The Terrifying Thriller That Has Netflix Fans Watching Through Their Fingers

There's a fresh international thriller making a real splash on Netflix. The newly immigrated film comes from France, where it's called "La Nuée." It currently holds the sixth spot on Netflix's daily Top 10 movies chart in America. The terrifying insect-driven eco-horror drama has viewers deeply disturbed in the best way.

From director Just Philippot's, the film tells the story of Virginie Hébrard (Suliane Brahim), a single mother in rural France struggling to keep it together and provide for her two children after the death of her husband. She raises locusts for protein, but she can't get them to reproduce fast enough in order to sell them in large enough qualities to make decent money. Her daughter Laura (Marie Narbonne) is embarrassed that her mother is known as the lady who wants people to eat bugs, so things are not going well for the Hébrard family — until Virginie realizes that the locusts really, really like human blood, and when they eat it, they grow bigger and lay eggs at a very rapid rate. 

Unfortunately, that means Virginie has to keep feeding them blood in ever-increasing quantities, which she gets from animals she steals, and from her own body. In the U.S., it's called "The Swarm," and it's a grounded and serious-minded story of financial desperation and mental obsession.

Netflix subscribers on social media have a lot to say about the unsettling movie. "THE SWARM ON NETFLIX GOT ME TRAUMATIZED" tweeted @hairsdior. 

"The swarm on netflix made me never want to go near a grasshopper ever again," tweeted @pineapplesmh.

"Netflix's The Swarm made my skin itch," tweeted @RossTMiller. "Like, I was actually scratching my arms throughout." Fair warning: Don't watch this movie if you're afraid of bugs.

"2021s 'The Swarm' is one of best ecological horrors since 'The Bay' – and it's on Netflix. A slow burn about the dangers of reckless farming practices on the environment...and a nasty as hell 'Killer Bugs' creature feature," reviewed @Inframeout.

@robjimz shared a thought many people who watched the movie probably had, about the film's decided lack of camp. "Just watched The Swarm on @netflix and it wasn't what I expected but in a good way!" he tweeted. "I thought a movie about bloodthirsty locusts was going to be real goofy but it was pleasantly serious and dramatic."

"The Swarm" is a social drama wrapped in a horror movie. If you're in the mood to watch something that's equal parts thought-provoking and chilling, check it out. It's the most disturbing depiction of grasshoppers since "A Bug's Life."