Bug Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES
First they send in their drone... then they find their queen.
paranoia is contagious
Having escaped her abusive ex-husband Goss, recently released from state prison, Agnes, a lonely waitress with a tragic past moves into a sleazy, rundown motel and her lesbian co-worker R.C. introduces her to Peter, a peculiar, paranoiac drifter and they begin a tentative romance. However, things don't always seem as they appear and Agnes is about to experience a claustrophobic nightmare reality as the bugs begin to arrive...
| Ashley Judd | Agnes White |
| Michael Shannon | Peter Evans |
| Harry Connick Jr. | Jerry Goss |
| Lynn Collins | R.C. |
| Brian F. O'Byrne | Dr. Sweet |
| Neil Bergeron | Man in Grocery Store |
| Bob Neill | Pizza Harris |
| William Friedkin |
6.00 out of 10 (11423 votes)
Visitor Reviews
Worst movie ever
posted on 24 Aug 2009POSSIBLE SPOILER Worst movie I have seen in ages! First of all, THERE ARE NO BUGS. Every description of this movie I read mentioned these bugs, but this is just a movie about a crazy man and a stupid woman. One can only hope there isn't really anyone that stupid on this planet. There was no point to this movie, there was nothing gained, no entertainment and no satisfaction. They threw in some lesbianism and a lot of nakedness to try to sell the movie because there is no real plot. Just a crazy man who easily convinces a borderline mentally handicapped woman that bugs are out to get them. I am sorry I wasted two hours and twenty dollars on it.
A truly beautiful and moving romantic black comedy
posted on 20 Aug 2009Agnes is a distraught and terrified woman. Her son has disappeared, her deranged husband has been released from jail, and she has a cocaine addiction. One day, while working at a waitress at a gay bar, she is introduced to Peter. Peter is a paranoid wreck as well, dangerously paranoid about the government as well as being a casual user of Methamphetamine. Peter and Agnes shack up and start having a rather loving and hot affair. Despite the constant phone calls and the relentless home invasions by Agnes's husband, the two become inseparable. Unfortunately, their enjoyment doesn't last long when it is discovered that there is a bug infestation.This is, perhaps, my favorite William Friedkin film. William Friedkin has made some of the most challenging and thought-provoking films of mainstream cinema. BUG is perhaps his most challenging, and that is very surprising coming from the same man who directed such films as RULES OF ENGAGEMENT and CRUISING. What makes BUG so strong a film is that, unlike most other Hollywood films, the film doesn't rush. It takes it's time in developing a real mood and a real sense of understanding and sympathy for the characters. It allows the feelings that the characters have for each other speak for themselves, rather than suck us in with superficial details and tricks with sappy music and false emotion. The film stays grounded in it's original sense of characterization and it doesn't bother to try and hype up or play on with anything. The result is a film that is uncommonly effective and straight-forward.BUG is perhaps one of the best romantic black comedies to come out in the last twenty years. While it may not have the look and feel of a 90s Julia Roberts or Meg Ryan film, it has the same emotional and humorous qualities. Sure, there are moments of horror at a few intervals, but they don't take away from the loving aspect. The love scenes are not sugarcoated, nor are they kept behind closed doors. These characters are real and they exist and their love is genuine. Ashley Judd and Michael Shannon have EXCELLENT chemistry and I really was deeply touched by the way their characters interacted. Their gradual developments are so personal that the ending scenes of the film come off a lot more moving because of it.What surprises me the most about this film is what it could have been rather than what it is. It could have been a shocking, horrific, and sick film about two mentally diseased drug addicts who go berserk and look like complete freaks like something out of an early Tobe Hooper film, but William Friedkin doesn't take the easy way out. You get the sense that he adores his characters and you can tell that he cares about them immensely. He allows the chemistry of the characters to grow and develop and he edits the film in such a seamless and simple way that you only feel warmth rather than horror. While there are a couple of disturbing scenes, the sense of love shines a lot more. This isn't a horror film. There aren't any jump scares or goofiness. There is hardly any blood and gore. This film is much more powerful than you would expect.I think the reason why a lot of people hate this film is because they were expecting a gross out horror film. Those people need to understand that William Friedkin is known for being the creator of a lot more films besides THE EXORCIST. People need to realize that this film is a love story based on a play that I heard was equally beautiful and touching. BUG is a terrific film and I highly recommend it to people who are especially interested in seeing a side of life that we normally never see.
