Bug
(2006) 102 Min.
Rated: R
Country: USA / Germany
Director: William Friedkin
Stars: Ashley Judd, Michael Shannon, Harry Connick Jr.
Links: IMDB | Wikipedia
Rating: ★★★☆☆
A lonely woman befriends an unhinged man in a motel and they start to believe they are infested with invisible bugs.
Synopsis:
Agnes White (Judd) is a lonely waitress living in a run down motel room. She has never gotten over the disappearance of her son years ago and occasionally binges on drugs and alcohol. Her only friend is a lesbian woman named R.C. Sometimes she gets silent calls which she believes are from her ex-husband Jerry Goss (Connick).
R.C. introduces Agnes to a drifter named Peter Evans (Shannon). Peter claims to be a discharged soldier. Agnes and Peter start a relationship. During their time together Peter claims he was the subject of biological testing by the government while in the military.
Peter claims that the anonymous phone calls are not from Agnes’ ex-husband but from the government anticipating his arrival. After they sleep together, Peter is convinced that they are covered with bugs sent by the government.
Agnes tries to see the bugs be she cannot. Peter becomes increasingly paranoid and scratches himself often. In an effort to protect Peter the pair start to stick flypaper to the ceiling. Eventually Agnes also begins to feel the bugs too.
The pair scare off R.C. and even manage to scare off Jerry the Ex. The continue to isolate themselves and wallpaper the motel with aluminum foil and hang up bug zappers.
A man named Dr. Sweet arrives and tries to tell Agnes that Peter is from a mental institute, but Peter murders him. Peter claims he was sent by the government and further tries to connect Agnes’ son to the conspiracy. He claims the government took her son so that the two of them could meet. They start to believe that each one of them have bugs that are supposed to mate and take over the world. The only course of action, then, is to destroy themselves.
Jerry attempts to get into the motel by banging on the door. This sends Agnes and Peter into a frenzy. In their paranoia they believe that the government is trying to reach them. There is no escape for them. They pick up gasoline cans and dowse the entire motel room.
The pair strip naked and kneel before each other as they dowse one another in gasoline. They then light themselves on fire.
Review:
This film is based on a stage play of the same name. It deals with paranoia and Folie à deux, how madness can spread from person to person.
Judd does a fairly believable job as Agnes. She’s so haunted by her missing son and lonely. She has been through abuse from her ex-husband and seeks comfort in alcohol and companionship.
Shannon played the role of Peter in the play as well as the film. Director Friedkin insisted that he play Peter and he plays the role well. Peter is so harmless and friendly at first, perhaps with Agnes’ willingness to believe him he is further coaxed on to believe his own words until ultimately he commits murder.
The film has a touch of gore but isn’t really a horror film in a modern sense. It’s more of a thriller or drama. Though the dialogue is frantic, there is never much action in the scenes themselves. The entirety of the film is in the one location. It’s an enjoyable film, but it’s also a bit forgettable. In the end Bug brings something interesting to the table, but also isn’t quite enough to be very memorable. In fact the only memorable thing about it is the climactic scene at the very end of the film.