Bug

Play trailer

Bug

R

2007

1h 42m

Drama

Mystery & Thriller

Horror

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

62%

Tomatometer

132 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.

Watch on Fandango

Stream Now

Critics Consensus

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

Read Critics Reviews

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

2 days ago

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

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

Read More

Read Less

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

POST RATING

William Friedkin

Director

Ashley Judd

Agnes

Michael Shannon

Peter

Lynn Collins

RC

Brian F. O'Byrne

Dr. Sweet

Harry Connick Jr.

Jerry

Bug: Official Clip - The Ex-Husband

2:32

Now Playing

Bug: Official Clip - You're Being Watched

2:23

Now Playing

Bug: Official Clip - I Am the Super Mother Bug!

1:57

Now Playing

Bug: Official Clip - Contaminated

2:20

Now Playing

Bug: Official Clip - Machine

2:14

Now Playing

Bug: Official Clip - Pliers

2:32

Now Playing

Bug: Official Clip - Trouble with the Army

2:22

Now Playing

Bug: Official Clip - I Don't Want Any Trouble

2:12

Now Playing

Bug: Official Clip - Dr. Sweet

2:29

Now Playing

Bug: Official Clip - I'm Not an Axe Murderer

2:19

Now Playing

View more videos

Danika

29%

33%

Danika

Watchlist

The Orphanage

87%

86%

The Orphanage

Watchlist

TRAILER

for The Orphanage

Vinyan

53%

32%

Vinyan

Watchlist

To the Devil a Daughter

45%

36%

To the Devil a Daughter

Watchlist

A Cure for Wellness

42%

42%

A Cure for Wellness

Watchlist

TRAILER

for A Cure for Wellness

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Mr. Skin Reveals Top 20 Nude Scenes of 2007

Interview: Picking Up on William Friedkin’s Cruising

Box Office Guru Preview: Chan and Tucker Back in Action

View more photos

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)

Join The Newsletter

Join The Newsletter

Cookie Settings