TERROR OUT OF THE SKY is the 1978 sequel to the TV movie THE SAVAGE BEES. None of the cast members from that film return, but the story follows directly onwards and pulls the old trick of re-staging the climax of the prior movie with a new actress, Tovah Feldshuh, replacing the actress in the original. A new investigator in the form of Efrem Zimbalist Jr. shows up and discovers that some of the bees have survived and spread to some hives at a local research institute; even worse, they've been shipped off around the country, so he goes on a road trip to New Mexico to retrieve them before they get out into the wild. 'Grizzly Adams' himself, Dan Haggerty is also along for the ride and comes between the May to December pairing of Zimbalist and Feldshuh. Truth be told this is a lesser movie all round, more of a sappy drama than an against-the-clock thriller, and Feldshuh's simpering character is a poor inclusion indeed. It re-stages events from the original movie, swapping out a Volkswagen for a school bus in one instance, but it's only moderately convincing, with just a few scenes in which people get coated in a raging swarm of bees. The downbeat climax is a nice touch but overall this one's strictly average.
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Leofwine_draca6 February 2021
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Hey_Sweden15 October 2023A sequel to the earlier killer bee TV feature, 'The Savage Bees', this story sees what happens as the deadly South American strain from that movie continues to do more damage. Bee experts David Martin (Efrem Zimbalist Jr., '77 Sunset Strip') and Jeannie Devereux (the beautiful Tovah Feldshuh, 'Law & Order') realize that their work is not done, and set out to curtail any potential bee rampages - with the initially reluctant help of Jeannies' boyfriend Nick Willis (Dan 'Grizzly Adams' Haggerty).
While understandably a rather mild affair, with less than stellar thrills, this proved to be fairly watchable regardless, with the cast treating their material with the gravest of faces. The bee sequences are competently handled, in any event; Norman Gary, who was the bee wrangler, also plays the small role of ill-fated Finley Dermott. (He'd performed the same duties on 'The Savage Bees'.) Familiar faces in the supporting cast include Ike Eisenmann of the "Witch Mountain" movies as a Boy Scout, Richard Herd ("Get Out") as his father, Charles Hallahan ("The Thing") as a helpful local, Joe E. Tata ('Beverly Hills, 90210') and Philip Baker Hall ("Boogie Nights") as concerned bureaucrats, Lonny Chapman ("The Birds") as a beekeeper, and Bruce French ("Black Eagle") & Steve Franken ("The Party") as two of Martins' workers.
Story elements include the love triangle between the three leads - which you know has to get resolved somehow - Jeannies' horrible memories of events from the previous movie, and a so-so climax involving Jeannie and various Boy Scouts trapped inside a school bus.
Journeyman director Lee H. Katzin ("Le Mans") directs capably enough, but he just doesn't create enough real excitement or terror in his presentation, despite the scores of insects used.
At the very least, I was able to take this a little more seriously than the theatrical all-star stinker, "The Swarm".
Six out of 10. -
elo-equipamentos9 February 2024The Youtube's platform has been saving the day due there has thousand of rarest pictures which scarcely have prospective to release in retail disc, whereof isn't a case of TERROR OUT OF THE SKY fully restored in HD format, looking forward expecting a possible demand.
This is a sequel of THE SAVAGE BEES, where just a remnant character is back, the Bee expert Jeannie Deveraux (replaced by Tovah Feldshuh), The Prof. David Martin (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) is in charge of National Bee Center at New Orleans, they developed a new strain of savage bees completely harmless type, however something going wrong becoming a menacing on several places, whereof the previously sent by mail in three spots, thus lead by Prof. David Jeannie and his boyfriend Nick Willis (Dan Haggerty) got stop these shipments before it get out of control, they hold two of them, although one at New Mexico spreading all around.
Overall in the same patten of its forerunner, a bit contrived bees sequences as the first one as well, worthwhile points out among the supporting casting as the young Ike Eisenmann, an old acquaintance of us Lonny Chapman and Charles Hallahan and also an upcoming star Philip Baker Hall in small role, not so bad at all.
