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Based upon a stage play by Tracy Letts, director William Friedkin takes this film to the limits and throws everything he has at you to shock and confuse you and make the viewing experience as disturbing and creepy as possible. I've seen many various types of Bug movies, but this one has to top the cake. Lions-Gate's previews were very misleading on this film. BUG relied upon the premise that actual aphid-like bugs were indeed taking over the lead characters in this film. As we soon discover after 45 minutes into the film, the main leading male role named Peter (Michael Shannon) is only a delusional paranoid schizophrenic gone haywire by some post war experiment that he even convinces Agnes (Ashley Judd), his newly found girlfriend that they indeed are really suffering from an infestation of biological nanites that are hatching inside their bodies and coming out. Michael Shannon was so scary and believable in this film, that I would probably have a hard time believing that he is actually going to normal after making this film. A film this disturbing can really only be watched once if you can indeed make it to the end. The screenplay and dialogue were very interesting at the beginning when we are trying to initially empathize with the complex nature of Agnes's problems, however, when the bug talk gets going, it gets really difficult to believe that Peter could have actually been released from any mental institution, much less a straight jacket. The fits, rage, ticks, and twitching alone should win Michael Shannon an award for the most memorable moment on film. I'm not really going to comment on the nudity, drug use and politically incorrect slurs that are in this film, but I'm sure that you might agree that this film is extremely provoking at times and should really be watched around people you really know well. Throughout the film, I kept trying to put my finger on what the moral or mental dilemma this story was attempting to accomplish. It finally dawned on me what it was. If you think you need just anyone around you to help prop you up, then you are definitely wrong to run on that assumption. If you think you need to be around mentally ill people to feel anything, then you're better off not feeling anything. This film is what it is; a really disturbing psychological thriller. Loss of judgment on the part of Agnes really did her in, and it really only takes one time. Harry Connick, Jr. really plays a good controlling and abusive Ex in this film. His presence in this film helps convince the audience that she could actually be ready to snap. I'll give this film a 5/5 because it actually does exactly what it set out to do, which is to push you to the edge and allow you to think about all possible outcomes to any relationship and situation. IF YOU LIKE MY REVIEWS, PLEASE DON'T HESITATE TO LET ME KNOW BY VOTING.Read full review
Marketing Honchos at Horror-Industry Heavyweights 'Lionsgate Films' are selling William Friedkin's adaptation of Tracy Letts' Off-Broadway Play as a Horror Film, "From the Director of 'The Exorcist'." Truth be told, this viscerally charged psychodrama/pitch-black dark film is far more Nightmarish than 'ANY' supernatural thriller. It depicts a couple's free-fall into paranoia with unrelenting, raw-boned intensity that's downright difficult to watch. (A compliment to this film genre). "Bug" stars Ashley Judd and Michael Shannon who both give startling, nakedly vulnerable performances as the couple, two lost souls whose bond, forged of loneliness and hurt, gradually turns toxic. Letts worked closely with Friedkin to transfer his claustrophobic, one-set piece to the screen; with only a couple of scenes taking place outside the dank, run-down motel apartment that Agnes White (Judd) calls home. A 40-ish, hard-bitten cocktail waitress in a Rural Oklahoma lesbian dive bar, constantly harassed by her abusive, recently paroled ex-husband Jerry (Harry Connick, Jr.), Agnes dulls her pain by getting drunk or high nightly with her best friend, R.C. (Lynn Collins). It is R.C. who introduces Agnes to Peter (Shannon), a shy and sweetly awkward drifter who initially seems to be the gentle, emotionally intuitive antithesis of Jerry. Yet there's another, far darker side to Peter, a psychologically scarred Gulf War Veteran, whose monomaniacal belief that he's been infected with bugs will eventually consume Agnes as well, as they spiral downward in a kind of psychotic symbiosis. Co-Starring Brian F. O'Byrne (the Priest in 'Million Dollar Baby') in a small but pivotal role, "Bug" creates an almost oppressive atmosphere of lurid dread. As Peter's tenuous grasp on rationality breaks, sending him into a perpetual, ever worsening state of delirium, he expounds manically on