The Millennium Bug (2011) User Reviews

A massive monster lurking in the forest...

[paul_haakonsen · 4/10 · 29 September 2016]

I happened to find this movie by sheer random luck and decided to give it a go, despite the fact that I didn't really have any hopes for it, given the fact that it did seem to be one of those awful Sci-Fi movies just from the presentation on the cover.

And I will say, now that I have watched it, that it could have been worse. "The Millennium Bug" actually turned out to be a semi-enjoyable movie, which was a nice surprise. And what made it so was perhaps a combination of the way-out-there storyline and some of the colorful characters; here I am thinking of the folks living isolated out in the forest, of course.

"The Millennium Bug" is not a movie that boasts any kind of impressive special effects or CGI, not in the least. The effects in the movie were, from what I reckon, all physical effects, meaning that they didn't resort to using CGI. And that is in itself an impressive feat, as some people cling on to the old school type of effects. But compared to other movies from 2011, then "The Millennium Bug" is hopelessly outdated.

And while we are on the special effects, then I will say that the creature effects were actually good enough, despite the fact that the humongous creature looked like something taken straight from a child's drawing.

This is hardly a movie that you will pick up and watch for a second or third time. Once you have seen it the first time, that is basically all you need. This movie just simply doesn't have the contents to support more than a single viewing.

"The Millennium Bug" had some good moments here and there, and in my opinion it was mainly some of the quirky characters that salvaged the movie and made it sort of watchable and semi-enjoyable.

All in all, then "The Millennium Bug" scores a less than mediocre rating from me, landing on a four out of ten stars.

Good creature effects, shame about the rest of the movie

[maxwellsnake24 · 4/10 · 4 October 2020]

The makers of 'millennium bug' must have realised the dilemma they faced before they started shooting but carried on regardless. That dilemma is how do you make a feature length movie when you are really good at creating monster effects but lousy at everything else.The answer is quite simple : rip off (very badly) characters and ideas from successful genre flicks , in this case the sawyer family from the Texas chainsaw massacre, story tropes from the backwards horror subgenre and then copy and paste them to the template of any bog standard monster movie Also bathe every scene in retina damaging lighting to detract from the ultra fake looking sets. lastly cast the most hammy and hysterical amateur thespians to delivery your dreary and cliched dialogue. One of the film companies involved in this movie is called no CGI films and yes 'millennium bug' can claim to some damn fine tangible creature effects work, on the flipside i wouldn't be surprised if no talent for script writing films, we're also involved. 3 for the effects, 1 for the rest of the film

IT'S A GIRL

[nogodnomasters · 3/10 · 18 June 2019]

The Crawford family live isolated and have some inbreeding issues. They are in need of new blood. Enter the Haskin family. This is the plot of a number of "B" slasher films, some far better than others. This one adds the subplot of a Millennium monster, one that appears every 1,000 years. It just so happens his 1,000 year period corresponds to our calendar. It is a rather huge creature with big teeth and killer tentacles.

There is nothing like combining two bad films into one. This one appeared to be designed to be campy, which it achieves in spurts but mostly sputters with stupidity. The researcher wore a "Crocodile Hunter" hat and mimicked him far too slightly to be effectively funny and campy. The dialogue during the early character build up phase of the Haskin family was boring. It was simply poorly scripted.

A borderline rental.

Parental Guide: F-bomb, near sex. Groped woman. Brief nudity that was rather ugly. Christine Haeberman tied up in bra/panties.

Bugged Down

[bushtony · 2/10 · 27 December 2012]

To call this a B movie wouldn't be quite fair - it's a few letters below that in status. And I'm not convinced that the production company, No CGI Films, truly lives up to its name. Unless they are being ironic when they plaster glowing computer rendered lettering all over the titles just after the legend "No CGI Films" has graced the screen. That said the in-movie FX are handled by way of models and puppets, which gives the film something of the look of the seventies Amicus movies THE LAND THAT TIME FORGOT, AT THE EARTH'S CORE and THE PEOPLE THAT TIME FORGOT.

The plot sees a nuclear family avoiding the overstated potential catastrophe of Y2K by camping out in the mountains. Here they fall foul of a clan of interbred mentally-challenged rednecks who plan to use daughter and wife to cleanse their bloodline. Meanwhile a "crypto-anthropologist" is hanging around, trying to prove the existence of a massive cave-dwelling bug that only appears once a millennium.

Gore and splatter gleefully ensue as the family take on the rednecks and when the bug puts in an appearance to wreak havoc the film rattles along to a foregone conclusion wherein everyone winds up dead. The end. This is to intelligent and thoughtful film making what Whack the Gopher is to Chess. It's senseless, mindless and dim-witted. There are some nauseating moments and the hillbillies are suitably depraved, and the horribly unconvincing creature effects do project some retro charm.