Thanks for reading.
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First watch: 1984 / How many: 3 / Source: TV-Youtube / Rating: 5. -
Chase_Witherspoon29 April 2011When a handler at the National Bee Centre (French) is overcome by a swarm of deadly South American killer bees, the institute's director (Zimbalist) and principal entomologist (Feldshuh) must locate the whereabouts of recent exports before they infiltrate hives throughout the country. Inferior sequel to "The Savage Bees" has a bee-grade cast by comparison, and a lukewarm climax in which a group of boy scouts are trapped in a school bus with Feldshuh's character, already haunted by the memories of her last encounter (as Gretchen Corbett in the first film) with the black & gold assassins that now engulf the bus as air quickly runs out. This scenario actually presents some amusing possibilities for a twisted mind – is that sexual tension between young Eisenmann and Feldshuh, or just misguided execution?
Grizzly Adams (aka Dan Haggerty) is the sensitive, jilted pilot boyfriend trying to compete with Zimbalist's affections for his former squeeze, putting aside his differences in unheralded chivalry as the trio fly from one town to the next in search of the next catastrophe. If the Feldshuh-Zimbalist-Haggerty sandwich was any more cordial, it would surely be fairy bread, and that's the substance of which this film is made. The "Terror" is indeed out of the sky, and it appears, nowhere to be seen in this film. Aside from the make-up applied to French as the first victim, there's very little inspiration in special effects or action sequences. Experienced director Katzin seems content to allow the events to unfold without cohesive plotting, meandering pointlessly to a bittersweet ending in which our celebrated threesome, sadly, become a pair.
It's a shame that a taut, suspenseful film like "The Savage Bees" serves as the patent to such a bland, lethargic re-production. There's little to recommend here, suffice to say that proceedings are unlikely to offend in any way such is the wholesome, sedentary treatment afforded to this sub-standard sequel. -
bkoganbing9 September 2018I'm not sure if anyone noticed but the plot of Terror Out Of The Sky seems to have been lifted from the 50s science fiction classic Them. The only change is a different insect, bees instead of ants.
Some nasty South American killer bees have escaped and scientists Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. and Tovah Feldshuh and her pilot ex-boyfriend Dan Haggerty are right on the case. In the same way the ants headed for Los Angeles to build a colony, the killer bees have decided to settle in a small New Mexico town where there is an Air Force base nearby, convenient for dealing with these winged six legged intruders.
The cast truly just goes through the motions here. I'm not sure even the kids playing the Boy Scout troop trapped on a school bus really looked all that terrified. They were more scared of their paychecks not clearing. -
StuOz22 January 2020TV movie about a bee attack in the USA.
1978 was a big year for bee attacks, we got this film and Irwin Allen's cinema released - The Swarm - all in one year! The Swarm wins hands down! If you are big on 70s TV science fiction you might find a couple of things of interest in Terror Out Of The Sky...
Firstly the director of this TV movie is actually very talented as, in 1975, he directed the two hands down best episodes of TV's Space 1999 - Breakaway and The Black Sun. However, his talents are less on display here.
Secondly, the most talkative kid on the bus is played by Ike Eisenmann who had just appeared in the short lived cult series - The Fantastic Journey (1977). I am guessing he defined his time on Terror Out Of The Sky as another fantastic journey?
TOOTS can hardly be called a classic but it might make an okay movie experience if you still want more bee attacks after watching the much bigger budget - The Swarm (1978). -
BandSAboutMovies1 July 2022The Savage Bees was a big deal. I mean, Jeannie Devereaux (Gretchen Corbett) trapped in a VW Bug during Mardi Gras? Well, on December 26, 1978 CBS brought Jeannie back - now played by Tovah Feldshuh - put her in a love triangle with her boss David Martin (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) and her kinda sorta boyfriend Nick Willis (Dan Haggerty), then has a bunch of bad bees get in with the good bees and before you know it, a softball game and a marching band are the targets of the swarm.
