Bug | |
---|---|
![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Jeannot Szwarc |
Written by | William Castle Thomas Page |
Based on | The Hephaestus Plague (1973 novel) by Thomas Page |
Produced by | William Castle |
Starring | Bradford Dillman Joanna Miles Jamie Smith-Jackson |
Cinematography | Michel Hugo |
Edited by | Allan Jacobs |
Music by | Charles Fox |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 99 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Box office | $3,602,023 |
Bug is a 1975 American horror film directed by Jeannot Szwarc and written by William Castle and Thomas Page, from Page's novel The Hephaestus Plague (1973). Shot in Panavision, it was the last film Castle was involved in before his death in 1977. [1] The film starred Bradford Dillman, Joanna Miles and Richard Gilliland.
The film initially depicts a new insect species, which faces extinction. A widowed scientist crossbreeds the species with cockroaches, creating a sentient hybrid species of insects.
An earthquake releases a species of previously unknown insect which can create fires by rubbing their legs together. Eventually however, most of the bugs die because they cannot survive in the low air pressure on the Earth's surface.
After the wife of a scientist dies when one of the insects crawls in her hair, Professor James Parmiter keeps one alive in a pressure chamber. He becomes obsessed with the insect and successfully breeds the new species with a modern cockroach, creating a breed of intelligent, flying super-cockroaches. [2]
Parmiter goes into seclusion at a farm after seeing his creation and gaining the ability to communicate with the bugs. [3]
It was writer and producer William Castle's last film before his death two years later. [4]
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 33% of 12 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 4.3/10. However, the sci-fi review site Moria was kinder to the movie, calling it Szwarc's best film. It noted that the movie was better than expected, and the first part of the movie at least maintains scientific credibility. They also praised the lead actor's performance.
Variety found the film static and lacking interest. TV Guide liked the music and found the technical credits good, but overall found the movie mediocre. [5]
Entertainment Weekly gave the film a C, [6] while Leonard Maltin gave the movie two stars. [7]
The New York Times found the movie "sickening" and felt it deserved a harsher rating than PG. [8]
The film made just over eight million dollars worldwide. [9]
Lemora is a 1973 American horror film written and directed by Richard Blackburn, and starring Cheryl Smith, Hy Pyke, and Lesley Gilb. It follows a young girl in Prohibition-era America who travels to a mysterious town to visit her father, and uncovers a coterie of vampires. It was also released under the alternate titles Lemora: A Child's Tale of the Supernatural, The Legendary Curse of Lemora, and Lemora, Lady Dracula.
Enigma is a 1982 Anglo-American thriller film directed by Jeannot Szwarc and starring Martin Sheen, Sam Neill, Brigitte Fossey, and Kevin McNally. Based on Michael Barak's novel Enigma Sacrifice, the film centers on a CIA agent who tries to infiltrate Soviet intelligence in order to stop a murderous plot.
Mimic is a 1997 American science fiction horror film directed by Guillermo del Toro, written by del Toro and Matthew Robbins based on Donald A. Wollheim's short story of the same name, and starring Mira Sorvino, Jeremy Northam, Josh Brolin, Charles S. Dutton, Giancarlo Giannini and F. Murray Abraham.
Thomas Lee Holland is an American filmmaker. He is best known for his work in the horror film genre, penning the 1983 sequel to the classic Alfred Hitchcock film Psycho, directing and co-writing the first entry in the long-running Child's Play franchise, and writing and directing the cult vampire film Fright Night. He also directed the Stephen King adaptations The Langoliers and Thinner. He is a two-time Saturn Award recipient. Holland made the jump into children’s literature in 2018 when he co-wrote How to Scare a Monster with fellow writer Dustin Warburton.
Bradford Dillman was an American actor and author.
Tarantula is a 1955 American science-fiction monster film produced by William Alland and directed by Jack Arnold. It stars John Agar, Mara Corday, and Leo G. Carroll. The film is about a scientist developing a miracle nutrient to feed a rapidly growing human population. In its unperfected state, the nutrient causes extraordinarily rapid growth, creating a deadly problem when a tarantula test subject escapes and continues to grow larger and larger. The screenplay by Robert M. Fresco and Martin Berkeley was based on a story by Arnold, which was in turn inspired by Fresco's teleplay for the 1955 Science Fiction Theatre episode "No Food for Thought", also directed by Arnold. The film was distributed by Universal Pictures as a Universal-International release, and reissued in 1962 through Sherman S. Krellberg's Ultra Pictures.