Is it worth your time? One, only if you are a big fan of this sort of stuff, two, you are very bored, and three, you have nothing better to do or watch. One and two, maybe. Three, I think it most unlikely.

This movie would have been good... if it was made in 1980.

[rockblueice · 1/10 · 7 March 2012]

I saw this movie on opening night after being invited by a friend and I have to say it was pretty awful. The filmmakers who pride this being a No-CGI movie are kidding themselves if they think that this represents the future of filmmaking. The miniature sets, while admirably done, looked like toys on screen, the plot and story were nonsensical and badly-paced, and lastly, the supposed star of the show (the monster) looked laughable at best. Acting-wise, it's a mixed bag of decent acting to downright campy; kudos to Joany Haskin for being able to pull off great dramatic moments despite the ridiculousness happening all around her.

Production-criticisms aside, I would honestly do others a disservice if I recommended this film to anyone looking for a monster movie fix. It looks and feels dated because of the filmmakers antiquated approach to production yet does not even touch the base of other classic films done with same special effects techniques.

I would rate this film with the bottom pile of a Syfy channel original movie in both plot and production values. If that's your cup of tea, then I suppose you'd enjoy this film.

Awful

[ounicobob · 1/10 · 16 June 2013]

Besides all the "no CGI" chat... The movie is awful to watch... I'm a avid movie watcher, from all genres and types, and horror are, side by side with suspense, my favorites; but this one makes my laughs go out loud in the neighborhood! Man, what the hell is this? Bad acting, great monster, but also no terrifying one, so, the movie is nearly almost to watch till the end! I never stop watching one, even a piece of "shtako" like this, but I strongly do not recommend anyone to loose time seeing this one! The deaths are so forced and even we knowing that no CGIO was used, the rubber and plastic models used to play these parts lack credibility and this makes the movie very very very ugly!

Just wow.

[bjjnedan · 1/10 · 31 May 2013]

I don't know what to say about this. Well, too start, it's about a family that is spending Y2K camping or whatever. Obviously they get abducted by an inbred hick family. And, the abductors and abductees are all prey for a monster of some sort.

Independent movie or not, this movie is very stupid. I don't know what else to say. The acting is terrible. The effects are terrible. Every single thing about this movie is horrible. I set very low standards for this PoS because I know it's an independent flick. I never expect much from those. But..., even with my expectations being nonexistent, this stupid thing was horrible. This movie looks like it was a joke. It almost seems like it was made to mock someone. I don't know who, but someone. I don't think that anybody, writers, director, actors, absolutely anybody involved with making this thing took it seriously. If that were the case, it's still pretty f***ing horrible.

avoid at all cost!

[graham-harvey · 1/10 · 26 March 2022]

What schlock. Don't waste your time. Other reviewers have explained the tragedy of this movie. Its not really about the Millenium Bug event at all, more like a gore saw film in tandem with Deliverance. Enough said!

Not that great of a movie but still............

[nrage40 · 6/10 · 9 March 2015]

............. I have to admit that I had fun watching it. I know the acting isn't the best, the story's dumb and the monsters kinda ridiculous but I found found some of it to be funny at times.The hillbilly/ backwoods family was so over the top ridiculous that for me it held this together a bit especially the oldest brother. Of course as dumb as the monster looked I still enjoyed the 80's feel to it and as far as I'm concerned, there's nothing wrong with 1980's horror because that's when horror was fun. Give this a chance if you like 1980's movies with a bit of black comedy thrown in the middle, you'll probably like this......I did.

Love the Dysfunctional Family!!!!!

[SandyBalat · 10/10 · 10 June 2011]

I am not a huge horror movie fan but definitely enjoyed this film. And I love the fact that the monsters in this film are man made and not computer generated. It makes it all the more fun. Being an independent film it was closely and precisely made so it looks like it can be a big budget film. The actors were fantastic and delivered. I can really tell the production team are very creative visually! I don't usually write reviews but had to write about this one, because this film cannot be overlooked. If you like CGI free films, great acting, bugs and scary looking monsters, you will love this film. And I think I am in love with Orpheus!

i like this movie

[thanveeralisayed · 6/10 · 4 April 2018]

This is really underrated this movie is a fun ride as a whole. as a sci-fi horror fan iam satisfied with this movie. i always prefer watching movies over 5/10 but this is an exception

Big bugs....i'd rather go to the garden and eat worms...