With dialogue like "Oh my God! His mouth. It's full of bees!" and appearances by Lonny Chapman (Long John the tattoo artist in The Witch Who Came from the Sea), Ike Eisenmann from the Witch Mountain movies, Joe E. Tata before he owned the Peach Pit, Richard Herd (Schizoid), Charles Hallahan (The Thing) and Steve Franken (who also battles Ants! A year before), this is also the kind of movie with a National Bee Center ready to defend our country for the threat of killer bees.
You know, I read a review of this and the kid writing about it pish poshed the notion of killer bees. Well, I was there, every night when the news told us we were all going to get stung a thousand times and die. It's easy to laugh about without living that life. I did. Bees were all we talked about. Also: quicksand.
Director Lee H. Katzin also made the bizarre and wonderful movies The Phynx and What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice? He also directed Savages, World Gone Wild and the pilot of Samurai, a show that would have had Joe Penny fighting crime as a sword-wielding vigilante.
Writer Guerdon Trueblood was a great cause of the week movie guy. I mean, the same talent did The Savage Bees, Ants! And Tarantulas: The Deadly Cargo. He moved on to airplane movies (SST: Death Flight, Terror Out of the Sky) and also wrote Jaws 3-D and directed The Dandy Snatchers.
This being the 70s, the whole movie is more about a woman choosing between two horrible men than it is about bees. That said, there are some moments of fun, like the end when Zimbalist wears an anti-bee suit that is soon covered by millions of black and yellow striped monsters.
The Savage Bees was a big deal. I mean, Jeannie Devereaux (Gretchen Corbett) trapped in a VW Bug during Mardi Gras? Well, on December 26, 1978 CBS brought Jeannie back - now played by Tovah Feldshuh - put her in a love triangle with her boss David Martin (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) and her kinda sorta boyfriend Nick Willis (Dan Haggerty), then has a bunch of bad bees get in with the good bees and before you know it, a softball game and a marching band are the targets of the swarm.
With dialogue like "Oh my God! His mouth. It's full of bees!" and appearances by Lonny Chapman (Long John the tattoo artist in The Witch Who Came from the Sea), Ike Eisenmann from the Witch Mountain movies, Joe E. Tata before he owned the Peach Pit, Richard Herd (Schizoid), Charles Hallahan (The Thing) and Steve Franken (who also battles Ants! A year before), this is also the kind of movie with a National Bee Center ready to defend our country for the threat of killer bees.
You know, I read a review of this and the kid writing about it pish poshed the notion of killer bees. Well, I was there, every night when the news told us we were all going to get stung a thousand times and die. It's easy to laugh about without living that life. I did. Bees were all we talked about. Also: quicksand.
Director Lee H. Katzin also made the bizarre and wonderful movies The Phynx and What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice? He also directed Savages, World Gone Wild and the pilot of Samurai, a show that would have had Joe Penny fighting crime as a sword-wielding vigilante.
Writer Guerdon Trueblood was a great cause of the week movie guy. I mean, the same talent did The Savage Bees, Ants! And Tarantulas: The Deadly Cargo. He moved on to airplane movies (SST: Death Flight, Terror Out of the Sky) and also wrote Jaws 3-D and directed The Dandy Snatchers.
This being the 70s, the whole movie is more about a woman choosing between two horrible men than it is about bees. That said, there are some moments of fun, like the end when Zimbalist wears an anti-bee suit that is soon covered by millions of black and yellow striped monsters. -
The closeup of the dying man with a mouth full of bees as that oft quoted line is more gruesome than the line is campy, but the bee inventory line gave me a chuckle. There's definitely no inventory list for the beekeepers angry when the NBC (national bee commission) tries to take their hives away due to the presence of three new queens who breed the killer strain of the flower friendly insect. There have been some cast changes in this sequel to "The Savage Bees", but nobody added who was in the same year's "The Swarm".sliding.