Sssssss is a 1973 American horror film starring Strother Martin, Dirk Benedict and Heather Menzies. It was directed by Bernard L. Kowalski and written by Hal Dresner and Daniel C. Striepeke, the latter of whom also produced the film. The make-up effects were created by John Chambers and Nick Marcellino. It received a nomination for the Best Science Fiction Film award of the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films in 1975.
Hands of the Ripper is a 1971 British horror film directed by Peter Sasdy and starring Eric Porter, Angharad Rees and Jane Merrow. It was produced by Aida Young for Hammer Film Productions, and written by L. W. Davidson from a story by Edward Spencer Shew. The film was released in the U.S. as a double feature with Twins of Evil (1971).
The Wasp Woman is a 1959 American independent science-fiction horror film produced and directed by Roger Corman. Filmed in black-and-white, it stars Susan Cabot, Anthony Eisley, Michael Mark, and Barboura Morris. The film was originally released by Filmgroup as a double feature with Beast from Haunted Cave. To pad out the film's running time when it was released to television two years later, a new prologue was added by director Jack Hill.
Bedlam is a 1946 American horror film directed by Mark Robson and starring Boris Karloff, Anna Lee and Richard Fraser, and was the last in a series of stylish horror B films produced by Val Lewton for RKO Radio Pictures. The film was inspired by William Hogarth's 1732–1734 painting series A Rake's Progress, and Hogarth was given a writing credit.
Piranha is a horror film series that consists of five films. The original film is a parody of the 1975 film Jaws.
The Nest is an 1988 American science-fiction horror film directed by Terence H. Winkless in his directorial debut. Based on the 1980 novel of the same name by Eli Cantor, the film's screenplay was written by Robert King. The film was produced by Julie Corman and stars Robert Lansing, Lisa Langlois, Franc Luz, and Terri Treas.
Bog is a 1979 American independent horror film directed by Don Keeslar and starring Gloria DeHaven, Aldo Ray, Marshall Thompson, and Leo Gordon.
Prince Valiant is a 1997 Irish-British independent sword and sorcery film directed by Anthony Hickox, written by Michael Frost Beckner, and starring Stephen Moyer, Katherine Heigl, Thomas Kretschmann, Joanna Lumley, Ron Perlman, and Edward Fox. It is a loose adaptation of the long-running Prince Valiant comic strip of Hal Foster, some panels of which were used in the film. In it, Valiant must battle the Vikings and a scheming sorceress to save the kingdom.
The Mutations is a low-budget 1974 British-American science fiction/horror film directed by Jack Cardiff.
House of the Damned is a 1963 horror thriller film, shot in CinemaScope. It was produced and directed by Maury Dexter, and stars Ron Foster, Merry Anders, Richard Crane, Erika Peters and Richard Kiel.
Breaking Point is a 1989 American war thriller television film directed by Peter Markle and written by Stanley Greenberg. It is a remake of the 1964 film 36 Hours, which in turn was based on the 1944 short story "Beware of the Dog" by Roald Dahl. The film stars Corbin Bernsen, Joanna Pacuła, John Glover, and David Marshall Grant. It aired on TNT on August 18, 1989.
The Evil is a 1978 American supernatural horror film directed by Gus Trikonis and starring Richard Crenna, Joanna Pettet, Andrew Prine and Victor Buono. Its plot follows a husband-and-wife team of doctors who attempt to open a rehabilitation center in a mansion built over a gateway to hell.
Blue Monkey is a 1987 Canadian horror film directed by William Fruet and starring Steve Railsback, Gwynyth Walsh, Susan Anspach, Don Lake, Sandy Webster, Helen Slayton-Hughes, and John Vernon. The film centers on a group of doctors trapped in a quarantined hospital as a giant insect-like creature begins to spread a deadly infection. The film was released on VHS by March 31, 1988. It received mostly negative reviews upon its release. It was released in some foreign markets as "Insect".
Blade is a 1973 American mystery thriller film directed by Ernest Pintoff and starring John Marley, Jon Cypher, Kathryn Walker, William Prince and Keene Curtis.