[mr4449 · 9/10 · 26 June 2013]

Great B movie SALUTE!! I have missed this format of movie making , CGI has gotten old and too expected in a flick. This is hands on monster model making and blood and gore. ...a lot of good old fashioned hands on work was put into this flick. I didn't know what to expect from this rare find of a flick!! This obviously took hard work and dedication to an old way of movie making not practiced for a long time due to digital taking everything over. the digital world is fine when used properly and it has its place. Great blood and gore effects through the whole movie!! John Charles Meyer kicks ass in his character does the rest of the cast!!

Gotta love the Crawfords

[poolbob3 · 9/10 · 17 November 2011]

Independent movies always rock, but this one was well done. Great camera angles, great sound, and great BUG. No CGI, couldn't have been pulled off better! I loved the over the top acting of the Crawfords.

I'm from the Midwest and we see families like this all the time, right? Makes for great entertainment and my favorite is Fij Crawford. The Bug was interesting in it's movement, very realistic, not sure how I know how a giant bug moves, but looked scary enough to me. Not sure what to make of the birth scene, but made good subject to talk about around the water cooler. What will an earlier version of the Bug look like? Prequel, sequel, bring it on, can't wait... Viva la Bug!

Ah, the GOOD OLD DAYS...

[godzillawhiskey · 8/10 · 22 January 2013]

No summary here. You can get that in the synopsis...

Any movie studio that states right up front that they are a NO CGI studio automatically gets a bag of gummi bears from me! I saw "Wrath of the Titans" a few days before this and was looking for the game controller about midway through... I'm really tired of junk computer effects that make the movie feel like a video game. Come on, man!

I read a review of this movie on Ain't It Cool News about a year ago, and have been waiting patiently to get my hands on the DVD. I watched it twice already, because they just don't make them like this anymore. The story was good enough. It's not "Citizen Kane," but its not trying to be. The acting is dodgy in a few places, but it certainly is better than what I've seen in a lot of low budget movies. I really bought the cryptozoologist played by Ken McFarlane, and the girl in the VH1 Scream Queens show, Christine Habermann, seemed genuinely upset by her abduction by the hillbillies, even though, somehow, I kept thinking of Looney Tunes while watching the events unfold...

Okay, enough of that. THE MILLENNIUM BUG is a gory giant monster movie that could easily have been made in 1986, or perhaps 1966 if you took away the blood and guts. Yep, the giant monster is actually an actor wearing a monster suit, and yep, he smashes through a forest and an old ghost town... all built in miniature! The whole movie is stylized, not "real," and I dig that. So don't sit down and expect realism, because that's not going to happen. Also, the kills are pretty great... very gory, very outrageous. **SPOILER** Within the first ten minutes, the nasty hillbilly woman (who is clearly gorgeous in real life) gives birth in gory detail! Something Hollywood would NEVER show!

For me, THE MILLENNIUM BUG is a pretty fun movie. I see a lot of independent horror films, and I've had my fill of slasher, zombie, vampire, paranormal ghost demon yadda yadda yadda movies. This one is WAY different from any indie horror film out there... and that's a real complement, as far as I'm concerned.

The Millennium Bug is a rip roaring great time!

[Indianajabroni · 10/10 · 6 June 2011]

From start to finish, The Millennium Bug is fun and full of surprises! Any fan of horror movies will finds lots to love about this movie. The Millennium Bug creature itself if very wildly imaginative and awesome on screen dishing out brutal creature kills. There are plenty of imaginative gory kills and great one liners peppered throughout as well. One of the best parts of the movie is the Crawford family, especially Billa Crawford played to a perfect redneck villainous pitch by John Charles Meyer. Hopefully I won't have to wait another 1,000 years (how long it takes a Millennium Bug to reach maturity) to wait for another movie from the writer/director Kenneth Cran. Definitely a movie I can't wait to add to my collection.

Yeehaw! Monster VS Psychotic Hillbilles!

[Kingkitsch · 8/10 · 22 August 2015]

Without streaming, I never would have known this bizarre movie existed. It was a real pleasure to stumble over this, given the number of accessible movies these days. An obvious homage to old- school monster movies from back in the day before technology made almost every movie look exactly alike. The "no CGI" touted by the makers of this frantic goofy movie is exactly what you get: some really great miniatures and a guy in what must have been a really uncomfortable monster suit. While ridiculous, this popcorn flick bounces along merrily, mixing a whole truckload of references to other beloved horror flicks while stubbornly refusing to submit to the dreaded computer effects. Not everything works, but damn it, the guys who made this were having a great time, and it shows.