Laborious movie
posted on 16 Aug 2009I wasn't very enthusiastic when I rented Bug. Just curious about Friedkin and Judd. I read here a few good critics about this movie before watching it but my expectations were still low. I was right. That movie bored me as hell. One location, a few characters, lots of endless talks and sequences. You know? One of those laborious experimental movies. There are dangers when you put a play on screen. That kind of movie can be interesting to watch if you can find in it a certain credibility. But when crazy Peter says to Agnes ''You see that bug?'', it's clear that she doesn't see anything on the tip of his finger or on her bed! Come on girl! Kick that psycho out of your place right now! Call the police!! I found her so idiot from that moment that I've never been able to get involved in that movie. Zero credibility.But the claustrophobic atmosphere worked on me. I wanted to get out of there so badly that I used the fast forward a few times to end my agony! If you are fascinated by how two people can share a psychotic delusion, you will like this movie, maybe you will be thrilled. I wasn't at all. Alfred Hitchcock's Rope thrilled me even if it was also a movie inspired from a play with one location, lots of talks, long sequences, etc...Bug just irritated me and will stay for a very ephemeral time in my memory.
Claustrophobic Paranoia
posted on 12 Aug 2009The loser and lonely waitress Agnes (Ashley Judd) lives in a cheap motel in Okalahoma grieving the disappearance of her beloved son Lloyd ten years ago. Her abusive ex-husband Jerry Goss (Harry Connick Jr.) has just left prison on probation and is insistently calling her. When her colleague and only friend, the lesbian RC (Lynn Collins), brings her drifter acquaintance Peter Evans (Michael Shannon) to visit her, they have an affair and Peter stays with Agnes in her room. Peter finds bugs in their bed, and discloses to Agnes that he was a soldier in the Gulf War submitted to experiments by the army and presently he is infested with bugs. Agnes feels the same symptoms and the couple believes in Peter's conspiracy theory of the American government."Bug" is a weird low-budget movie, set practically in one location, about paranoia and schizophrenia. The unpleasant story is very well acted, and Ashley Judd surprised me with a great interpretation of a lonely woman with a tragedy behind that feels attracted by a gentle man with delusional paranoia and schizophrenia tendency brilliantly performed by Michael Shannon. This movie is not bad, but it is absolutely predictable; I was disappointed since I expected a surprising twist in the end that never happens. My vote is six.Title (Brazil): "Possuídos" ("Possessed")
Like Watching Paint Ddry
posted on 23 Jul 2009Its not that I didn't like the movie. For a little character drama its decent. I don't like how it was billed as a horror movie and that it will leave audiences guessing and all that. I've seen quite a few movies that creep along slowly for the first hour or so but the buildup leads to some really good sh*t.....This movie just builds up to nothing. There's not even any slight semblance of a payoff at the end.....But at least once the credits start rolling all of the sudden you know its over and you can go smoke. I did enjoy the subtle dark humor though. It was this or Hostel 2 at the $2 Super Saver Cinema.....Im not too geeked about the Hostels but we had a 50/50 choice and we blew it with this movie. There's so much more they could have done. They got a hard R but its mostly for nudity I figure. They could have went all out with his paranoia and had him just butchering himself like the guy in Hellraiser 2 that thinks there's bugs all over him. I was expecting to see this guy just slicing and digging himself to shreds. When the "doctor" comes to the room looking for Peter with the womans ex he tells the ex to go wait outside. Then they're talking for forever and Peter kills the guy. The guy thats supposed to be waiting outside never comes back in to see whats going on or anything. After seeing the entire place covered in foil hes not even curious. and if this really is a doctor coming after a very dangerous patient wouldn't he come with some police or with some Army backup if Peter is really escaped from an Army hospital. Its a quite poorly put together film.....It feels very rushed and not very well thought out. If you want a nice dark movie about a crazy guy go get American Psycho or even Falling Down
Weird and just dumb
posted on 21 Jul 2009OK I thought this movie would be pretty decent since it was made from the director of The Exorcist and it starred Ashley Judd, but this movie just plain sucked. It was really boring at first and even when it started getting into the disturbing details, it was really dumb because none of the horror that the characters go through in this movie is believable. Bugs under their skin that no one but them can see, I think they call those psychological delusions. They were obviously just paranoid and believing what they were wanting to believe because of all of the cocaine they had snorted. But anyways I give this a 2 out of 10 because it was really bad and in no way was it a good movie at all. I would not recommend this movie to any movie fans, especially fans of the horror genre like me. Trust me on this, avoid at all costs because if not you will want your money back.
