Bzzz! What’s the buzz on exploitation horror films? Released in 1973, Invasion of the Bee Girls is all about deadly women who are also strong, beautiful, and powerful. Complete with dark sunglasses, all natural boobs, and plenty of flipped-out 70’s hairdos, these women are not only mysterious and manipulative, but also sexually dominating and determined to kill. Once again, horror and science fiction movies portray women as a force to be reckoned with through the powerful art of seduction. So what’s so wrong with being brainy, beautiful, and evil? Well, nothing really, except for maybe the evil part. These Bee Girls obviously enjoy and crave sex, so what’s so wrong with that? For one, they’re always in charge of the situation. Two, they know what they want and they know how to get it. Three, they’re never made a fool of and never vulnerable. And most importantly, the Bee Girls have a strong and loyal sisterhood to each other. So is this really an exploitation film after all?

It all depends on how you look at it. It’s like the age-old porn debate. Anti-porn feminists believe that pornography is degrading to women, that porn turns women into sex objects, and is an expression of male culture through which women are exploited. The pro-sex feminists, however, defend a woman’s choice to participate in and enjoy pornography. They believe that whatever choice a woman makes about her body should have full legal protection and respect. Okay, so I admit, the amount of boobs freely shown in this film was a bit gratuitous, but if all the women in the film felt comfortable and liberated with their bodies, then what’s the big deal?

So here’s the plot. Men are literally dropping like flies in this small Californian town, and the cause of death has been coronary thrombosis...a clot in the ventricle of the heart formed by coagulation of the blood, due to extreme exhaustion. And how on Earth could these men have been this exhausted? You guessed it- from being fucked to death! The Bee Girls- half bee, half woman, and totally groovy- are responsible for these deaths, and are initiating more town women into bees every day!

To stop this sudden epidemic, the town calls a meeting to declare that everyone should partake in abstinence, at least until this case is cleared up. Being a small, somewhat hick-town, there is an obligatory fat redneck man who is outraged and causes a huge scene. Of course nobody seems to notice the unfamiliar, attractive brunette with the unusually large dark sunglasses sitting in the front row. The fat balding redneck who made offensive statements about screwing his “ol’ lady” later gets payback when the mysterious woman with the funky sunglasses kills him, and possibly enjoys doing so. Later that night, one of the older detectives on the case is at home with his wife and he looks at her like a piece of meat, remarking, “Abstinence isn’t going to be anything new around here,” as if to suggest a change. In turn, the wife replies, “Well if I were positive it was going to kill you, I’d do it.” Touché! The dialogue between the characters is so corny it’s almost funny.

The Bee Girl initiation involves stripping the woman down, pouring a cake frosting-like batter all over her body, especially making sure to rub it all over her boobs, and then putting her in a radioactive chamber where bees sting her body. When the woman comes out of the chamber, the Bee Girls strip the now-rubbery batter off of her body, and suddenly the woman is rejuvenated; light and fluffy hair, make-up, and the best part, a bigger set of...eyes! That’s right, bee eyes, big and black, are the final transformation in becoming a full-fledged Bee Girl, which means that you automatically CRAVE sex! Hmm...okay now the plot is starting to sound like the screenwriter wrote it with his other head.

While this is all good, messy fun, let me tell you about the absolutely disturbing part of the film that leaves me feeling puzzled and bothered- an attempted rape scene. Detective Neil Agar and his coworker Julie Zorn are working together to solve this case, and are driving down a dark alley for some unfathomable reason late one night. Zorn, played by 1968 Playboy Playmate of the Year Victoria Vetri, is dropped off at night and a gang attacks her, ripping open her shirt and pulling out her breasts. This scene has absolutely no place in the movie! None! I cannot stress that enough. Whatever happened to the strong, independent Bee Girls? Instead, Julie Zorn, who we later come to find out is pretty much the only mortal woman in the movie, is an intense juxtaposition to the Bee Girls; she is weak, vulnerable, and relies on men to save her from tricky situations. Just as one of the attackers is unzipping his pants, the funkadelic 70’s music is cued as Detective Agar rushes in to knock out the attackers in the knick of time.

Other notable actresses in this movie include Anitra Ford, who played the “Queen” Bee, Dr. Susan Harris. Ford was one of the original models on “The Price Is Right”, showing off all the psychedelic goods to college students and senior citizens alike. Gee, Bob Barker sure has been around a long time! It’s almost like he’s immortal. But maybe that is another science fiction film in itself...

Back to The Bee Girls, you may be asking yourself what bees have to do with SEX. Nope, I’m not talking about the birds and the bees; instead, I’m trying my best to explain this ridiculous script and how the transformation of women to bees makes them such nymphomaniacs. By watching an educational children’s movie on bees, the detectives learn that many queen bees are developed until one can remain fertile. Examples of the female killing the male are numerous in the insect world. Well that seems to solve the case. Isn’t that how all real detectives solve cases- by watching movies? The radiation the women underwent in the bee initiation caused them to be sterile, which in turn caused them to repeat the mating cycle forever. In the end, just as Julie is about to be initiated into the Bee Girls, Detective Agar has to rush in and spoil all the fun, carrying her naked body over his shoulders and shooting his gun at one of Dr. Susan Harris’ radioactive laser beams, in turn, destroying the Bee Girl laboratory forever.

Favorite Movie Quote: “You know what I’ve always hoped? That when my time comes, there’ll be a few seconds of ecstasy, and then- oblivion. Just think about it boys; coming and going at the same time!” –Herb Kline

Random Car Chase Scene: This is a scene not to be missed! I’m still quite confused with it, I don’t know who was driving the car or why, but if you’re into cheesy 70’s car chases with accompanying spy music, you will dig this scene, regardless of if it makes sense or not.

Most 70’s Love Scene: A woman wearing nothing but white vinyl Go-Go boots pulls up on her motor scooter and rolls in the fields of endless daisies with another random naked man until he, too, drops dead.

Sci-Fi Flick Must-Have: Rooms with bookshelves that turn into secret hidden doors! I kid you not! Detective Agar is investigating a murder scene when he discovers a hidden sex lair behind the bookshelf, complete with lava lamps and shag carpets.

The Final Thought: The acting is noticeably bad, the special effects are humorously amateur, and even the script and the dialogue has tons of dramatic holes in it.

But, referring back to my Bible movie, Ghost World, Rebecca’s comment can be applied: "This is so bad it’s almost good." Then again, Enid may be right: 'This is so bad it’s gone past good and back to bad again."

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