Locusts: The 8th Plague

Locusts: The 8th Plague is a horror movie from the year 2005 about killer locusts attacking a town in Idaho.

The story involves a company trying to genetically engineer carnivorous locusts that would eat other insects instead of crops. But of course (given the genre) they create bugs that eat everything with flesh instead, and of course they accidentally escape and begin attacking people.

A local entomologist, his veterinarian love interest, and a special government agent try to find a way to kill the swarm, while the people responsible for the disaster try to destroy the evidence against them.

The title is a reference to the eight plague brought by God on the Egyptians as mentioned in The Bible, though the movie itself has nothing to do with that (other than the inclusion of a doomsayer character who keeps quoting the bible.)


 * Attack of the Killer Whatever: Locusts that eat people (in seconds, too.) Note that the fact real locusts are a menace because they can cause famines (by eating crops overnight) is mentioned in the film.
 * Did Not Do the Research/Viewers are Morons: The mutated locusts are somehow immune to ALL pesticides, never mind their chemical composition, except organic ones. How does that work?
 * Eye Scream
 * False Ending: Yay, the organic pesticide killed the swarm!! ...Oops, there's another one?
 * Genetic Engineering Is the New Nuke
 * Hoist by His Own Petard: The really corrupt executive tries to escape town before being arrested, but of course runs into the swarm.
 * Hollywood Nerd
 * Infant Immortality: Applied in a horrible way: a kid survives the swarm inside a car, but gets to watch his parents get eaten alive. It leaves him catatonic.
 * Plague of Locusts: It's right there in the title, in case you hadn't noticed.
 * Police Are Useless: Both applied and subverted: The authorities are actually competent and well-equipped, it's just that the bugs turned out to be much tougher than expected. More importantly, the agent in charge actually listens to the heroes.
 * Redemption Equals Death: One of the executives responsible for the experiment (who also happens to be the father of the veterinarian) dies killing the swarm (with a bomb.)
 * Strictly Formula: Like in most monster movies: the menace is created by human greed and carelessness; only a few people are killed at first and then a full carnage begins; normal weapons don't work against them; the Hollywood Nerds are the only ones who can stop it; the people responsible are killed by their own creation; and of course the ending suggests the bugs might have survived. Somewhat less usual but still part of the genre: see False Ending and Redemption Equals Death. The only real subversion is with Police Are Useless.
 * Tempting Fate: The local religious fanatic who kept warning about The Apocalypse and how he would be spared because of his faith? Yeah he dies.
 * There Is No Kill Like Overkill: The army wants to use its most powerful chemical weapons on the swarm, never mind they would also poison the local area forever.