Horrible
posted on 11 Jul 2009Bug is the worst movie I have ever seen. Everyone in the theater (and there weren't many) made bad comments after the movie. Ashley Judd has hit rock bottom in being attached to this movie. Stay far away from this movie. The time lines of the plot did not flow well, as many days were skipped without notice, and the plot didn't make sense as to where people were located in response to what was going on. I felt truly ripped off in paying to see this movie. This movie would not be worth the price of admission if it was a free screening. Luckily this movie was less than 2 hours and I was grateful when the final credits began rolling.
Methamphetamine User Psychosis
posted on 09 Jul 2009This movie is a display of what people in deep Methamphetamine trouble are doing. A true play of human behavior. If you've ever wanted to see what the neighbors are doing inside that blacked out house that people don't emerge from for days and even the pizza delivery guy has never actually seen this is the way to view it. Or go out and buy some ice of your own.I can only imagine why this is presented as a horror/ drama and not a druggie flic, i suppose distribution might have been seen as enhanced this way or that the producers did'nt want to invite the controversy or they didn't realize what the script was about.Oh and i should say this is a very nicely acted piece, there should have been some awards. no cheese in this beauty, almost watched straight through without thinking of a break. life is good !
You'll be sorry if you stick it out to the end
posted on 05 Jul 2009You keep thinking that this incredibly slow movie will pick up, that there will be some twist, anything to justify why you are still watching. Finally, you see the third or fourth oblique reference to the fact that there is an unending supply of white powder they are smoking out of a glass bong and you say, "Oh, it's about meth heads." That's all it is. Two already-crazy people hole up in a motel, and smoke crystal meth for a week straight until they mutilate themselves, scratching at imaginary bugs.At this point, you just can't wait for it to end, but it keeps getting worse for another 20 minutes. If you are watching on DVD you WILL start fast-forwarding. Then after you see the ending in fast-forward, you'll think you missed something and you'll go back trying to find it. But you didn't miss anything. The pieces needed to make it all make sense aren't there. Even knowing that most if it is delusion, there is no sensible explanation of what really happened. Why was the violent ex-husband able to see the bugs at the beginning, unless it's all delusion from frame one? Forget it. Don't even try. It's really not worth it.
Worst movie I've seen in years
posted on 01 Jul 2009First, I have to say I can't believe I even sat through this film. With an actress like Ashley Judd starring, I really expected much more, Not to say the acting is bad, it is actually fine, its the plot that is lacking. It just goes nowhere. Not even a moral to the story, nothing. This movie attempts to build up to some intense enigma of evil, but then half way through devolves to some poor physiological paranoia of terror, related to drugs and it just starts to drag. I can't believe it has gotten as high a rating as it has. I mean it starts out looking like a really decent movie, and ends up looking like a low-budget thriller, without the thrills, that will leave you wanting to feel the void with something that delivers. Big disappointment, don't waste your time.
