Exhausted pop singer Vicki Robbins (a solid and appealing performance by fetching blonde Suzanne Leigh) decides to take it easy by spending some time at a farm on a remote island. However, things go awry when a swarm of deadly bees start attacking folks left and right.

The merely competent direction by Freddie Francis not only lets the meandering narrative plod along at a sluggish pace, but also crucially fails to generate much in the way of either tension or creepy atmosphere. Worse yet, the paint-by-the-numbers script by Robert Bloch and Anthony Marriott doesn't cut the mustard as a mystery thriller, with the identity of the person behind the whole thing being pretty obvious from the get-go. In addition, the chintzy (far from) special effects leave a lot to be desired. Fortunately, the sturdy cast keeps this movie watchable: Frank Finlay excels as friendly eccentric bee expert H.W. Manfred, Guy Doleman portrays gruff farmer Ralph Hargrove with delightfully crusty gusto, Catherine Finn likewise adds some vinegar as Hargrove's snippy rundown wife Mary, Kathy Wild exudes a tremendous amount of perky charm as the chipper Doris, and always reliable character actor Michael Ripper makes the most out of his sizable supporting part as amiable bar owner/constable David Hawkins. Both John Wilcox's sharp cinematography and the shivery score by Wilfred Josephs are up to par. A passable diversion at best.

This is an intellectual version of a killer bee movie. Instead of focusing on bee sting makeup and civilization-ending massive explosions, this film focuses on plot and mystery. Yes, there is a bit of bee sting make up and a couple of small fires, but mystery rules this film. In my opinion, it is the best of all the bee movies.

Trouble strikes when an exhausted pop singer, sent on a vacation to a farm, realizes that the farm's owner raises deadly bees.

As far as films featured on "Mystery Science Theater" go, this is one of the better ones. That can be evidenced by the fact it isn't sitting in the "bottom 100" as most of those films are, pushed downward by the fans.

Yes, this movie does have its problems. The flashback scene is pretty lame, for example. And among Amicus films, it is probably among the worst. But I still rather enjoyed it. A better editor might have fixed it, possibly. Sticking closer to Robert Bloch's script would have helped. It is not a great film, but there is still enough potential here that it can be admired in some small way.