''Bug'' is a 1975 American

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...

Panavision Panavision is an American motion picture equipment company founded in 1953 specializing in cameras and lenses, based in Woodland Hills, California. Formed by Robert Gottschalk as a small partnership to create anamorphic projection lenses during ...

, directed by

Jeannot Szwarc Jeannot Szwarc (born November 21, 1939) is a French director of film and television, known for such films as ''Jaws 2'', ''Somewhere in Time'', ''Supergirl'' and '' Santa Claus: The Movie''. He has also produced and written for TV. Life and ca ...

and written by

William Castle William Castle (born William Schloss Jr.; April 24, 1914 – May 31, 1977) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. Orphaned at 11, Castle dropped out of high school at 15 to work in the theater. He came to the attenti ...

and Thomas Page, from Page's novel ''The Hephaestus Plague'' (1973). It was the last film Castle was involved in before his death in 1977. The film starred

Bradford Dillman Bradford Dillman (April 14, 1930 – January 16, 2018) was an American actor and author. Early life Bradford Dillman was born on April 14, 1930, in San Francisco, the son of Dean Dillman, a stockbroker, and Josephine (née Moore). Bradford's pa ...

Joanna Miles Joanna Miles (born March 6, 1940) is an American actress. She received two Emmy Awards for her portrayal of Laura Wingfield in the 1973 film production of Tennessee Williams' ''The Glass Menagerie''. Early life and education Miles was born in ...

and

Richard Gilliland Richard Gilliland (January 23, 1950 – March 18, 2021) was an American television and movie actor, best known as JD Shackleford in ''Designing Women'' (1986–1992). Life and career Gilliland was born in Fort Worth, Texas. He attended high sc ...

Plot

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...

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. Parmiter goes into seclusion at a farm after seeing his creation and gaining the ability to communicate with the bugs.

Cast

as Professor James Parmiter *

as Carrie Parmiter *

as Gerald Metbaum * Jamie Smith-Jackson as Norma Tacker *

Alan Fudge Alan Fudge (February 27, 1944 – October 10, 2011) was an American actor known for his roles in four television programs, ''Man from Atlantis'', ''Eischied'', ''Paper Dolls'' and ''Bodies of Evidence'', along with a recurring role on '' 7th Hea ...

as Professor Mark Ross *

Jesse Vint Jesse Lee Vint III (born 21 September 1940) is an American actor, film director and screenwriter. He acted in the films ''Silent Running'' (1972), ''Macon County Line'' (1974), ''Black Oak Conspiracy'' (1977) and ''Forbidden World'' (1982). Lif ...

as Tom Tacker *

Patty McCormack Patricia McCormack (born Patricia Ellen Russo in 1945) is an American actress with a career in theater, films, and television. McCormack began her career as a child actress. She is perhaps best known for her performance as Rhoda Penmark in Maxw ...

as Sylvia Ross * Brendan Dillon as Charlie * Frederic Downs as Henry Tacker * James Greene as Reverend Kern * Jim Poyner as Kenny Tacker

Production

The living room and kitchen sets from ''

The Brady Bunch ''The Brady Bunch'' is an American sitcom created by Sherwood Schwartz that aired from September 26, 1969, to March 8, 1974, on ABC. The series revolves around a large blended family with six children. The show aired for five seasons and, after ...

'' were reused in this film, although the living room set was rearranged slightly to a smaller footprint. Aside from a paint job, the kitchen set was otherwise unaltered. It was based on the book ''

The Hephaestus Plague ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' by Thomas Page. It was writer William Castle's last film.

Reception

, Hoiwever, the sci-fi review site Moria was kinder to the movie. calling it Swzarc's best film. It noted that the moview was better than expected, and the first part of the movie at least maintains scientific credibility. The also praised the lead actor's performance.

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

found the film static and lacking interest.

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...

liked the music, and found the overall techincial credits good, but overall found the movie mediorce.

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

gave the film a C, while

Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic and film historian, as well as an author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives. He is perhaps best known for his book of fil ...

gave the movie two stars. The

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

found the movie "sickening" and felt it deserved a harsher rating than PG. The film made just over eight million dollars world wide.

References

External links