Review of Bug (2007) by Paul L — 13 Jul 2012

Don't be misled by the B movie title â" this is not a horror movie. Sure it has more than its fair share of gore and wince inducing moments (Friedkin is never one to shy away from those). But Bug is more psychological drama than creature fest, a slow boiling tale of two troubled people gradually consumed by paranoia and schizophrenia.

The film is almost devoid of a soundtrack which thickens the atmosphere to the point of suffocation. The small bedsit, from which the film rarely strays, acts as a cocoon from which the paranoia and delusions grow and fester, inevitably exploding to the surface with horrifying consequences.

Occasionally the film becomes a little too self indulgent, and at times the paranoid fear teeters dangerously close to ridiculous. But the superb performances and a great script ultimately delver a tense, unsettling film that gets right under the skin.