Anitra Ford's (an early Barker Beauty on "The Price is Right") performance as top Bee Girl, Dr.Susan Harris, is alone worth the price of admission! I'm definitely going to make it a point to see some of her other movies!

INVASION OF THE BEE GIRLS is about a string of deaths caused by the buzzy ladies of the title. It seems that male humans are being seduced and "loved" into their untimely departures! Special agent, Neil Agar (William Smith) is enlisted to get to the bottom of things. Could the mysterious Dr. Susan Harris (Anitra Ford) be behind the shagging shenanigans?

Absolutely absurd in every way imaginable, this movie has a certain charm, mostly involving nude women in huge sunglasses being covered in bee goo (aka: white glop that looks suspiciously like marshmallow cream)!

Indeed, this was the sort of film our forefathers would sneak off to see at the drive-in, hoping to catch a glimpse of something "naughty"! Of course, by today's standards, this movie is quite tame, even quaint. Still, it's a bit of fun for anyone who can see it in its proper context. Otherwise, the sting of boredom will be thy only reward...