Bug....Ugh!
posted on 01 Jul 2009This movie was undoubtedly one of the worst movies I have ever seen. The story line is so unbelievable that not only I, but the people in my party were all laughing at parts of the movie that were intended to be serious. I was very worried when we went into the theater and only two other people came in. Their evaluation of the movie was the same as ours. This movie is an insult to the intelligence of the movie patron. The best use of the gas in the gasoline can would have been to burn the movie BEFORE it was ever released. Instead of paying to see it, the producers of this trash should be paying the viewing public for wasting their time. Very disappointing that Judd and Connick would be a part of such an endeavor.
The most brilliant piece of trash in a long time
posted on 01 Jul 2009I was half excited going into this movie, partly because of the 5 min sneak preview of Hostel 2. When I saw the trailer my immediate thought was that it was going to be a scary movie about Meth users and their scary experience. I love Ashley Judd and I think she's a excellent actress. I am surprised she picked up such a poor project.About 45 minutes into the movie nothing was happening. I don't even think bugs were mentioned at this point. The performances thus far from Michael Shannon and Harry Connick Jr were a laughable prediction for the rest of the film.I must admit, I can not comment on the ENTIRE film because I had to leave it was so bad. I followed suit. A few other people up and left as well, I wish I had left when they did instead of sitting there for 20 more minutes.I really feel they should have marketed this film to be a psychological thriller as opposed to a general thriller because as it turns out, the bugs are a form of delusion brought on by Michael Shannon's character who turns out to be a paranoid schizophrenic. Again, i do not know how the film ends but i left at the point the paranoid schizophrenia was mentioned.Ashley Judd did portray a wide range of acting skills in this movie. i'm not quite sure why Harry Connick Jr was in the movie, up to the point where i left, his character was nothing more than a pointless side story to show an abusive element. Michael Shannon's character, to me, served only as a comedy relief. Unintentional of course, however, he did well when it comes to bad acting. He sure hit that on the nail.I wish I could get back the hour of my life that I wasted watching this movie. I also wish i could get my $8 back.Please, if you have any sense of what a good movie is, don't go see this movie, it will only infuriate you.
Nut finds his significant other.
posted on 19 Jun 2009I didn't like this movie too much -not because it's necessarily a bad movie- it just wasn't to my taste. Basically, a delusional guy meets a woman and maybe because he's different from what she's used to she becomes attracted to him. What she's used to is her old boyfriend bossing her and knocking her around. But what she doesn't realize is that she's jumping from the pan into the fire -as the saying goes- with this new guy.This brings us to one of the reasons I personally didn't like this movie: I did not like the men in the movie.Brutalized by one guy and unwittingly seduced by the other. This movie is a kind of "fatal attraction" and "fatal meeting" movie. Two people who should never have met for their own good meet and crap happens. Who knows? Maybe everyone has an attractive person out there that we should never meet for the good of all. A scary thought, isn't it? And the thing is, you don't know immediately, but later on, when it's too late and you're waist-deep in crap.So in closing: "Here's to us NOT meeting "you-know-who". And if you should meet "you-know-who", well, you have my sympathies." Love, Boloxxxi.
How insane can the human brain be?
posted on 19 Jun 2009"Bug" was a surprise since I was expecting a very different movie. It takes you into a story of paranoia and illusion showing us how insane the human brain can be! The movie was an adaptation of a theatrical play and we can notice that by the settings: almost all the plot is passed under the same scenario (a motel room); but it only increases even more the intensity and the insanity of the story, as that room was a kind of "cradle of insanity"… The performances of Ashley Judd (Agnes White) and Michael Shannon (Peter Evans), which play the main characters, are excellent. They can really look like insane people in this movie! I was kind of surprised because I was expecting a "biological" movie with real bugs and horror scenes by them, but instead of that I found a crazy story about human insanity!
Unique, Disturbing and Intense ... Brilliant
posted on 07 Jun 2009I remember the thoughts going through my head just before the ending credits. ONE HELL OF A RIDE. The acting was superb, and i found it easy to watch. The filming was excellent, and surprisingly most of the movie was in one location. The intensity of the movie changed so many times, yet fit in brilliantly. The final scene had me glued to the screen!, and just before all the pieces started coming together. As I think back about the movie , many scenes have small parts that in hindsight make things very clear.This psychological thriller is unique. Don't know what else I can say besides; I had a certain disbelief and awe, maybe even a smile on my face when looking back. Loved it!
