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Bug

Play trailer Poster for Bug R 2007 1h 42m Drama Mystery & Thriller Horror Play Trailer Watchlist
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62% Tomatometer 130 Reviews 34% Popcornmeter 250,000+ Ratings
At a rundown desert motel, Agnes (Ashley Judd) begins a tentative relationship with a newcomer named Peter (Michael Shannon). He has a strange charisma, one that offers fearful and unstable Agnes a flicker of hope. When Peter reveals that the military deliberately infected him with a bug and that he has tiny insects crawling under his skin, paranoia begins to envelop the desperate pair.
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Bug

Bug

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Critics Consensus

Disappointing resolution aside, Bug uses its claustrophobic setting and cinéma vérité camerawork to tense, impressive effect.

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Critics Reviews

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Peter Bradshaw Guardian Nov 17, 2007
3/5
It starts off like a horror film, or like a modern-day Tennessee Williams piece and then transmutes into ... something very different indeed. Go to Full Review Glen Ferris Empire Magazine Nov 8, 2007
3/5
The dialogue raises the odd snigger and the final act is perhaps a little too barmy, but a committed cast and an experienced director make this a tense and effectively claustrophobic experience. Go to Full Review Nick Schager Lessons of Darkness Jun 25, 2007
B
Friedkin's best film in at least two decades. Go to Full Review Trace Thurman Horror Queers Podcast Oct 21, 2026
5/5
Ashley Judd delivers a career-best performance in William Friedkin's adaptation of Tracy Letts' controversial stage play. Go to Full Review Matt Brunson Film Frenzy Dec 27, 2025
2.5/4
It might have taken David Cronenberg, that insect fetishist (Naked Lunch, The Fly), to truly turn this into a freak-out session. Go to Full Review Joe Lipsett Anatomy of a Scream Podcast Network Aug 30, 2024
4/5
William Friedkin's adaptation of Tracy Letts' play features stunning performances by Ashley Judd and Michael Shannon, disorienting editing, and a truly tragic, albeit inevitable, ending. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Robert P @Superbad Oct 5, 2026 Bug is a 2.5 Star Movie... See more Stone Cold T @Thwompthing Jul 18, 2026 Low audience scores are criminally underrating this film. Slowly watching the couple descend into complete paranoia is fantastic. See more emily K @QueenOnion Jan 3, 2026 What a wild ride! This has some of the most fun cinematography I've seen. It makes your skin crawl. It's incredibly deep and has a profoundly beautiful ending. See more Scott E @RT19581245 Oct 6, 2025 Nothing good will come from watching this. See more Dennis P @DPMaui Jun 18, 2025 One of the best films ever made, the performance by Judd and Shannon was impeccable, Not many movies like this and wish there were more. What do we get these days ?, Cartoons, remakes of a bygone era that fail in their attempts, new, so called horror/suspense movies that are a complete waste of time Gripping, suspenseful and totally out there, isn't that called real entertainment and fabulous cinema experience ? See more kevenquinlan T @RT75276071 Feb 15, 2025 WOW. Ok, the performances were some of the best I've ever seen- not unlike Aronofsky's The Master. But, also like that, it was easily one of the most inane, nonsensical, s- shows I've ever watched. Justy the absurdity of the premise and that 2 'normal/sane' people would so quickly devolve into what they did- laughable as F. I have schizophrenia, I have for about 10 years now. I totally see the great scripting of what occured but there isn't a way to make a sane person become as crazy as you are. There just isn't. She would've told him to kick rocks as soon as he busted out with the 'invisible bug' poppycock. I AM going to keep the movie in my collection, not b/c I thought it was good, but as a reminder that you can't just make a movie anyway you want and not have some kind of Logic structure to it. See more Read all reviews
Bug

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Cast & Crew

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William Friedkin

Director

Ashley Judd

Agnes

Michael Shannon

Peter

Lynn Collins

RC

Brian F. O'Byrne

Dr. Sweet

Harry Connick Jr.

Jerry

Movie Clips

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Bug

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Bug

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Movie Info

Synopsis At a rundown desert motel, Agnes (Ashley Judd) begins a tentative relationship with a newcomer named Peter (Michael Shannon). He has a strange charisma, one that offers fearful and unstable Agnes a flicker of hope. When Peter reveals that the military deliberately infected him with a bug and that he has tiny insects crawling under his skin, paranoia begins to envelop the desperate pair.
Director
William Friedkin
Producer
Holly Wiersma, Kimberly C. Anderson, Malcolm Petal, Gary Huckabay, Michael Burns, Andreas Schardt
Screenwriter
Tracy Letts
Distributor
Lionsgate Films
Production Co
LIFT Productions, Lionsgate, DMK Mediafilms
Rating
R (Language|Drug Use|Nudity|Sexuality|Some Strong Violence)
Genre
Drama, Mystery & Thriller, Horror
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
May 25, 2007, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 1, 2011
Box Office (Gross USA)
$7.0M
Runtime
1h 42m
Sound Mix
Dolby, Dolby SRD
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)
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