William Friedkin’s new film, Bug, is a psychological thriller where fear, paranoia, conspiracy theories, and claustrophobia link a deranged man and woman in a grungy motel room.

The film is based on a play by Tracy Letts that was a hit in Chicago and in New York. Tracy Letts' 2004 off-Broadway success is a mind-bending nightmarish tale that puts together a virtually harmless drifter named Peter (Michael Shannon) and a battered wife, Agnes (Ashley Judd), terrified of her ex-con husband Jerry’s return (Harry Connick Jr). A paranoid personality finds its mate, and they race each other into madness. Friedkin's classical building and release of tension, and expert honing of his actors' skills ensures that you'll want to join the characters for the ride.

Peter tells Agnes about a "bug" he contracted while in the military stationed in the Middle East and how it was deliberately planted in him. He convinces her that he carries the trait and perhaps it's a master plan that she's carrying the female bug that reproduces. She begins to share his obsession with bugs, and together they hurtle headlong into a paranoid fantasy that ties together in one perfect conspiracy all of the suspicions they’ve ever had about anything.

Judd and Shannon bravely cast all restraint aside and allow themselves to be seen as raw, terrified and mad.

Friedkin’s thriller has a clear advantage over most of the summer movies: it’s not a sequel, a spinoff or any other kind of retread. Best of all, it doesn’t tell you exactly where it’s going until it’s almost there.

Directed by: William Friedkin
Running time: 102 mins.
Release date: May 25, 2007
Genre: Drama, Thriller and Adaptation
Distributor: Lionsgate
MPAA Rating: R