Bug

  • Review Date: September 24, 2007
  • R
  • Genre: Thriller
  • 2007
 Review

Common Sense Media says

Paranoid horror/thriller is too intense for kids.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Parents say

Kids say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this intensely paranoid film absolutely isn't for kids. Not a horror movie in the conventional sense, it's still very scary and violent -- an ex-husband hits and frightens his former wife; there's a brutal stabbing murder; a man pulls out his own teeth with pliers; and it's implied that two characters set themselves on fire. There's smoking, drinking, drug use (cocaine and crack), relentless swearing (mostly "f--k"), and nudity (close ups of nipples and sweating bodies, a brief full-frontal shot of a man).

  • A guilt-ridden, fearful woman descends into a terrifying relationship with a paranoid man; locked inside a motel room, they can't imagine a way out. References to a child who "disappeared" from his mother's side in a supermarket.
  • Jerry knocks Aggie to the floor, bloodying her lip and making her cry; Aggie throws a drink at the door; Aggie slaps R.C.; Peter pulls his own teeth with pliers (very bloody); Peter and Aggie's faces and bodies are increasingly cut (presumably as they've picked at bugs/bites); Jerry pushes Aggie to the wall, holding a flashlight on her; Peter repeatedly (and bloodily) stabs a man ferociously; Peter attacks Jerry's hand with a staple gun; (spoiler alert) at the end, the central characters strip naked, douse themselves and the room with fuel, then strike a match: scene cuts to flames, then credits (you don't see bodies burning).
  • Kissing takes place in a lesbian bar; Agnes kisses RC; sexual slang ("homo," "beaver," "jacking off"); single sex scene shows close-ups of nipples, sweating torsos, hands, and faces; after sex, a man is plainly nude (brief full frontal and back nudity); Aggie appears on the toilet (visible in profile through the open door); in one scene, the central couple strips naked, with breasts and pubic hair visible in profile.
  • Frequent bad language, including more than 50 "f--k"s (a few with "mother-"), as well as "s--t," "son of a bitch," "ass," "damn," and "goddamn."
  • Not applicable.
  • Characters drink (mostly beer and wine) and smoke hand-rolled cigarettes; more drinking and smoking in background of bar scene; cocaine sniffing; crack smoking.

What's the story?

In William Friedkin's BUG, Agnes (Ashley Judd) spends her nights working in a smoky, noisy Oklahoma bar and her days holed up in a motel room, drinking and worrying. In addition to lingering guilt over a child gone missing six years ago, she's plagued by fear of her abusive ex-husband, Jerry (Harry Connick, Jr.), who's just been released from prison. Still, as sad and beaten down as she looks, most of Aggie's distress is internal. And she's in for lots more.


Is it any good?

 

In a terrific performance, Judd makes Aggie's emotional dissolution -- most of which takes place inside her motel room -- clear moment by moment. Rather than focusing on the specifics of Aggie's original traumas, the film (which is based on Tracy Letts' off-Broadway play) exposes the ongoing, grueling aftermath. Aggie and fellow waitress R.C. (Lynn Collins) spend an evening with Peter (Michael Shannon, who originated the part in the play). Wondering aloud whether he's an "axe murderer," Aggie is also moved by his strangeness, his utter lack of irony.

Ostensibly a Gulf War veteran who endured "experimentation" by military doctors, he reveals to Aggie that he's been infested with bugs. Though she's initially unable to see them, she soon agrees that aphids (plant lice) are biting him -- and now her. Soon both manifest signs of their paranoia: scabs and bloody marks where they pick at themselves. In another movie (say, Friedkin's own The Exorcist), such flailing would signal possession, or maybe insanity; here the meaning remains aptly unclear.


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What families can talk about

Families can talk about the effects of trauma. How is Agnes troubled by her memories and her lingering fears? Do you think that the "bugs" are real? What else could they represent? Families also can talk about what genre this movie falls into. What makes something a horror movie? What distinguishes horror movies from thrillers and dramas? What kinds of movies are scariest -- gory slasher films, or suspenseful thrillers? Why?


This review was written by Cynthia Fuchs
Adult
April 9, 2008
 
Worst Movie I've seen yet!!!
I am Greatly dissapointed that Ashley Judd would have anything to do with this movie. This move was just AWFUL!! It was weird and disgusting! They didn't even explain anything in the movie. It was just all around weird.

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Adult
February 21, 2009
 

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Adult
April 9, 2008
 
terrible movie
This movie was so bad i did not even finish it. I was very disappointed that Ashley Judd is in this movie.

