One recurring theme of Netflix’s 2021 so far has been foreign-language original movies from all over the world making a serious dent on the global most-watched list, which is a sign of the platform’s unstoppable international expansion and desire for fresh content from as many countries as possible.
Since the beginning of January we’ve seen France’s Sentinelle, Oxygen and The Last Mercenary, South Korean sci-fi Space Sweepers, Sweden’s Red Dot, Spain’s Below Zero and Xtreme and Germany’s Blood Red Sky all post a strong showing, and the one thing they’ve all got in common is that each is a high concept genre film.
The latest is another smash hit from France, with The Swarm rocketing up the charts to become the sixth most popular title on Netflix, despite only premiering yesterday without much fanfare. The streamer purchased the rights to Just Philippot’s thriller back in March, probably because the boardroom knows fine well that their customer base loves nothing more than some wild B-tier madness, something that’s definitely provided in spades.
Looking for a way to provide a sustainable food source, a single mother begins breeding locusts for their high protein value, slowly developing a bizarre and obsessive relationship with her new insect friends, before eventually discovering that they have a taste for blood. If that sounds right up your street, then The Swarm is for you.
It’s not poised to win any awards, but reviews have been pretty strong across the board for The Swarm, which gained some online buzz earlier this year when people found out how bonkers the premise was, and it looks to have delivered on that potential and then some now it’s streaming on Netflix.