*** CAUTION CONTAINS SPOILERS****
The commercials and previews for "Bug" are very very misleading. Most people go in expecting a sci-fi/horror flick. This movie has nothing supernatural or extraterrestrial about it. It's about drug induced paranoia and how insanely out of control it can get. "Bug" has more in common with "Requiem For A Dream" than say "Invasion of the Body Snatchers."
Essentially "Bug" was about crystal meth addiction although I can't recall the word meth ever being used. There were cocaine references but I think those were curveballs so not to point out what was really happening. Think about it. White trash can't afford cocaine but they usually can afford crank, especially if they are cooking up their own. Crank lasts much longer than coke and a user needs a lot less. That there was always some powder on the mirror is more apt to be true about speed then coke because cocaine lasts a shorter amount of time hence runs out much faster... That Friedkin didn't feel the need to show them smoking/snorting every other scene was really quite clever. Here are several major hints.
1- Meth heads are uber conspiracy theory paranoid sorts. Crystal meth destroys the brain and induces schizophrenia/paranoia. The amazing rants that they go on is very true of what full blown tweakers do. Not to mention seeing imaginary bugs and picking at themselves to the point of self-mutilation.
2- Peter's diminished sex drive and then the ability to perform as well as he does is typical of users. When Peter brings back one small muffin for each of them for breakfast that's because tweakers don't eat much. When Agnes says 'we've only been together once but I would rather just talk/listen to you than be anywhere else' is also something a speed freak would say. They're spun and they're doing the tweaker thing together.
3- Goss keeps mentioning that she's lost weight and the disheveled condition of her room is also very telling. And when Goss sees the powder he makes a comment, tastes it, but does not snort up. You really think a convict like Goss would pass up a line of coke?
4- Full blown paranoid tweakers have been known to wall paper their entire apartments/ houses with aluminum foil. That the writer used this amazing element speaks volumes.
5- Crystal meth is cooked up with bug spray and gasoline. When Doctor Sweet sits on the gasoline can, he make a comment about knowing what the gas is for. I think Friedkin was hoping that the audience would figure it out instead of scratching their heads wondering when Agnes was going to turn into a giant spider...
The commercials and previews for "Bug" are very very misleading. Most people go in expecting a sci-fi/horror flick. This movie has nothing supernatural or extraterrestrial about it. It's about drug induced paranoia and how insanely out of control it can get. "Bug" has more in common with "Requiem For A Dream" than say "Invasion of the Body Snatchers."
Essentially "Bug" was about crystal meth addiction although I can't recall the word meth ever being used. There were cocaine references but I think those were curveballs so not to point out what was really happening. Think about it. White trash can't afford cocaine but they usually can afford crank, especially if they are cooking up their own. Crank lasts much longer than coke and a user needs a lot less. That there was always some powder on the mirror is more apt to be true about speed then coke because cocaine lasts a shorter amount of time hence runs out much faster... That Friedkin didn't feel the need to show them smoking/snorting every other scene was really quite clever. Here are several major hints.
1- Meth heads are uber conspiracy theory paranoid sorts. Crystal meth destroys the brain and induces schizophrenia/paranoia. The amazing rants that they go on is very true of what full blown tweakers do. Not to mention seeing imaginary bugs and picking at themselves to the point of self-mutilation.
2- Peter's diminished sex drive and then the ability to perform as well as he does is typical of users. When Peter brings back one small muffin for each of them for breakfast that's because tweakers don't eat much. When Agnes says 'we've only been together once but I would rather just talk/listen to you than be anywhere else' is also something a speed freak would say. They're spun and they're doing the tweaker thing together.
3- Goss keeps mentioning that she's lost weight and the disheveled condition of her room is also very telling. And when Goss sees the powder he makes a comment, tastes it, but does not snort up. You really think a convict like Goss would pass up a line of coke?
4- Full blown paranoid tweakers have been known to wall paper their entire apartments/ houses with aluminum foil. That the writer used this amazing element speaks volumes.
5- Crystal meth is cooked up with bug spray and gasoline. When Doctor Sweet sits on the gasoline can, he make a comment about knowing what the gas is for. I think Friedkin was hoping that the audience would figure it out instead of scratching their heads wondering when Agnes was going to turn into a giant spider...