Bug (Special Edition)
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Movie Reviews of Bug (Special Edition)
Movie Review: Absorbing Psychological Drama
Summary: 4 Stars
I picked up this DVD casually, not knowing anything about what a distinguished career this material had as an award-winning stage play. I just grabbed it thinking it might be a sci-fi thriller to pass a few hours with. It is labeled as a "thriller," - but it's not sci-fi, and actually, it's not a "thriller" either. That label is a misnomer. This is an intense psychological drama about obsessive-compulsive disorder.
It's an unflinching portrayal of a couple's descent into madness. Or is it? You may not be absolutely certain, because there are a few suggestions along the way that the couple's paranoia - their conviction that bugs have been implanted in them, that Government agents are experimenting on them - may not be total hallucination. But assuming the couple is suffering from genuine delusions, their imaginings spiral them down into shocking, brutal alienation.
Their relationship seems to start innocently enough. The drifter Ashley Judd meets seems to be the polar opposite of the abusive husband she's been trying to get out of her life. This new man is strangely gentle and literate. But then he starts to see tiny bugs infesting the dingy motel room where they now live together. And soon she sees the bugs too.
Some psychologists such as Erich Fromm have written about how most of us end up acceding to the particular insanity of our respective societies as the inevitable price of being accepted as a group member. Here Ashley Judd is all too ready to buy into her new boyfriend's delusions because she has been lonely and his companionship is a lifeline. But what a price she pays.
Director William Friedkin' tends to be a little droning and pretentious in his commentary. He laces his remarks with references to Proust's stream of consciousness, and to Cleckley's ideas about "the mask of sanity" that we all wear. He uses neologisms he doesn't seem to be aware aren't legitimate words. For example, he several times refers to the boyfriend's imaginings as being "insiduous," perhaps a clutch after some high-flown meaning half-way between "insidious" and "assiduous." Still, most of his comments are intelligent. He points out the many layers of meaning that the title "Bug" has here - from a sense of the literal insects the couple believes are bedeviling them - to a sense of being "bugged," spied on, kept under surveillance - to a sense of being pervasively infected.
Ashley Judd, Michael Shannon, and Harry Connick act out all these levels of meaning brilliantly. Obsessive-compulsive disorder of this magnitude is rarely tackled on film because such inner turmoil is difficult to make cinematic. But Friedkin and the cast truly succeed in making this movie visually and emotionally arresting. The only other film that comes to mind as being comparable to it is Roman Polanski's classic "Repulsion," which you might want to check out if you still have the energy after this grueling, but fascinating, expedition to extremity.
Movie Review: I'm also a HUGE HORROR FAN
Summary: 4 Stars
I love a gory stupid mess as much as the next guy but I also like plenty of other types of films as well. Maybe because I am a fan of the director William Friedkin, I came into Bug not expecting your usual modern generic gorefest (and come on now, modern gore movies are tame and lame compared to the 70s 80s stuff, which I doubt dullards and modern horror dorks will even know what I mean and assume I'm talking about Freddy n Jason). If you want the same gore effects, the same dull herky jerky camera work, the same looking monsters, the same spike through the head or decapitation there's plenty of that stuff out there now and plenty more being made, PLENTY! It is funny the second someone sees something slightly different it upsets them to the point of anger. But thats just in response to some unfortunate meat-head reviews I found on here just now. If the negative reviews didn't sound so "bitchy" like a 13 year old wrote them I might not have spent any space typing about it but alas, man people suck! Bug has no business being marketed as a horror film, anyways:
Bug certainly had an effect on me. The main frightening thing is the insanity between the two main characters is no more insane than the insanity going on between your modern married couple, or house full of drunks, house full of sports fans, house full of anyone. This movie makes knowing people seem disgusting and frightening. Reality and perception of is all in the head. Your language and the way you operate around everyone you know is the insanity portrayed in this film. Ashley Judd's character was no more crazy with her ex-con boyfriend or her girlfriend.
