Bug

After a local earthquake, a sleepy town faces an alarming new threat: cockroaches mutated into incendiary killers that can start fires on contact. As blazes multiply and fear spreads, scientist James Parmiter and his wife Carrie set up investigations to understand how the insects developed and why they seem so purposeful. Their lab work draws in colleagues and skeptics, and efforts to alert town officials meet disbelief and red tape. The film builds tension through accumulating evidence and small moments of horror, keeping most discoveries gradual while the community scrambles to prevent further destruction, and neighbors begin arguing. James's research begins to hint at implications that reach beyond immediate damage, suggesting the incident could have wider scientific or ecological consequences.

Bug was released in 1975, directed by Jeannot Szwarc and credited to Thomas Page and producer William Castle, who helped shape its concept and marketing within the 1970s horror cycle. It stars Bradford Dillman, Joanna Miles, and Richard Gilliland, notably.

It had a limited theatrical run and modest commercial returns, more of a niche genre entry than a mainstream hit, later resurfacing on television and in cult film circles. It never achieved wide distribution or major box office attention, however.

While not a household name, Bug captures 1970s anxieties about environmental change and science gone wrong, earning a modest cult following among creature-feature fans and collectors of practical-effects era horror. It still appears in retrospectives and late-night horror programming, appreciated for its period atmosphere and analogue effects, and late-night screenings.

Critical reaction was mixed, reflected in its average rating of 5.286/10 from 96 votes; viewers often praise its premise and period atmosphere while criticizing pacing and special effects. Performances by Bradford Dillman and Joanna Miles anchor the material, and themes include human interference with nature, scientific responsibility, and small-town panic.