Depending on tension rather than star cameos, this TV movie is scary for obvious reasons and other than a few funny moments of unintentional humor (mainly because of memories of the Irwin Allen disaster film of the sake year ending up a critically lambasted cult classic), this is the better of the bee's. The threat seems a lot more realistic and doesn't thrive on outlandish thrills, just basic human fear. Good performances by Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. And theatrical legend Tovah Feldshuh are other highlights, culminating with an attack at a little league baseball game where the teenagers prove to the heroes. -
call me crazy,but i enjoyed this movie.it won't win any awards or anything,but it is is entertaining and well paced.the acting is okay for this type of movie.it feels like a made for TV movie,but that's not necessarily a bad thing.from watching it,i got the impression it is a sequel,since they showed some flashbacks involving one of the main characters.i found out later that it is a sequel to "the Savage Bees".but it works well on its own,although i do plan on seeing the prequel sometime.if your looking for lots of tension and suspense,you won't find too much here,although there are one or two mildly suspenseful moments.i think the appeal of this movie is the likability of the characters.also it moves at a decent pace and isn't at all boring.i give "Terror Out of the Sky" 8/10
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cathy6418 September 2001In this sequel to The Savage Bee's we find that a new breed of killer bee's has been bread at a research lab for the study of bee's. Unfortunately 3 of the queen bee's have been sent out to bee keeper's before it was known they were of the deadly verity it is up to Jeannie Devereux and David Martin (Tovah Feldshuh, Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) to get them back before they are added to the hives and swarm. With the help of Jeannie's pilot boyfriend Nick (Dan Haggerty) two of the queens are found and destroyed but they didn't reach the third in time. The swarm attack a 4th of July celebration trapping Jeannie and a pack of boy scouts in a bus. Its up to Nick and Dave to save the day.
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GOWBTW-5STARreviewer27 July 2023In this sequel, there is another killer bees attack. It's a different location, and a different activity. There are 3 different deliveries of queen Bees. The deliveries have to be stopped. One was successful, but the others had suffered from delays. A college teacher and former student had worked together to prevent the chaos that had happened in New Orleans, years ago.
And the entomologist from the first film was plagued by the fear in New Orleans, had to face it when she was on the bus with boy scouts. And the lead scout was with her all the way. And the teacher had to get the bees away from the scouts and her.
Jeannie was played by two different actresses. The first one was blonde. In the sequel, it was a brunette. They are both good.
5 stars. -
azathothpwiggins9 September 2018TERROR OUT OF THE SKY is the sequel to THE SAVAGE BEES.
It begins with Jeannie Devereaux having a nightmare about the first film's absurd, football field finale. Somehow, Jeannie has magically transformed from Gretchen Corbett into Tovah Feldshuh!
Meanwhile, at the National Bee Center, killer bees have mixed in with regular honeybees with tragic results.
Enter Dr. David Martin (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.). Martin arrives at the NBC just in time for an unwary hive technician to do the bee-sting bugaloo! The problem is quickly contained. Unfortunately, a shipment of killer bees has already been shipped from the lab! Thankfully, Jeannie's boyfriend, Nick Willis (played by bearded mountain, Dan Haggerty) is a pilot, and can fly David and Jeannie to the problem area.
Too late!
The bees have been entrusted to a hillbilly, who runs them around in his pickup truck! Much time is spent on useless palaver between the main characters, leading up to the little league baseball game finale. Let the swarming doom commence!
Now, as preposterous as the ending was for the first film, this makes that one seem perfectly reasonable! After recruiting some boy scouts, Jeannie makes her last stand aboard a school bus, while an annoying marching band plays their last song! Ever! As glorious as this may sound, it results in one of the most tedious driving sequences ever filmed, followed by activity inside the bus that boggles the mind!
When Martin introduces his solution to the onslaught, credulity is stretched into string cheeeze! All while Grizzly Adams looks on.
WARNING: This movie contains imbecility so rarefied it could cause deep, cranial scarring!...