Save Money! Be Your Own Dentist!
posted on 26 May 2009Kudos to 'Bug' for being effective. Case in point, being your own dentist. Wow. Okay, it's my bad for having extremely different expectations of this movie. I saw the previews and since I happen to love "When Animals Attack" movies, I thought this movie would be about Ashley Judd's character being held up in a dirty old motel room invested with, well, bugs, a la 'Creepshow's' roach short. (Spoiler Alert Ahead) I had no idea this was about a man who "thought" there were bugs under his skin, teeth, etc, much like the effects some drugs do to humans. (Don't ask me which drugs cause this, but I've seen enough TV specials on some narcotics that cause people to "scratch out" bugs from their skin.) Taken from a "hit" play, this basically one-locale film involves a not-so-with-it-already female who takes in a definitely-Looney (or just ill) male who thinks the government is after him and implanted him with "transmitting" microscopic insects. A rather outstretched background is given to Judd's character, such as her missing child and her own-Looney ex, Harry Connick Jr. But, I believe they take a backburner to Michael Shannon's paranoid "victim." Basically, it's a simple mental case story, but oh, so effective. Hard to watch, hard to look away. Can't really recommend it, as it's such a simple story and very graphic and extremely weird. Personally I like Judd and I applaud her for taking on such an unsual and low-budget role. But I fail to see any significance to this film other than to see what happens to very ill or drugged up people go through.
Ashley Judd Shines In This Stink Bug
posted on 24 May 2009Apparently Hollywood doesn't harbor a very high opinion of conspiracy theories as is made evident by targeting them in Bug. The aim is way off and the film misses... horribly.Fortunately, I learned early on that this film was not the sci-fi/horror its ad campaign insinuated. No doubt, many movie goers will be extremely disappointed if they are expecting such. The film attempts to depict the psychological horror and contagious potential of paranoid schizophrenia, but goes entirely nowhere and by its abrupt conclusion I was left stunned with disappointment.Ashley Judd, however, gives an Oscar-worthy performance as a lonely, frightened, and psychologically vulnerable divorcée haunted by the abduction of her child and harassed by her abusive, freshly-out-of-prison, ex-husband (Harry Connick Jr.) It is when Peter (Michael Shannon) walks into her apartment and her life that she begins to experience some optimism. That optimism is short lived, however, when Peter begins to discover "blood-eating aphids" throughout her abode and decides to clue her in on his little secret: he is an AWOL government guinea pig the Army has been conducting biological tests on, and they're looking for him.Sounds exciting? Well, it isn't. As Judd quickly falls under Peter's delusional spell and spreads tin foil throughout the apartment (to block the bugs' transmissions, of course) things go downhill and very quickly. It seems criminal to watch Judd's talent wasted on such a ridiculous endeavor.
Good Return for Friedkin
posted on 16 May 2009Bug (2006) *** (out of 4) William Friedkin's lastest film is without question one of the strangest movies I've ever seen. It's so strange in fact that I didn't know if I should bash it or praise it to high heaven so I settled on a three-star rating until I can give it another viewing. I'll keep the plot details small since it's hard to explain plus I don't want to give too much away. A depressed woman (Ashley Judd) meets a man (Michael Shannon) in a bar and takes her back to her motel where they quickly become friends. As the two come closer they are soon infested by bugs. Yes, infested by bugs. This was marketed as some sort of horror film but I think that's selling the film very short because this is a very well made psychological thriller with a tad bit of a love story thrown in. As I said, this is without a doubt one of the strangest films I've ever seen and at times I got quite frustrated with the movie but at the same time I never knew where the next scene would go. The entire time I was in a complete mystery where I didn't know what was going to happen or how it would happen. The film asks a dozen different questions but Friedkin doesn't answer a single one of them. The viewer has to do a lot of thinking, which I think is a great thing. This certainly isn't a dumb movie that anyone can watch because I'm sure most will hit the eject button within twenty minutes. Judd gives one of the greatest performances of her career and a performance, which should get her an Oscar nom. The plot is way out there but she sells it perfectly to the point where the viewer can believe everything we're seeing. Shannon too is perfect and really comes off as a scary and tragic figure. Harry Connick, Jr. is also great in his small supporting role.