The thing is I've met people who remind me of every character in this film, not full blown but easily capable of behaving that way. Friedkin's direction is tight and claustrophobic, I think the film could have tried to shave off the parts that felt too much like a stage play (which yes I know its based on one) and gone more for Friedkin's earlier realism but only in a few parts. The performances are truly intense, there are times when a stutter or a gasp causes more tension and fright than any film of the "stupid latex karo syrup covered monster intestine with XXXTREEEEMMME SHAKEY MODERN CAMERA (the camera is shaking so that means its scary)" genre. Ashely Judd pretty much goes completely bonkers on screen and its excruciatingly sad and exhilarating. The visit by the doctor at the end and what it leads up should be in my opinion, iconic horror imagery but gore film translates as horror these days. I feel like I've seen something that deserves more respect than it got. But the movie is what it is, I can't add much to this but say that its a good movie and actually made me think about many things after it was over. The dvd has an excellent interview with Friedkin about his career and his answers are in depth and exhausting.
Also, William Friedkin's Sorcerer, see it, just watch it.
Movie Review: A Visceral Experience where Madness is the True Horror
Summary: 4 Stars
**No Spoilers**
I read nothing but negative things before watching the new psychological thriller Bug--as a critic, it's hard to go see a film with neutrality and an open-mind. Bug works because of its exploration of paranoia, brainwashing and psychosis. Yes, it does start slow with long explanations and dialogue. But like small drops of rain before a thunderstorm, it becomes a visceral experience where madness--neither gore, nor CGI--is the true horror. Think of it as a Twilight Zone episode on steroids.
Story:
Agnes White (Ashley Judd) is a divorced woman who lives in a remote motel. She is lonely, depressed and always afraid of her ex Jerry (Harry Connick Jr.) who just got out of jail--he harasses her all the time. She also works as a waitress at a local bar, where she hangs out with her lesbian friend R.C (Lynn Collins). One night, they decide to hang out in her motel room and R.C brings a new friend called Peter (Michael Shannon). Agnes is attracted to him right away--his unusual personality and view of the world is something new to her. They become romantically involved--despite her ex--and share deep and painful secrets about themselves. She doesn't know that Peter is the new man who will change her views of the US government and the world.
Review:
The movie is based on play by Tracy Letts and directed by William Friedkin (The Exorcist). Bug is not about little roaches or a giant praying mantis. The movie has a deeper meaning than that. It deals with the human psyche, conspiracy theories and power to persuade people. This is where the horror comes from. The beginning might be slow for some fans of the genre--there are long conversations and some character development--but then the action begins once the paranoia penetrates their minds. The small motel room becomes a self-contain universe where madness reigns.
Other good attributes of the film is the acting. Judd and Shannon did an excellent job, especially towards the end of the film, where they commit strange and terrible things to each other and others. Some scenes are very disturbing.
Despite its excellent highlights, Bug has some silly moments. The love scene is probably one of the worst I have ever seen--it's not sexy at all and has this weird "bug" view. Some of the nudity is unnecessary. Also the logic is not the best thing here. I couldn't understand why Agnes was so easily convinced by Peter. Why did she follow him so blindly? Perhaps his personality and strange philosophy are the ingredients.
The Verdict:
Bug is one of the best horror movies we've reviewed this year. It has great moments of psychosis, paranoia and crude violence. It drags for the first act, but it picks up to an explosive finale that will please most of the fans of the genre.
Movie Review: Remarkable! Almost Part II of Passion of Darkly Noon
Summary: 4 Stars
BUG (2007) with Ashley Judd (AJ), Harry Connick Jr and Michael Shannon is an example that art
can be beautiful or intentionally ugly being reflective of reality, and still maintain the
fascination of viewers. Granted, perhaps this work is meant for the niche segment of
AJ fans, while the actress reprises her type-cast role as a young woman having
behavioral issues, put againt impressive challenges, risks and obstacles, coping with a
fragile emotional makeup.
