Invasion of the Bee Girls (1973) review

INVASION OF THE BEE GIRLS 1973

William Smith (Neil Agar), Victoria Vetri (Julie Zorn), Anitra Ford (Dr. Susan Harris), Cliff Osmond (Captain Peters)

Directed by Denis Sanders

The Short Version: The director of STAR TREK 2 wrote this cult 70s sc-fi/horror favorite with a great cast and a trashily intriguing premise about women turned into sex-starved Bee Girls who give their male victims one helluva sting in the bedroom. The plot is never fully realized, but the end result is honey sweet just the same. We're also teased with multiple socio-sexual topics juggled about that were apropos to the decade (and still pertinent today) that could have pushed this beyond the B movie realm. In addition, there's lots of nudity and a moderately creepy ambiance as the female army of human Hymenoptera grows while the male population shrinks due to terminal sexual exhaustion. But what a way to go!

***WARNING! This review contains images of nudity***


A number of men turn up dead in a small California town apparently caused by heart attacks from extreme sexual exhaustion. A government agent named Neil Agar is dispatched to investigate the deaths which are connected to a government funded facility run by Dr. Susan Harris. As the death toll quickly rises, Agent Agar discovers a bizarre connection to the doctor, the dead men and radioactive experimentation involving bees and their mating habits.

The director of an Elvis documentary and writer Nicholas Meyer, the future helmsman of STAR TREK 2: THE WRATH OF KHAN (1982) put together the ultimate 'B' movie; the word Bee in the title also acting as a homonym for the category of film the BEE GIRLS sexily wallow in.


The plot of this picture and the methods by which super sexy Anitra Ford transforms the female cast into lethal seductresses are of the typical 50s style scientific gobbledy-gook; but generously peppered in an R rated coating.

Aside from that, the film is a poster child for sex, sex and more sex. Either we see people doing it, or guys talking about doing it. Typical of 70s exploitation, the men are mostly depicted as the equivalent of cavemen; even those with reputable positions view women as little more than disposable sex objects till the next one comes along.


There's lots of flesh on display and the likes of Ford and Vetri (among others) do not mind baring it for the camera. For reasons never made quite clear, Ford's character, the bad doctor Harris, apparently plans to take over the world with her ever growing army of human Hymenoptera. In what is quite possibly the ultimate Women's Lib/Anti-Men movie, these Bee babes hit the male persuasion below the belt in their bid to put us out to pasture permanently.

To transform a woman into a Bee Girl, one is exposed to various forms of radiation, slathered in some gooey substance and placed into a small chamber whereby thousands of bees envelope their bodies. Then the somewhat hardened cocoon is removed and this deadlier than the male now sports blackened eyes resembling the Changelings from KRULL (1983).


From there these women with a different kind of makeover (and predominantly seen wearing dark sunglasses) proceed to sex up the towns male population, dwindling them down in the process. That's pretty much it in a nutshell as far as the main plot goes.

Towards the end, the government cordons off the town hinting at the possibility of something bigger in the works; but William Smith heads back to the beehive and saves the day just in time for men everywhere to breath a sigh of relief that sex is safe once again.

Speaking of the sex quotient, there's a hint of lesbianism, or bi-sexuality just below the surface in Ford's character. She lords over her brood, but shows signs of possibly more than sisterly love for her feminine cohorts.

There's also a promising degree of sociological and sexual subtext contained within Meyer's script, but it's never given the chance to go all the way. With so many avenues to explore (frustrated housewives becoming sexually liberated women, wife swapping, venereal diseases, homosexuality, the dominant male/submissive female dichotomy), it's a shame this low budget wonder remains confined within exploitation movie conventions, although it seems perfectly content with this drive in cult status.


It's nigh impossible to find a bad William Smith performance. His hero roles are relatively few when put next to a resume filled with memorable bad guys that are about as massive as his 6'2" frame. Appearing mostly in movies and television of the action variety, it's a treat to see him headlining a science fiction-horror-exploitation-drive in movie such as this. You can read more about William Smith and his extensive career as a Tough Guy HERE.


Anitra Ford had a brief career in trashy movies such as her lead in THE BIG BIRD CAGE (1972); one of the doomed supporting characters that comes to a gruesome end in MESSIAH OF EVIL (1973); a sexy siren in Andy Sidaris's first 'Girls & Guns' movie STACEY (1973) and also opposite Cathy Lee Crosby on the original, yet failed WONDER WOMAN TV movie-pilot before Lynda Carter put herself and the show on the map.

The sultry brunette will most likely be best remembered as a one of the models on the long running PRICE IS RIGHT gameshow back in the 1970s.


Victoria Vetri is a statuesque lovely of Italian lineage; although her outside beauty is mostly hidden behind pinned up hair and glasses till it all comes off later in the movie. Vetri showed what she's made of in Hammer's WHEN DINOSAURS RULED THE EARTH (1970) in which she was in and out of skimpy cavegirl clothes; and also in the thought provoking sex comedy-drama GROUP MARRIAGE (1973).

INVASION OF THE BEE GIRLS (1973) was one of those movies that would occasionally crop up on Shock Theater late at night around 12 or 1am. The shots of the women with their black eyes and eerie grins on their faces gave me the chills as a kid staying up late after my parents had went to bed.


