Bug (2006)

William Friedkin's psychological thriller Bug is something. I believe that is the best way to describe it. I have seen this movie about 3 or 4 times before and every time I watch it, I keep wanting to find something that I like about it. I mean, this comes from the director of The French Connection, The Exorcist and Killer Joe. There has to be some redeeming factor to this movie. But no matter how hard I search I still cannot find it.

Bug is about a single bartender Agnes (Ashley Judd) who eventually invites a military veteran Peter (Michael Shannon) to stay with her in her hotel apartment. But little does she know that it turns out that Peter believes that he has been put through military experiments, and now is on the run from the government. He also is infected with some sort of parasite (or as he calls them, aphids). I just don't know what to think with this movie. When I had initially saw this on the shelf of Blockbuster I was hoping for maybe a Starship Troopers type of bug movie but instead I got this. I was quite disappointed.

Do not get me wrong. This film is really well done. The acting is top notch. Judd and Shannon work really well together and the chemistry they have just works. Friedkin does a great job here. The problem with this movie is that it just doesn't know what it is. Is it a horror film? Body horror? Psychological thriller? There are so many unanswered questions left at the end that they fail to deliver on. I am all for the audience making up their own minds about a movie but this one is so bizarre and just contradictory of itself, it is hard to see anything beyond what's on the screen. This includes the random cuts of insects that flash on the screen like I am watching the cursed tape from The Ring.

Now I do not know how this movie actually ends up at the climax, but it is so far off the original context of this movie that it is almost like I am watching a something different. I doubt that anyone who is reading this cares about the ending of a 12 year old movie but long story short they commit suicide. By burning themselves. Then cut to black. Roll credits. This movie was a bug movie without any actually bugs in it. Quite boring and anti climatic if you ask me. Just more of a "WTF did I just watch" feeling.

This movie does come in at only 1 hour and 42 minutes which is a godsend because I don't know how I keep making my way back to it. I just see it on a streaming platform and I just decide to re-watch it. Maybe I'm the one who just isn't understanding what this film is trying to bring. Maybe it has to deal with the insecurities that follow our American Veterans when they try to acclimate back into society or eventually coming to terms with your life and realizing what your true purpose is. Either way it's very farfetched. This movie at the end of the day is just about paranoia and manipulation. I can honestly say that I wouldn't recommend this to anyone.

Grade: D

Genre: Horror, Drama

Cast: Ashley Judd, Michael Shannon, Harry Connick Jr.

Rated: R for some strong violence, sexuality, nudity, language and drug use.

Director: William Friedkin