Nature is a tricky bitch, especially when it comes to disaster films. Between classics like Arachnophobia and Tremors, to modern-day marvels such as the infamous Sharknado, the unseen villain that is Mother Nature is one of cinema’s most successful assailants. When she opts to bring one of her many creatures along for the ride, though, the ride gets wilder, for better or for worse. Milko Davis’ Tsunambee looks positively ridiculous on paper, and indeed it is. But it is a fun ride, and a surprisingly coherent one at that.
The end times have come, and several groups of survivors in a desolate Los Angeles come together to help their odds of seeing this nightmare through. As the situation gets bleaker, a new danger rises: swarms of killer bees set to destroy anyone in their way. Can the remaining wanderers keep themselves together and mind their own beeswax? Or will the impending apocalypse prove to be too much for the hive mind?
On the surface, Tsunambee is an end-of-the-world disaster movie of preposterous proportions. Even still, it manages to bring in messages of police brutality and religion in a way that doesn’t feel completely forced. The script is passable, if flawed, and the delivery on the part of the actors is serviceable. This isn’t a master class in script writing, but for an indie joint from Wild Eye Releasing, it’s not all bad.
Where I think the film tries to be too much is when the victims of the titular bees come back as zombies. Perhaps this is an effort to push the us vs. them narrative that is a symptom of the aforementioned theme of police brutality, but even then, it seems forced. It’s a case of "Oh, by the way, this" that hinders the narrative, even if my inference is correct. It seemed like an afterthought, and if that’s a main feature of your creature, that’s not something that should be left in the fine print.
For “not another disaster movie/creature feature crossover #78,” Tsunambee was a fun time. At roughly 80 minutes, it doesn’t overstay its welcome, and doesn’t feel long in the tooth at any point, either. If you can suspend your disbelief and let yourself go for a little bit, Tsunambee is worth a watch.
Tsunambee is now available on DVD from Wild Eye Releasing.
