Locusts: The 8th Plague

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Locusts: The 8th Plague is a 2005 natural horror film directed by Ian Gilmour and starring Dan Cortese, Julie Benz and David Keith. The film is about a group of scientists who have to stop a swarm of flesh eating locusts that escape from a secret genetics laboratory in Idaho.

[edit] Plot

The film starts in a genetics laboratory 15 miles outside Prarie, Idaho. Inside the laboratory, Gary Fallander (David Keith) and Russ Snow (Jeff Fahey) have made a completely new species of locust that is genetically engineered to eat insects that destroy crops. In the main room in the crop dome, Russ releases the locusts into a crop field filled with insects for one minute, luring them back into the main holding pen using a strong pheromone lure. One of the main vents jams midway through the process and Gary sends one of the Silogen workers into the tunnel system. The worker finds that the vent is stuck in the open position and after scanning the holding pen, the locusts attack the worker and he is killed within a few seconds. The locusts then escape from the Silogen Research Facility through the open vent.

Meanwhile, on a small farm near Prarie, Colt Anderson (Dan Cortese) is producing a new kind of organic pesticide which he introduces to his friends, Bill and his wife Agatha. Colt leaves the farm to check his pesticide and Bill starts his husker blade to harvest the corn. The blade suddenly jams, Bill gets out to investigate and discovers the remains of a bull that has been almost completely eaten. He radios Agatha and tells her about the bull. Agatha hears something in the corn and discovers the remains of her son, Mike. Grief-stricken, she starts to panic. Bill heads towards his truck and discovers that it is covered in locusts which attack and kill him. Agatha runs through the field and is also attacked and killed by the locusts. Colt arrives on the scene and finds the dead body of a locust. He runs to the medical hospital where his girlfriend, Vicky (Julie Benz), works as a veterinarian. Vicky and Colt then hear reports of cows and farm animals dying in the same way as the bull on Bill's farm. Vicky and Colt examine the remains of a dead cow and find a locust in it.

Meanwhile in Prarie, a family having a picnic is attacked by the locusts and their son is the only survivor. A police officer takes him to a hospital. Colt examines a dead locust that was on the car that the police officer used to bring in the child and discovers that it is a juvenile. Vicky tries to tell him that the locusts were all drones but the examination proves that the locusts are breeding.

Colt, Vicky, Greg (Kirk B.R Woller) and a group of men find the locusts' nest and the men spray pesticides to kill the larvae and locusts. This irritates the locusts and they attack the group. Colt, Vicky and Greg are the only survivors. This leads Colt to wonder why they were not attacked. Back at the headquarters of the USDA, Greg decides that the only option they have is to spray the locusts with UD-66, the most dangerous chemical weapon on the planet. Vicky tells Greg to issue the order despite Colt telling her that if they spray it, plants will not grow back for 10 years.

Meanwhile, the swarm of locusts attacks an amusement park off the major highway. Hundreds of people at the amusement park are eaten alive by the locusts. Back at the laboratory, Colt (who had taken sample larvae from the nest) examines the locust larva to try and figure out why they didn't attack Vicky,he then tries on some live adult locusts and discovers that chemical pesticides attract them. Greg then gathers a large amount of livestock in a field and the locusts arrive. He orders a helicopter to drop the pesticide which had been changed to UD-45. Despite Colt trying to get to the field to tell Greg and Vicky what he has discovered, the helicopter drops the pesticide and the pilots are attacked by the swarm, destroying the helicoptor. Colt then decides to use the organic pesticide he developed on the locust swarm which has now attacked the town of Prarie. Colt flies over the city and drops the pesticide and the swarm of locusts dies instantly. But before they can celebrate, two larger swarms appear over the city and this time, Vicky's father, Russ, decides to lure the locusts into the crop dome using the pheromone lure. The pheromone works and the locusts fly into the crop dome. Russ then sacrifices his life by going into the dome and programming it to self-destruct. The crop dome explodes, killing all of the locusts.