10th Anniversary: BUG
Thursday, May 25, 2017 at 10:40PM By Dancin' Dan
Ten years ago right about now, William Friedkin's adaptation of Tracy Letts's play Bug opened in theaters, introducing most of America to Michael Shannon and gifting Ashley Judd with the best part of her career. Unfortunately, though, Bug was marketed as a body horror movie from the director of The Exorcist, which is... not what it is. At all...
In reality, Bug is a psychological thriller of the highest order, as we watch two broken people feed each other's fears and sink deeper and deeper in the dark abyss of their psyches. I was lucky enough to see a stage production of this in Atlanta, and it was one of the most intense, visceral experiences I've ever had in a theater; I wasn't only scared for the characters, but for the actors playing them, and for myself. Given how close you are to the action in a live theater setting versus a movie theater setting, I was worried that the movie wouldn't be able to replicate the immediacy and danger of the play.
I needn't have worried.
Friedkin proved to be the perfect director for Letts's brand of disturbance, slowly dialing up the intensity during the film's first half until it has you in a chokehold, unable to breathe as the characters spiral out of control. It's a director-screenwriter match made in heaven, so good that they reteamed again on an adaptation of Letts's even crazier play, Killer Joe. And Judd and Shannon (who originated the part in London, and then again Off Broadway) chart their characters' descent into madness with alarming acuity - both were robbed of Oscar nominations. Bug is one of the darkest films released in 2007, which is really saying something.
But the quality of the film didn't seem to matter. After the success of Saw, Lionsgate thought they could make a profit off the film by marketing it to the same audience. But Bug isn't what horror movie fans want to see - it's horrifying, make no mistake, but the terror on display is all psychological, digging into the depths of depravity to which any one of us could sink just to not feel so alone in the world. It's more concerned with conspiracy theories than creepy-crawlies, and the audience was NOT happy they were lied to.
So in honor of the film's 10th birthday, let's remind people how good this movie is. How for a brief, shining moment, it proved that William Friedkin still had more to give, that Ashley Judd deserved meatier roles, and that this guy named Michael Shannon could become a big star.
Reader Comments (8)
Perfect description of what it's like to see this on stage! I had the pleasure of seeing it in here in Manhattan and i had the same kind of what is happening to me terror. Such a good play and an impressive adaptation of a kind of impossible thing to film.
For me, this film was the start of William Friedkin coming back from mediocrity and proving he's still got some juice left that would pave the way for the horror that is Killer Joe.
Ashley Judd is really great here. Pity she didn't encounter the meatier roles she deserved
Thanks for the reminder! I have never seen it. I recently saw Killer Joe and liked it so I'm going to start the search for this one.
As a horror fan, I loved its slow-burn paranoia and found the whole thing quite terrifying. My only complaint was the obvious beats between what would be set changes in the stage play.
I'm such a fan of BUG, so thanks for this!
Ashley Judd is now a washed-up kook.
Ashley Judd is in top form here. She is an incredible actress.