Seems that a legendary "millennium bug" is about to hatch out in the piney woods after a thousand year gestation period. Combine this with the faux-terror from 15 years ago about the "millennium bug" that was going to infest all technology and send us back to the Stone Age. Mix in the closest incestuous relatives of the Texas Chainsaw gang, the obsessed scientist who is about to find out he should have stayed home, a family that has the worst New Year's Eve imaginable, and a monster that's more Godzilla-esque than insectile. Lots of hysterics, axes-to-the-face, a nasty wooden dildo wielded by "Uncle Hibby", and a courageous father who's named after the real guy that directed "War of the Worlds" back in 1953, Byron Haskin. Fun for the whole family!

The Bug itself is more kaiju than anything remotely resembling an insect. Undoubtedly the production costs prohibited the necessary six legs, but who's counting legs when this bad boy bug smashes everything in sight, and eats everyone. A loving homage to "Aliens" makes for an incredibly gooey birth scene...and that's the second ugly birth we're treated to. The human version occurs early in the picture, giving up the immortal line "You're drippin on my beans".

Anyway, you could do worse than spend a few mindless minutes on this labor of love. No vampires, zombies, "found footage", paranormal activity in an abandoned hospital/asylum/prison/factory/Wal-Mart. Just a throwback to the 80s, when invention trumped technology. Give it a chance, and don't drip on the beans.

Excellent practical effects giant monster movie

[sanmentolabs · 10/10 · 10 March 2015]

Fair story, good acting, excellent practical effects. Although the film really warrants a 7, I gave it a 10 to counteract the moronic Sharknado fans who think that cgi is god's gift, when in reality it's god's goof. Filmmaking is an art form, it's not an effing computer program.

The miniatures in this film are exceptional down to the forest scenes and the houses. The creature is at once monstrous and kind of humorous, and certainly original. Sure it's a B-movie story about a family who encounters "Hills have Eyes" rednecks in the woods on the night of Dec. 31, 1999, and it just so happens that a giant insect like creature has reached it's full maturity that night and eventually wreaks havoc upon both freaks and family, but these guys went the extra mile with very little money, apparently shot everything in a 700 ft warehouse with the exception of a few exteriors of the jeep driving around. That is impressive.

Truly great fun monster movie

[kannibalcorpsegrinder · 9/10 · 1 October 2016]

Traveling out into the woods, a family trying to escape the Y2K virus finds their trip interrupted when they're kidnapped by inbred hillbillies and a vicious, legendary monster awoken from beneath the earth and must find a way to stop both threats to get out alive.

For the most part this one here was quite the fun and rather enjoyable creature feature. What really gives this one a lot of weight is the fact that there's just so much utterly enjoyable work to be had here with the blending of the inbred backwoods family genre and the monstrous creature feature. The first half here, where they get attacked in the woods and brought back into the family's house where they're subjected to numerous torturing, tormenting and plenty of rather fun antics with the family holding them there leading to all sorts of fun action scenes of them trying to escape their clutches. From them pushing the family around and constantly beating and smacking them around to the fighting only only with the deranged, deformed members but also the rest of the group makes for some truly fun and engaging efforts here that plays perfectly alongside the type of antics usually found in these kinds of films and it's a fun time giving the family plenty to like in the film, while the big highlight is the return to attack the family which results in some surprisingly brutal moments and a lot of rather graphic bloodshed doling out the deaths against everyone. Once this changes over into the true creature feature it's even more fun with the crazy way in which it rises up out of the ground in the middle of the forest out of the rather huge tunnel and proceeds to trample through the forest attacking the house which is quite a fun series of spectacular action pieces as the truly gargantuan creature smashes through the various levels of the house and breaks up both the different family sections squared off in the house as well as the different methods of bringing the house down around everyone that gives them the chances to escape are truly a lot of fun. The woodland encounters are even more fun, and the finale in the abandoned mining town are truly some of the more fun segments in the film with the creatures' gory kills and monstrous size are put to good use throughout here making for a cheesy good time. With this all being done in miniature effects without too much CGI present there's a great deal to like about this one and helps to make for a great time alongside the fine gore effects on display to really give this one it's positive marks. There's not a whole lot of flaws here, and what happens here is mostly based around the concept of giving the main hillbilly so much screen-time trying to make him imposing that it really fails quite spectacularly here at making him that way. There's little here about his mannerisms beyond holding a gun at everyone and stupidly not taking them out only to keep having to knock them out again later on that routinely gets used to define him and it's not that appealing. Likewise, the fact that it wakes up so late in the film and doesn't do much once it does beyond smashing into everything is another slight problem with this causing too much time on the hillbilly family because of that and it's not as even a split despite the mixing of the genres. It's all that really holds this one down.

Rated R: Graphic Language, Graphic Violence, Brief Nudity and themes of rape.