government cover-ups and top-secret military tests. Scarily funny? The laughter catches in your throat. Last seen playing the heroic rescuer in 'World Trade Center' (2006), Shannon goes extreme with his riveting, unnerving turn as Peter; in fact, so convincing as the paranoid schizophrenic that he runs the risk of being typecast as 'Freak'. Ashley Judd is nothing short of amazing as well. Shedding all traces of the steely armor she normally wears in her "Women in Jeopardy" thrillers ('Double Jeopardy', 'Kiss the Girls'), Judd radiates wounded vulnerability and a lifetime of regrets as Agnes, so desperate to assuage her loneliness that she loses herself in a madman. Tautly directed by Friedkin, "Bug" is unquestionably a harrowing, grueling film. (Again a HUGE compliment in this Film-Genre). "Bug" holds you in its disturbing grip until the genuinely shocking denouement. Absolutely Outstanding Performances in a Viscerally Disturbed Nightmare !!!! 5-STAR !!!! SEE THIS !!!!Read full review
I purchased this DVD because I am a big fan of Ashley Judd. I think she is sexy and a real good actress. This movies didn't dissapointed me as far as she was concerned. Her acting was very, very good. With a title like Bug I wasn't sure to to expect. Was there a giant killer "Bug" lurking out there? Maybe there was a hoard of killer bugs ravishing the country? Boy I was in for a surprise. This psychological thriller was an unexpected gem. Basically a junkie, she has an x-boyfriend appear out of nowhere when released from prison. He forces his way into her home and into her life. She hates him. In the meantime she meets what seems to be a really nice guy. She ends up falling for him. He moves in, then the fun begins. He does scare the X away. He also keeps seeing bugs everywhere. On him, on her and all over the shack where they live. He ends up cutting and clawing at himself to free himself of the bugs. He gets a microscope and sees bugs and their eggs in his blood. To make a long story short a person ends up being murdered to get rid of the bugs. It does not work and their witts are gone. Both end up seeing the horrible creatures everywhere. The first 40 or so minutes of this movie seem to drag on. I was tempted to turn it off a couple of times. I'm so glad I didn't. When the movie starts to come together and you are seeing the storyline more clearly, it gets very interesting and attention grabbing. I highly recommend this movie. Just make sure you watch it all and don't give up during the first 40 minutes. Ashley really shines in this movie, I expected nothing less from here.Read full review
I put off seeing this movie for a long time... I don't know why... Maybe it was because Ashley Judd, despite being a reasonably talented actor, makes ten or twelve completely horrible movies for every one good one... That's not really her fault, but a stain is a stain... What finally convinced me to watch Bug was the fact that it was directed by William Friedkin who has made a small handful of my favorite movies; namely The French Connection, The Exorcist, and the 90s TV version the "Twelve Angry Men"... Having said that, I would like to get it out there that this script would be much better suited to the stylings of David Lynch or maybe even David Cronenberg... Friedkin does the job nicely, but it would be interesting to see what one of those more surreal directors could have done with the material... Ashley Judd was surprisingly convincing as an emotionally damaged woman who spirals down into insanity over a very short time with the help of Michael Shannon's character... I haven't paid much attention to Mr. Shannon in the past, but his turn in this film will have my eyes peeled for him in the future... Harry Connick Jr. is always fun to see in movies, even if his part is really miniscule as it is with this role... Why might this movie not be what you're expecting? Firstly, it's NOT a horror movie... The trailers, teasers and the like have set it up to be something it's not... It is a psychological thriller about a couple of mentally disturbed people who quickly fall into a shared paranoid delusion and things get crazier and crazier... There's no point of reference regarding timeframe, but I would guess the storyline takes place over 3 or 4 days... Full of tension and twisting dialogue, the movie holds you in until, out of nowhere, the shocking ending turns everything upside down... Definitely worth the time to watch it... Just don't expect a typical horror movie when you do...Read full review
This movie is awesome. Ashley Judd is great l recommend this movie to everyone. I also want to say thank you to the people who sent the movie. The surprise was unexpected and very appreciative. Thank you.
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