Bug
Bug
Score: 7/10
“One of the most disturbing horror movies imaginable…”
This single quote, printed front and center on the posters and said on the trailer, single-handedly ruined the movie for me initially. I was expecting a good horror film that made me jump and kept me on the edge of my seat similar to The Descent or something, but I left the theater disappointed. So why the decent score then? After thinking about what I’d seen, and reading more into it, everything began making more sense to me. The movie is really a two character movie about a war veteran who brings his paranoia into the life of an abused, and drug addicted lady trying to escape her ex who has just been let out of prison.
The key thing that changed my mind completely is when I learned it was originally a play by Tracy Letts of the same name. I can’t imagine seeing this play live and I bet it’s one of the more intense plays out there to watch. As for the movie though, you’d think it’d feel confined and limited mainly taking place in one room, but William Friedkin, director of The Exorcist, does a great job in making great use of the limited space the hotel room provides. Friedkin’s camera work would be pointless without good actors, and do they ever shine in this movie. Of all the distressed woman roles Ashley Judd has ever played, this has to be her best performance yet. Her transformation from simple lonely drug addict to absolutely out of her mind, paranoid crazy person is masterful. Both her and Michael Shannon’s transformations are amazingly disturbing to watch, but still wonderfully performed.
If I could give a score on acting alone, I’d give it more like a 9/10, but there’s really not a lot to this movie to make it feel much more than an elaborate version of the play. At times the boom mic would even pop in to the shot, like five times, which really angered me for some reason and while you can say it’s forgivable considering the tight quarters being hard to film in, there is a little thing called digital effects that could easily erase a peeking boom mic. I mean, they replaced an actor’s head for a whole second in Pan’s Labrynth because he looked at the camera accidentally. I think a boom mic disappearing could be reasonably handled.
So, what it basically boils down to in the end is that if you go into this movie with their horror movie quote in your mind, then you’ll walk out mad like I did. If you realize it’s based on a play and appreciate the skill found in the actors’ transformations as they get more and more paranoid, you’ll probably be pleasantly surprised. I won’t see it again until it’s on TV most likely, but that won’t stop me from recommending it to people.
