Locusts 2005

At a USDA lab inside the Virginia Institute of Agriculture, Gina, [Amanda Baker], accompanied by her boyfriend Willy, [Drew Seeley], enters a sealed glass room full of Australian plague locusts to feed them. Willy balks at entering the space, so Gina bravely steps inside with a ficus tree, joking that they’re “grasshoppers, not tarantulas,” and asks Willy to seal the outer door behind her. The swarm surprises them, but they manage to escape with their lives, shaken by what they’ve witnessed. > grasshoppers, not tarantulas

In Georgetown, Washington, D.C., Maddy Rierdon, [Lucy Lawless], and her partner Dan Dryer, [Dylan Neal], begin a quiet morning until a call from Vivian, [Esperanza Catubig], disrupts their plans. Vivian informs Maddy that a VIA lab has been flagged by the GAO. Maddy heads into the lab, where she reunites with Peter Axelrod, [John Heard], a former professor who now reports to her at the USDA. Peter takes Maddy to Lab C-12, the very room Gina and Willy fled from, and extracts a single locust for examination. He reveals the insects are not ordinary locusts; they are hybrids—crossed with the desert locust and engineered to resist pesticides and reproduce at an alarming rate. The moment is chilling, and Maddy, horrified, argues that this is a bioweapon and orders its extermination. Scientists in protective suits spray the room with chemicals and flames to kill all the locusts, saving only a handful that are placed into a tube labeled “biohazard.”

A crisis sprouts when the extermination is botched: the jar containing the remaining locusts is dropped in a sink, allowing several to escape. The technicians flee as the insects slip away unseen, and, over the coming hours, the problem expands far beyond the lab. The same locusts are then carried aboard a military plane from Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland toward Beale Air Force Base in California, but chaos follows when an insect-struck case is dropped and later crushed by an army truck, releasing the remaining four insects into the air.

One month later, Maddy discovers she is pregnant, a revelation she tries to share with Dan, who is away at the United Nations when she calls. In California, a couple camping by the American River awaken to find their tent filled with locusts, and soon after, a massive swarm descends on the Napa Valley, devastating crops and vegetation. Maddy, traveling with the USDA’s Voracious Insect Mobile Research Lab, tracks the swarms and realizes they are moving toward populated areas.

Meanwhile, in Leesburg, Virginia, Peter—now reunited with his wife Terry, [Caroline McKinley], and their daughter Sofia, [Jenna Hildebrand]—begins to sense the threat. The buzzing becomes audible to Peter, who spots the swarms approaching after a moment of tension with his family. The locusts descend on a school bus, biting and stunning the children before the bus can be evacuated. In Napa, the locusts strip every shrub and tree bare, leaving a barren landscape in their wake.

Back in Washington, D.C., Dan tracks the alert on his computer as a formal “locust infestation advisory” is issued. Maddy and her team coordinate with Vivian to locate Peter, who is being held at Fort Douglas as a potential bioweapons suspect. In Visalia, California—far from the initial outbreaks—the locusts target a citrus festival, forcing evacuation as the swarms close in. Peter tries to help, but Maddy insists that he stay away from the spreading nightmare.

As the swarms push toward Pittsburgh, the Weather Service confirms the moving pattern and provides forecasts that help Maddy anticipate the next strike. The nation braces for impact as the two swarms—theVirginia group and the one that hit California—reach a critical stage, threatening major cities and critical infrastructure.

In Pittsburgh, the locusts enter office buildings through air vents, causing chaos as a cargo plane near the airport encounters the swarm and crashes. The public learns that the swarms are connected to Peter, a revelation that leads to his arrest by the FBI. In Washington, a high-stakes DHS meeting convenes a plan: some officials want to deploy a toxic VX nerve agent to exterminate the insects, while Maddy and her allies push for a safer, nonlethal alternative. The meeting features General Miller, [Gregory Alan Williams], Secretary Morales, [Mike Gomez], Senator Clauson, [Margaret Lawhon], Director Rusk, [Mark Costello], and Lorelei Wentworth, [Natalija Nogulich], who is a key voice for the Department of Energy. Dan, who has become a close ally, supports an alternative approach.

Peter finally reveals the truth to Maddy: the locusts are his creation. The team travels to Fort Douglas to confront him, and Peter explains the extent of the bioweapon’s power, its resilience, and the terrible potential of using VX as a weapon. Maddy is incensed but recognizes the complexity of the situation. They depart, with Miller’s team calculating the bomb’s potential consequences while the public grows increasingly anxious.

With the threat escalating, Lyle, Maddy’s father—their family farm in Indiana—becomes a focal point of the plan to survive and counter the insects. Dan and Maddy travel to Indiana to shield Lyle and his cattle in a grain silo, where they hope to use a homemade electrical approach to kill the locusts. They discover that the electric fly traps around the silo can be turned into a weapon by arcing a powerful current through the silo’s metal shell, provided they can secure fuel for the generator on the far side of the farm. Peter volunteers to fetch the fuel, ultimately becoming a casualty of the swarm’s ferocity as he returns damaged and gravely injured. He dies after helping Maddy and Dan.

Armed with new knowledge from Peter, Dan and Maddy race back to Washington to intervene before the VX plan can be executed again. The DHS debate intensifies as the government contemplates using the nerve gas against both swarms or devising an electricity-based solution to protect the population. Lorelei Wentworth clarifies that a massive, controlled electric surge could be routed through the national grid to create an amplified field large enough to deter the locusts, if power can be reallocated from surrounding areas.

Maddy and Dan implement the electric strategy. They work with Wentworth to switch off large portions of the electricity grid and route the power to two major corridors, while weather balloons are deployed to lure the swarms toward the lines. The next dawn witnesses the dramatic test: the swarms are drawn to the enhanced electric field, drawn into the overloaded cables, and—despite near-misses and intense risk—the swarms are incinerated by the extraordinary surge. The plan works, and the locust threat is contained without resorting to mass civilian casualties.

In the aftermath, Maddy and Dan are celebrated for averting catastrophe, though Secretary Morales warns General Miller that his job may be in jeopardy for contemplating chemical warfare on the American people. The film closes with a hopeful note: nearly a year later, Maddy and Dan have a child together and weigh the choice between continuing their crucial work or embracing family life, ultimately choosing to prioritize their family while continuing to serve the public.

Note: Throughout the narrative, key figures appear with linked actor references at their initial appearance: Maddy Rierdon, [Lucy Lawless]; Peter Axelrod, [John Heard]; Gina, [Amanda Baker]; Willy, [Drew Seeley]; Dan Dryer, [Dylan Neal]; Sofia Axelrod, [Jenna Hildebrand]; Terry Axelrod, [Caroline McKinley]; General Miller, [Gregory Alan Williams]; Secretary Morales, [Mike Gomez]; Director Rusk, [Mark Costello]; Lorelei Wentworth, [Natalija Nogulich]; Senator Clauston, [Margaret Lawhon]; Lyle Rierden, [Mike Farrell]; Vivian, [Esperanza Catubig].