A Different Kind Of Horror Film...
posted on 14 May 2009It's difficult to discuss William Friedkin's "Bug" because, like his 1973 classic "The Exorcist" before it, it relies on atmosphere, not events. One can only go so far in stating the synopsis because it is a film that demands you know the bare essentials going in.Primarily, "Bug" concerns a woman who has seized to believe in much of anything, and what lengths she will go to believe again. It is also about the influence that one person can have on another, especially when it comes to radical beliefs. And it begs the question: can one person's reality, no matter how fantastical, become someone else's, even when this reality could be false? Agnes White (Ashley Judd, in one of her very best performances) has been living in the Rustic Motel, a rundown joint in the South West. She has been receiving mysterious phone calls from someone (she believes it is be her ex-husband Jerry, who has just been released from prison.) One night she gets a visit from her friend and sometimes-girlfriend R.C. (Lynn Collins), who has brought with her a strange man named Peter Evans (Michael Shannon). "What do you think?", asks R.C. "He may be an ex-murderer," Agnes whispers. The three drink and when R.C. goes home, Peter offers to stay. Agnes is timid at first; Peter is strangely odd and tends to talk in a monotonous voice, but he doesn't seem dangerous. He tells her he "picks up on things" and that he can tell she is lonely. She doesn't disagree, and tells him it's nice to have someone around. He speaks of his time in the Marines, about hidden machinery watching American citizens, about secret experiments, and Agnes just listens. Peter spends the night but in the morning, there is a surprise awaiting Agnes.That is where I must stop. I went in knowing absolutely nothing about the film and it was this factor that had me enjoying "Bug" so much. Besides a few clichés towards the beginning (such as the repeated phone calls) the story is gripping because of the smart but unadorned dialogue and the acting from Judd. There is a scene later in the film when Judd and Shannon are discussing different kinds of bed bugs, and the two are so quick and funny with their dialogue that it seems improvised.But isn't this a horror film? In a way, yes. There are horror elements, but not in the sense as recent horror movie endeavors. There is hardly an horror violence; it is, for the most part, a sense of dread, and the awareness that what is happening to these two characters may not be real.It is based on a play by Trecy Letts, who adapted his play for the screen. The structure of the film stays true to the stage version, as it, for the most, takes place entirely in a motel room. Only occasionally are we let outside, and when we are, it is from a view above in a helicopter. The helicopters, in fact, are used as a device to signal a growing threat. Very often in scenes in the motel room we hear the sound of helicopters passing by, a reminder that the characters are being watched. But are they really there, or are we hearing them through the ears of the characters? Friedkin uses harsh, warm lighting in the motel room and a mixture of shaky camera-work with static shots, sometimes letting the actors do their character work, sometimes taking the initiative to create tension. There is no visible antagonist, like there was in "The Exorcist". We are never sure if these bugs that are eventually terrorizing the two main characters are real or merely schizophrenic delusions. Whatever the answer, however, it is soon happening to the two of them and any sense of objectivity in the film is gone.
Bug was Bugged Out!
posted on 30 Aug 2009Once I found out that BUG was a psychological film rather than a horror movie, I decided that I definitely had to see it. I do appreciate how unique the film was; it's different from anything I've seen. I also have to point out how amazing the actors were. The direction was great and it shows by how each character stood out. I not only understood their motives, but how slowly their paranoia starts to kick in. Although, I only found just these positive aspects, the movie overall wasn't that great.The entire beginning is a little slow; it doesn't lead or develop into anything. After an hour into the movie it starts to build up only to leave you disappointed. I think that the story could have been tweaked just a little and perhaps it would have been much better. My verdict, pass it to DVD, it'll serve you better.