The story is unpredictable, as AJ is slowly, little by little, placed into the psychological
world of an acquaintance made at the local bar, and goes through a transformation, not unlike
what is seen with the Stockholm Syndrome, unable to transcend the new circumstances.
The filming is flawless, the camera work is up close and simple. The widescreen enhances
the quality of the presentation, while the lack of music perhaps does the opposite, or is absent to
not constitute a distraction.
The committment of AJ into the picture is impressive, with alternating moments of joy
and dispair, the evident misery of poverty, the confusion of a solitude arising from the
separation from her companion and loss of her child.
As with her earlier films, BUG not only has the compulsory nude moment of the actress, but several ones, in
the washroom, from a side profile and back profile. Indubitably, BUG is obviously intended as a vehicle for
voyeurism, on the one hand to profit from the personal charisma of the actress, while on the other hand, to stay faithful to the story's character that is shown at home, having drinking and substance abuse habits, in between a lack of personal goals.
Harry Connick plays the ex-boyfriend with a flawed character, to the extent that AJ broke off their earlier relationship, despite some relatively positive qualities. Even after a return to freedom from a prison, his past mistakes and misconduct are impossible to erase from her mind.
Taking up with Michael Shannon, (who has a Christopher Walken style) some comical moments occur, such as "I'm not much good in the sack!" or "I haven't been with a woman for a long time ..." AJ further proceeds to underline the hedonistic, libertarian aspects of the character.
Thus, the sensual aspects are intertwined with madhouse, reminiscent of PASSION OF DARKLY NOON.
The finale could also have been edited shorter, and avoided bringing into the fold controversial elements, Jim Jones and the Koolaid, which may offend those reading the alternative media.
BUG is well worth a look.
Movie Review: Creepy
Summary: 4 Stars
There are mainly three reasons to go to see a movie: catharsis, entertainment, and enlightenment. For William Friedkin's `Bug,' we enter mostly for fascination or shock value. The film is unforgettable. Mostly the characters, the actions, and atmosphere leave the audience with indelible impressions long after the movie's credits roll.
Not a pleasant affair, the movie opens up with a helicopter zeroing in on a town in Oklahoma. At a hotel room, a cocktail waitress, Agnes (Ashley Judd) , is drinking heavily alone while she receives incessant, unwanted phone calls from someone who won't answer. She addresses the call to Jerry, her estranged husband who has been let out of prison after a two year sentence. Her existence seems tight and oppressive, and the camera keeps going to the central air that kicks in periodically and a ceiling fan seen from a close, dizzying angle. We are constantly reminded of the oppressive heat. Shortly, we hook up at the honky tonk bar where she works with fellow waitress, R.C., whom we discover is her lover as well. R.C. makes two company at the apartment, but she brings a guest from the panhandle of Oklahoma. Nervous, yet friendly, Peter Evans (Michael Shannon) seems so shy and apologetic, he couldn't hurt a fly. Somehow he has left an army hospital, but has no where to stay. In the meantime, Jerry (Harry Connick, Jr.), her -ex, returns to her for an unbearable homecoming and reciprocates her cold reception with hot menace. Yet, for Jerry, Peter is the unwelcome find. Peter, nevertheless, provides Jerry with the perfect, cowering victim. From here Agnes finds her new guest a respite from all her indignities. His gentleness is a counterpart for male abuse.
Peter, on the other hand, has problems of his own. During one bedroom scene, the lights come on, and he is fixated on a bug. What starts as a small "aphid" becomes an obsession. The camera zeroes in on the lighted sheets for a small bug Agnes at first can't see. From a bed search comes a whole investigation, complete with his own blood samples examined under a microscope. As scenes unfold we see the vulnerability of Agnes as she falls into the vortex of all the madness: her domineering -ex and the unhinging paranoia of her new lover.
`Bug' is unforgettable. With excellent, intense acting we get a cross-section of madness with clinical precision. William Friedkin (of `The Exorcist' and `The French Connection' fame) gets it right with all the disturbing details. Working from a powerful play by Tracy Letts, we get a remarkably different cinematic offering with a resolution few will ever forget.