Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Bug Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 24, 2023

William Friedkin's "Bug" (2006) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Imprint Films. The supplemental features on the release include archival audio commentary with the director; exclusive new audio commentary by critics Troy Howarth and Tony Strauss; making of featurette; vintage trailer; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

This tiny bug... It can bring the whole thing down.

Even though Tracy Letts adapted his own play, it is impossible not to describe Bug as an original William Friedkin project. There are several very good reasons for this, but the most persuasive one is the gradual buildup of the paranoia that materializes in Bug, which is done through numerous very particular lensing choices. Some are obvious clues that prepare for the dramatic finale, but some are very effective misdirection plays, forcing the viewer to contemplate what-if scenarios that could be legit only in a Friedkin film. (Okay, maybe in a David Cronenberg film, too. However, Cronenberg would have quickly gone into the Weird Zone and produced a very different type of mind-bender). These lensing choices also do a lot to profile the main characters in Bug as Friedkin wishes, not as Letts’ play demands.

More than two-thirds of Bug take place in a seedy motel that is supposed to be somewhere in rural Oklahoma. In one of the motel’s rooms, Agnes White (Ashely Judd), who could be in her late twenties or early thirties, is killing herself with booze and coke. She does it slowly, usually while she is not serving drinks in the area’s only bar, but always while feeling like a wreck, which is late at night or early in the morning. The booze is cheap and most of the coke is probably fake, but when mixed up they do what they are supposed to.

On a busy night at the bar, Agnes’ only friend, a blond lesbian named R.C. (Lynn Collins), urges her to meet a customer who might be worth her time. Later that night, Agnes, R.C., and Peter (Michael Shannon) head back to the shady hotel for an impromptu ‘party’ -- they have a couple of drinks, a few lines of coke, and a meaningless conversation. When R.C. is called somewhere else, Agnes asks Peter to stay because he reveals to her that he is homeless. Then, over the next couple of days, the two quickly warm up to each other and discover that they have a lot in common.

But before Agnes and Peter can effectively become a couple, Jerry (Harry Connick Jr.), Agnes’ ex-something, unexpectedly reappears, roughs her up, and claims all of her tips. Then, while Peter quietly watches, Jerry announces that he has something to take care of but will be back soon. At this point, as Peter exits the hotel room, it very much looks like the remainder of Bug is going to be about Agnes’ struggle to stay with the right man and permanently remove the wrong man from her life. But it is not.

The remainder of Bug is a wild mind-bending trip that very effectively resets the entire film into something completely different. In fact, there are two good ways to deconstruct what happens next, though the more rational one is clearly the correct one.

After Jerry disappears, Agnes learns from Peter that for a while he has been tracked down by government agents because he is a key piece in a massive, very carefully managed conspiracy. If Peter talks, the whole thing can come crashing down, resetting how the entire world is seen and understood. A tiny bug is all it takes to initiate the process, too. After making love to Agnes, Peter then leads Agnes into the abyss of madness.

The less rational but just as effective explanation of everything that happens after the reset is that the conspiracy is real. This is why Bug is impossible not to describe as an original Friedkin project. Indeed, there are several sequences where the camera approaches the motel from above and creates the impression that someone or something is monitoring it from above. Elsewhere, someone or something repeatedly phones Agnes’ room but never utters a single word, leaving the impression that she is being monitored from afar. The discovery of the first bug, a real one, erodes the integrity of the previous explanation as well.

Bug works very well, but it is almost entirely because of Friedkin’s outstanding direction. The leads are shaky. Judd repeatedly mismanages her character’s outbursts and a few times very seriously damages her integrity. The same can be said about Shannon, which is surprising because he had already done the same character on the stage.

Bug Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Bug arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Imprint Films.

The release is sourced from an older master that was supplied by Lionsgate Films. This master has some noticeable limitations, but I still think that it is quite nice. What are some of these limitations? On a larger screen, some darker background nuances are not as good as they can be. There is still a lot to like, but finer nuances can be more convincing. I could be wrong, but I think that with some very particular encoding optimizations these areas can look very good. (I upscaled various sections of the film to 4K, and what I saw I liked a lot). A few highlights can be manage better as well, but more than two-thirds of the film are quite dark. Delineation, clarity, and depth are good, but some small fluctuations can be observed. Color balance is very, very good. In fact, the blue footage looks great. A few primaries can be fresher, and some nuances can be expanded, but color temperature and balance are convincing. There are no traces of problematic digital corrections. Image stability is very good. Finally, I noticed a few nicks, but I did not see any annoying large blemishes, cuts, stains, or other similar imperfections. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

Bug Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English LPCM 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I viewed the entire film with the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track and thought that it was excellent. In fact, I would be very surprised if this track was not approved in some way by William Friedkin when the current master was prepared. (I assume that Lionsgate finalized the master at the end of the DVD era). Clarity, sharpness, and depth were outstanding. Brian Tyler's score does some interesting things to help the desired atmosphere, but the music is not a major player in the film. I did not encounter any encoding issues to report in our review.

Bug Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary One - in this archival audio commentary, William Friedkin discusses in great detail what inspired him to do Bug, the visual style of the film (and specifically the symbolism of various objects and close-ups), the awkward evolution of the relationship between Agnes and Peter, the psychological element in the horror that defines the film, etc.

• Commentary Two - this new audio commentary was recorded by author/critic Troy Howarth and Tony Strauss, of WK Books and editor of Wengs Chop Magazine. The two gentlemen discuss the difficult production and marketing history of Bug, The casting choices (with some very interesting comments about Michael Shannon's take on his part), William Friedkin's direction and various preferences he had, the tone and atmosphere of the film, etc.

• A Discussion with William Friedkin - in this archival program, William Friedkin discusses a wide range of topics, from the production of Bug to the evolution of cinema and directing techniques to his love for unique characters and the best moments of his career. A fantastic program. In English, not subtitled. (29 min).

• Bug: An Introduction - in this archival program, William Friedkin explains what attracted him to Tracy Letts' play and how his film offers a different interpretation of it. Also included are clips from interviews with Ashley Judd, Michael Shannon, Harry Connick, Jr., Lynn Collins, and producer Gary Huckabay, as well as raw footage from the shooting process. In English, not subtitled. (12 min).

• Trailer - presented here is a vintage U.S. trailer for Bug. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

Bug Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

In Bug, paranoia may be the name of the game, but its end destination is not as crystal clear as it is in Tracy Letts' best-selling play. This is why Bug is impossible not to describe as an original William Friedkin project. It is genuinely unsettling, but at the same time thought-provoking in ways that modern horror films struggle to be. It reminded me of Marina de Van's In My Skin, which came out a few years before it. Imprint Films' release is sourced from an old but quite good master that was supplied by Lionsgate Films and has a good selection of bonus features, one of which is an outstanding archival program with Friedkin. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.