Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Moderate
- bleak
- tense
- eerie
- late night horror
- arthouse movie night
What critics said
Critics generally recognized an atmospheric and distinctive rural creature drama, though the execution and dramatic development received mixed responses.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Virginie experiments with blood to make her failing locust farm productive, turning financial desperation into escalating harm.
The locust farm and surrounding countryside frame the insects as both livelihood and growing menace.
The film grounds its frightening escalation in locust behavior, blood feeding, and the pressures of ordinary rural life.
Virginie's attempts to protect her children and preserve the farm are inseparable from the secrets surrounding her methods.
Films like The Swarm, and why
The Animal Kingdom
shares intimate rural horror, ecological anxiety, and a protagonist pushed toward disturbing survival choices
Raw
shares body horror, family pressure, and a grounded social-realist approach to escalating biological menace
The Dark
shares slow-building creature dread, bleak rural atmosphere, and an ordinary livelihood transformed by the uncanny
Movie Details
- Director
- Just Philippot
- Release Date
- 2021-04-09
- Runtime
- 101 min
- Rating
- 5.8 / 10 (525)
Cast
- Suliane Brahim
- Sofian Khammes
- Marie Narbonne
- Raphael Romand
- Nathalie Boyer
- Victor Bonnel
- Christian Bouillette
- Raphaël Liot
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Swarm about?
- A desperate French locust farmer discovers that blood can save her business, but the solution turns motherhood and survival into a nightmare.
- What is The Swarm like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Swarm as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The Swarm violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in The Swarm as moderate.
- What did critics think of The Swarm?
- Critics generally recognized an atmospheric and distinctive rural creature drama, though the execution and dramatic development received mixed responses.
- Which films are like The Swarm?
- Films with a similar feel include The Animal Kingdom, Raw, and The Dark.
- How long is The Swarm?
- The Swarm runs 101 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Swarm?
- In United States, The Swarm streams on Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads.