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Adult
April 9, 2008
 
IT Was TErrible......
This movie was absolutely horrible.I watched most of it in awe of how stupid these people could actually be. When the lady started screaming I Am Super Queen Bug at the top of her lungs I just said nope. It was the worst movie of the year (2007 and 2008). Possibly the worst movie of my life.

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Teen, 15 years old
June 29, 2011
 
Good Film, However Very Graphic.
Definitely inappropiate for anyone under 14-even at that age it's hard to watch, considering i'm 14. It is a fairly good film, but very graphic.

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Teen, 17 years old
December 2, 2010
 
My FAVORITE movie.
Be it the fear that someone is lurking behind you in a dark parking lot or a bug is crawling on you while you sleep, there is a bit of paranoia in us all.Bug is not some cheap fright fest that trivializes its characters and depends on extra-terrestrial bugs to drive the film’s suspense. it's all about the paranoia and the characters that endure it.Agnes White (Ashley Judd) is an alcoholic drug-user whose abusive ex-con, ex-husband just got out of jail and comes back to her, mostly for cash. At the same time, she meets the soft-spoken Peter Evans (Michael Shannon) who genuinely likes her. While pushing away from her ex-husband, she pulls herself closer to Peter, despite his seemingly unbelievable past and present circumstances. The power of Bug lies within its characters. We naturally hope the best for Agnes, though extremely flawed and consumed by despair after the loss of her son. Peter seems to have the potential to have a positive impact on her life.Though their actions are mostly confined to Agnes’ hotel room, the people involved are dynamic. Agnes shares her experience of loss in telling the story of her son’s disappearance. Peter comforts her and adds a hint of bizarre fascination with his ideas of technology . When the bugs finally arrive, we have already been drawn into their world, we trust them, and it makes the film all the more devastating. Bug is a cautionary chamber piece of trusting love and endless drug use, while the majority of audience will want to see Ashley Judd ripping the “bugs” out of her skin. Predetermined expectations of what the film will be, sight unseen, destroys Bug’s chances of finding its audience based purely on our reliance on marketing. The film makes no concessions for closed-minded viewers, who will ultimately dismiss the film as boring. William Friedkin’s directing is patient and cerebral. Through his use of symbolic motifs, most notably the distant sound of a helicopter and the saturation of hot and cold temperatures, he plays on our genre expectations. Most of all, Friedkin is patient. He grows his character’s paranoia as he grows our own. He plants the seeds of trust from the very beginning and betrays it; in a sense, bringing us closer to Agnes by having us endure her very same emotional journey. It’s unfortunate that an excellent film will be shrugged off and forgotten before it has a chance. The marketing machine of Hollywood has played to the horror audience’s blood lust. Once it has betrayed that audiences trust by not delivering what it promised in its trailers, Bug will quietly leak out of theaters and onto video to be archived as a one-trick pony Perhaps the programmed cybernetics paranoia found in Bug isn’t too far off, in that we are already programmed into accepting common cinematic formulas and predictable franchises. if you would like to discuss opinions about this movie leave me a comment.

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Teen, 17 years old
April 9, 2008
 
Not that great... VERY graphic
This film was a dissapointment. I went in thinking it would be a good, scary, fun movie, but it had some major plot holes, and the writing wasn't that great. The movie is VERY violent. Probably the hardest to watch scenes are when the guy pulls his tooth out, and when he stabs this doctor to death. Theres also a sex scene, and they swear a lot. Younger kids CANNOT see this, but older teens maybe.

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Adult
April 9, 2008
 
do not see this movie
just a tip to anyone who may be interested in seeing the movie "bug", DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY OR TIME, this was with out a doubt one of the worst movies i have ever seen. horrible cinematography, slow, terrible plot.....if there was one. and it seemed as if it would never end. DO NOT SEE THIS MOVIE

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Adult
April 9, 2008
 
It sucks!!!
let me tell you something, this movie was really unpleasant. It is not scary, but it's really nasty. I dont know what was the director thinking about when he made this movie. It's that bad that I had to get a re-admission for another movie because i did'nt enjoyed this movie. Dont waste your money on trash I'm serious. I think the director will get a nobel prize for the most stupid movie of all the times. Im on a pissed mood. So now you know.

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This review was written by Cynthia Fuchs
Studio:Lionsgate
Director:William Friedkin
Cast:Ashley Judd, Harry Connick Jr., Michael Shannon
Genre:Thriller
Run time:102 minutes
Theatrical release date:May 25, 2007
DVD release date:September 25, 2007
MPAA rating:R
MPAA explanation:some strong violence, sexuality, nudity, language and drug use.

This review was written by Cynthia Fuchs
 

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ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.

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