Swarm
Our interconnected world of social media, 24/7 news & celebrity gossip is stingingly explored in Swarm, the latest horror-satire series to arrive on Prime Video. Created by Donald Glover & Janine Nabers Swarm sees the viewer introduced to Dre (Dominique Fishback), a music fan who is obsessed with pop superstar Ni'Jah - a character inspired by real-life megastar Beyoncé, although this is never explicitly stated it is obvious.
In the opening 3 episodes, we witness how Dre's obsession with Ni'Jah, a series of tragedies & social ostracism quickly sends Dre into a deadly spiral. Dre quickly goes from an overly obsessed fan to a sadistic killer out for vengeance on anybody who disparages her favourite musician.
Each episode begins with a slate stating, "This is not a work of fiction. Any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events, is intentional." This is done to indicate to the viewer that each episode of Dre's murder spree has been inspired by real celebrity obsession news stories or internet rumours of such. Developing stories in this manner whilst also incorporating inspiration from real-life celebrities & using a Jordan Peele-sequel style Swarm is deeply disturbing.
The Jordan Peele elements include quick subliminal flashes & the hum of bees when Dre's obsessive nature begins to take control of her. In these moments Fishback's performance is outstanding as she gives Dre a maniacal, menacing demeanour without becoming a caricature.
Swarm may be a little too out there for some viewers & the consistency in episode quality isn't quite there in the opening 3 episodes of the 7 episode series. Episode 2 however is far & away the most compelling of the opening episodes & we highly recommend sticking through until at least that episode before passing judgment if you plan to jump in right away.
Unfortunately, at the time of writing, we haven't been able to watch the full season yet to fully pass judgment. So for now we can't recommend this show too highly & suggest holding off to see if audience reactions to the completed story suggest otherwise.
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