Years later it was a treat seeing it again on VHS courtesy of MGM's now defunct Midnite Movies line. It was later released on DVD paired with the lethargic INVASION OF THE STAR CREATURES from 1962. It should be noted that BEE GIRLS is missing a small amount of footage presumably due to print damage. Considering the amount of sex and nudity on display, a few missing seconds or so isn't much to complain about. It's not likely to ever look this good again, either. It was also released under the bizarrely titled GRAVEYARD TRAMPS!


INVASION OF THE BEE GIRLS is a wonderfully titled, campy little movie with a semi-intriguing premise, a fine cast, lots of nudity and an end credit sequence utilizing Strauss's 'Also Sprach Zarsthustra'. The Bee Girls all look menacingly spooky with their jet-black sunglasses which hide even blacker eyes. It may only tease the viewer with loftier ambitions, but what we get is truly one of the great drive in treasures of the 1970s.

This review is representative of the MGM Midnite Movies double feature DVD paired with INVASION OF THE STAR CREATURES (1962).

Paranormal Activity (2009) review

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 2007/2009

Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat

Directed by Oren Peli

The Short Version: Extremely simplistic, yet infinitely effective movie that takes place in and around a spacious suburban home. This first film, currently the biggest moneymaking picture of all time (versus the amount of money spent on it), has so far garnered three sequels; two of which were equally successful. Peli's series rarely deviates from what he establishes here with the big house and characters with a video camera fetish. This creepy little film is unique among those that take place in a single location. It is just as successful at keeping the "found footage" sub genre alive and delivering some genuine scares as it was at making millions of dollars several years ago.


A young couple having recently moved into a new home encounter increasingly sinister visitations by a spiritual entity that is soon revealed to be a demonic presence. Capturing all the creepy altercations on camera, the paranormal activity increases becoming more and more dangerous with each passing night.

It was ten years after BLAIR WITCH that the equally popular box office hit PARANORMAL ACTIVITY haunted theaters across the nation. There had been numerous similar "Found Footage" flicks in between, but PA is among the most successful vs. the amount of money that was spent on it.

It's a modest, occasionally effective little spooker that I found mostly overrated the first time around. THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT (1999) gave me goosebumps that Peli's movie failed to generate at the time. Seeing it again now, there's a great deal of tension built up leading to some great 'Boo' moments that are undeniably better when experienced on a big screen.

Even at home, it definitely has some scares, although the bulk of them come towards the end. Its ability to give the viewer the creeps comes mostly from what we don't see. It's this sort of fear and building of a tense momentum that seeing dollops of gore cannot replicate. Granted, there will always be those who find this sort of thing dull and boring because little is shown, but the sounds of ominous footsteps, creaking doors, and other random noises successfully supplant any gruesome visuals of many of today's horror pictures.

What's most interesting about this series is going back and seeing details that are touched upon and expanded in the so far two released sequels. The second takes place concurrent with this one and the third is a prequel that sets up what will happen to the characters headlining the first two films.

We are introduced to Micah and Katie, an engaged couple who have moved into a spacious suburban California home. As the film begins they have already experienced some minor unexplained encounters. With Micah's photographic persistence and inability to take things seriously, the encounters become more intense and scary as the film slowly creeps to its 'jump-out-of-your-seat' final shot.

Before that, we're treated to sights and sounds such as lights cutting on and off, swinging chandeliers, loud, ominous footsteps, a ouija board that sets itself on fire, and a scene where Katie inexplicably arises from bed and marches zombie-like downstairs and outside to sit in a swing. From here on out, we know things are not going to end up well for one or both of the lead cast members.

The relationship between Micah and Katie is also handled much better than the other two films. This is possibly due to director Peli stepping away as director and acting as producer. In this first entry, more time is spent with them particularly in the treatment of their escalating terror and how it erodes their relationship. The crumbling of the family unit of the other two films is mostly just skimmed over to make way for additional, and bigger examples of goosebumpery and the shocks that follow. The budgets would also increase with each succeeding film.

The increased budget does little to hinder the other entries, but the beyond modest amount spent on PARANORMAL ACTIVITY is a testament to its success in both what ended up on screen, and behind it. It's also a success in style over substance easily racking up skin-crawling moments of fear with little required aside from a loud noise, or a swinging chandelier. These movies are mostly stripped of cinematic peripheries and the lack of a substantial budget no doubt adds to the foreboding ambiance.

Movies like PARANORMAL ACTIVITY do not need an enormous amount of money, nor big names. What they do need are actors capable of pulling off naturalistic performances that rarely, if ever come off as a performance in a movie. We know these pictures aren't actual "found footage" of some horrific incident (although a good many were temporarily fooled by the BLAIR WITCH), but these films live or die on believing in the actors and their plight.

At its core, PARANORMAL ACTIVITY expertly utilizes the "Found Footage" aesthetic and integrates it within an AMITYVILLE HORROR (1979) template. Only in Peli's film, it will do the couple no good to "get out."



It took me two viewings to appreciate it, but it's definitely among the best of this genre. The succeeding films would do little to tamper with the formula aside from adding to the mix. By the end of the third picture, there's a hint of something more terrible than the murderous demon terrorizing the protagonists. Prior to that, PARANORMAL ACTIVITY made the most of $15,000 to generate big scares on a small budget leading to its ultimate, gloomy finality seen in its now infamous last shot.

This review is representative of the Paramount DVD.