Bug (film)

I saw an existing thread about this film but it's closed for discussion so I'm starting a new one.

I never heard of this film until yesterday but flipped over to it on Cinemax. I watched about 45 minutes of it before I paused it and waited for my wife to come home because I thought it was really good and wanted her to watch it too. I think this is an absolute hidden gem with some of the best acting and directing I've seen in a long time and a "plot" that is absolutely fascinating when you think about the film afterwards. Ashley Judd and Michael Shannon bring acting to a new level and William Friedkin's direction conveys the main characters' thoughts/feelings extremely well. I know not everyone like's it but, IMO, it's excellent and most people barely know it exists.

 

Nothing to do with the '70s William Castle "killer bugs" film of the same name, I presume.

 

No, not at all, lol.

 

This a nice read on some of the film's themes and the ending

 

Heck of questions movie. Recommended.

 

Great film, recommend it. Watched it knowing nothing except who the director was and Michael Shannon was in it, so it sounded worth a pop.

 

Great movie. It keeps you going until the end. I did have to turn my head during a couple of scenes. You know the ones.

 

Follow it up with Killer Joe.
Great Friedkin double header.

 

Yeah, I worked on this for director Billy Friedkin, DP Michael Grady, and editor Darrin Navarro. Really good movie -- Michael Shannon was scary as hell and very intense, even in dailies. When he came back as a continuing character on Boardwalk Empire as the crazed FBI agent, I thought, "wow, I'm glad people are finally gonna see what a great actor this guy is." Friedkin is an interesting guy, very intense, but he knows exactly what he wants. He's a rare director that just rolls the camera and lets the actors go, and they don't slate ("clapping the sticks") until the end of the take.

Funny story on the climax of the movie, where the motel explodes in an enormous ball of fire: the FX people used a little too much gasoline, and the resulting explosion was about five times bigger than expected. Luckily, because they were shooting on film, we were able to bring the exposure down and it all looked fine for the finished film. They were very, very concerned that it might have been so bright, they needed to reshoot it. Nobody got hurt, the fire department was right there and acted quickly, and it looked great in the released picture.

 

We watched it last night as we're already huge Michael Shannon fans (anything he's in, we see) and Ashley Judd is very underrated. This did not disappoint on any level. The build of tension, the gradual sense of dread increasing and the different psychological levels the film worked on, all done to perfection. Judd and Shannon were a great team, the level of trust they must have built to do the work they did was remarkable. The supporting cast also did a great job.
Screenwriter Tracey Letts has quite a pedigree, Tony Award winning actor and a Pulitzer Prize winning playwright, with Bug being a play of his that he adapted for the screen.
Why this film slipped between the cracks is beyond me.

 

This thread prompted me to watch this again last night. Hadn't seen it since it first came out. I really enjoyed it again. Ashley Judd and Michael Shannon are both excellent, and as mentioned below, the supporting cast (Harry Connick Jr. and Lynn Collins) are great as well. I was just talking with a friend about Harry Connick Jr after we came across his crappy daytime talk show where he interviews D-list celebrities and people hawking their summer fashion lines. Why in the hell he bothers with this is beyond me. He's a talented musician and a pretty good actor. Even if his style of music isn't the most in vogue, I'm sure he could do well touring. I wish he would act more as he's very good.

By "slipped between the cracks" do you mean you were unaware of it until now, or that you're surprised it didn't catch on with a wider audience? Cause I can completely see why it didn't get more attention. And that's not an indictment of the movie itself, which is great. But its not the type that will do big business at the box office in most cases. Michael Shannon was then almost completely unknown, and in 2006 people were used to seeing Ashely Judd in crap movies like Twisted, High Crimes and Double Jeopardy. Watching her slum in a cheap motel with an odd looking guy like Shannon isn't what would put her fans in seats.

 

A little bit of both, actually. Granted, it's an odd film, but a movie of that quality deserved a bit more than the obscurity it sunk into. Maybe now that Shannon has bit of recognition more people will discover it.

 

Yeah, I agree. Friedkin is a good director. It's too bad he's mostly only known for Exorcist and French Connection, as he's done some very good work that hasn't gotten enough attention. Did you see the original play? I didn't know about the play, but watching it you can certainly see the stage origin.

For anyone who has Cinemax, this is currently available to watch on demand.

 

Didn't see the play, we were trying to figure out how they would have staged it. Seems it premiered in London, then Washington, then Chicago (Letts is affiliated with the Steppenwolf theater group), then Ithaca NY. Might explain why I didn't see it.
Looks like Shannon was in most of the productions, including the one in England.
I thought it reminded me of some of the Sam Shepard plays I've seen, in the tone of dread and disorientation.

The entire play can be seen in a 2016 production that's up on You Tube. Didn't watch it, but the stage is about the size of my living room.

 

A watched it several years ago seeing Friedkin was involved. I knew it was a stage play going into it, and the filmmakers were wise not to try and expand it into more than was required.

Shannon is one of the most intense actors around. Werner Herzog used him to great effect in My Son, My Son What Have Ye Done?

 

It was pretty well acclaimed at the time as I recall just didn't do well theatrically in terms of profits.

 

I thought this was a pretty riveting film as well. I also only heard about it recently when it was included in a best of list of horror movies within the last 20 years.

 

Someone on another board mentioned another Shannon film, Take Shelter...sounds really good too...paid $30 to get it on Blu-ray, as it's OOP. Also paid $30 to get the Bug Blu-ray, which is near impossible to find.

 

I liked Take Shelter quite a bit. It was streaming free on Amazon Prime or Netflix but not sure it is still there.

 

It's not on Netflix anymore...not sure about Amazon

 

So I got Bug and Take Shelter on Blu-ray. Not cheap as Take Shelter is OOP and Bug never had an American release.

I got the Danish version of Bug seen here which does play on Region 1 players and has an English 5.1 DTS-MA track. Haven't watched the movie again on the Blu-ray but it does look and sound nice.

The Take Shelter Blu-ray has stellar picture and audio...virtually flawless.

I really enjoyed Take Shelter and am glad I got it but since some mentioned they preferred it to Bug, I'd have to disagree. Not by a lot, mind you, but I think Bug is the better film overall...just my 2 cents anyway.

 

This flick was a little unsettling for me. I usually enjoy Friedman's work, and the acting is top notch. But there is very depressing tone that keeps me from enjoying the film.

 

Got under my skin.

 

It gave me a toothache.

 

I saw it years ago. Super intense. Great acting by Shannon...