On B List of Movie Reviews

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Bug (2006)

Rate: 10
Viewed: 9/08, 7/15

Bug
9/08: What I was expecting out of Bug was a cheap horror flick by a burned-out director, long past his prime, who needed the money to pay his bills.

Instead, it turns out to be one of the most bizarre, disturbing, and intense films I've seen. To start with Ashley Judd, I'm darned impressed with her performance, especially how radically changed she is acting-wise compared to the past. I admit that she took the Charlize Theron route to make her drug-addled character to be pathetic as possible. Michael Shannon, who's unfamiliar to me, seems to have achieved a breakthrough as Peter Evans and is the catalyst.

Honestly, I don't view Bug as a horror picture, and it's neither a drama nor a sci-fi. Mainly, it's a psychological love story in the harrowing sense. Although some parts have tried to make me cringe because the logic of the story keeps getting stupider and stupider by the minute, I can't help but enjoy the creative artistic license that William Friedkin took with the material. Over time, I've slowly realized how good it is and how well it pertains to mental illness.

All in all, I want to revisit Bug someday because I feel giving it a '10' isn't out of the question; it's just that I wasn't prepared for the intense cinematic experience.

7/15: Upping my rating of Bug from '9' to '10', it's a unique, intense work of art about mental illness.

The gasoline-soaked finale is still unbelievable and crazy. Although Ashley Judd was struggling on her own from the outset, it's not until Michael Shannon shows up that things start to click. They're extraordinary and complement each other very well. It's the level of their conversations that's cerebral and fascinating which probably gripped William Friedkin's interest in the first place. Both of the thespians should've been nominated for an Oscar because they're convincing and real.

Also, I love Harry Connick, Jr.'s appearance which occasionally occurs throughout the film. As strange as it sounds, his character Jerry Goss, a dangerous criminal, turns out to be the most sane person. The way he tried to make sense into his ex is honest, but there's nothing he can do about the situation because Agnes has been sucked into the riptide that's created by Peter Evans, a full-blown paranoid schizophrenic who's proficient in telling sophisticated lies about some kind of a conspiracy involving the army.

I won't go so far as to call Bug a horror film. Being along the lines of David Cronenberg's early sci-fi stuff, it's a psychological picture that's, believe it or not, a love story. The only thing I hate is the awful camera work which thankfully doesn't last long.

All in all, William Friedkin's directorial achievement of Bug proves that he's still in top form.