Bug (2006)

A lonely, disaffected cocktail waitress (Ashley Judd) meets a strange young man (Michael Shannon) and what begins as a seemingly benign relationship between two emotionally isolated people turns into a dark tale of paranoia and psychological horror. Based on the play by Tracy Letts (AUGUST OSAGE COUNTY) and directed by William Friedkin (THE FRENCH CONNECTION). An unsettling and disturbing film which as a play had some success in London and New York (off-Broadway). With a couple of exceptions, the entire movie takes place in a shoddy motel room which in most cases would betray its stage bound roots but in this case heightens the claustrophobia so integral to the story. Judd is sensational in what might well be a career best performance as the girl and Shannon gives an intense and genuinely creepy performance as the ex-soldier. It was marketed as a horror film but it's not a traditional horror movie and audiences stayed away. Like Darren Aronofsky's misunderstood MOTHER!, mainstream audiences didn't get it. Not for the faint of heart. With Harry Connick Jr. and Lynn Collins.