Simply A Masterpiece

Good concept, poorly executed.

best movie i've ever seen.

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

When I hear SyFy originals popping up, I immediately think cheap and bad. Bugs is surprisingly one of their more watchable efforts. Of course there are flaws, while SyFy have definitely done worse the bugs do look rather crude in design, the script could have done with more flow and less cheese, the characters are stereotypical and some elements of the story are derivative. However, the scenery is cool and atmospheric, and the editing is much more focused than it has been, usually I find it hackneyed. The gore is not too cheap and quite fun in their usage and the attacks do at least have suspense and a sense of terror. Bugs features one of the better directorial jobs for a SyFy movie, it is flashy and crisply paced in alternative to the sluggish and almost non-existent direction I've encountered before, and the story doesn't make the mistake of being dull and is more interesting and less predictable than it sounds. The acting is decent, nobody stands out as such but nobody is mind-numbingly bad either. Overall, has its debits but compared to the usual SyFy original movie fodder it is not half bad. 6/10 Bethany Cox

Two, maybe three years ago, I surely would have bashed this movie entirely and probably wouldn't have been able to mention one minor positive note about it. "Bugs" back then would have been just another imbecilic creature-feature produced by the infamous Sci-Fi channel and exclusively aimed at undemanding audiences over-enthusiast to see big monsters and loads of blood. But the (sad) truth now is that I've seen so many horrible and even downright embarrassing Sci-Fi (these days re- baptized as SyFy) lately that "Bugs" all of a sudden doesn't come across so bad anymore. Compared to crap like "Troglodyte", "Sharktopus" and whatever else, this a more than endurable movie. Like pretty much every other movie revolving on over-sized animals ever made, "Bugs" is a rip- off of Steven Spielberg's "Jaws". The giant shark has obviously been replaced with giant insects and the sunny beaches that must absolutely remain open during high tourist season have been replaced with a newly finished subway of which the opening ride with prominent guests absolutely has to take place. The rest of the scenario is fairly obvious, predictable and includes the possible stereotypical characters and clichéd situations you can think of. Still, the action sequences are quite entertaining, with above average special effects (director Joe Conti is primarily an F/X guy) and good old-fashioned cheesy dialogs. The explanation on where the bugs come from is rather grotesque and laughable, but hey, at least the movie bothers to provide an explanation. I've seen more than enough dumb creature features where the monsters' origins are never even clarified. There's some decent gore and bloodshed to enjoy, especially during the train's opening ceremony massacre, and it was nice to see sexy redhead Angie Everhart again. I will most certainly forget that I've seen "Bugs" in a few weeks from now, but at least I wasn't bored or annoyed while it lasted. That's already an accomplishment these days.

I believe one day film historians will look back on this as the era in which Hollywood forgot how to make an entertaining low budget creature feature, for which the blame will be laid squarely on the shoulders of The Channel Formerly Known as Sci-Fi.And the prime exhibit will be this piece of dreck. Literally no stone is left unturned in its relentless quest to claim the dishonor of being the most inept, boring "Aliens" rip-off ever to come scuttling down the pike. You'd think the concept of monster bugs running amok in a half-completed subway project could provide all sorts of opportunities for claustrophobic chills and thrills -- but you'd be wrong, so very, very wrong.Even by TCFKaSF standards, this is dull stuff. And for all you sick puppies who could care less about inconsequentials like direction, cinematography, dialog, acting or plot, so long as there's lots of gore -- well, there's not that much, and it's not that well done, either.Let's put it this way: This film is so bad, even my local used DVD store wouldn't take it.

Bugs starts with a cop (Xuan Fraser) chasing a suspect into subway tunnel construction site, once inside the cop is killed by something nasty lurking in the shadows... FBI agent Matt Pollack (Antonio Sabato Jr.) is called in when the cops limbless torso is discovered & is thought to be the work of a serial killer whom Pollack is after. Pollack disagrees but stays on the case when he finds some strange slime on the body, it is sent to entomologist Emily Foster (Angie Everhart) who confirms the substance is insect enzyme & she has never seen anything like it before. Meanwhile the half completed subway tunnel is hosting a VIP party on a train when the guests are attacked & slaughtered by large scorpion type insects that have been awoke from they're centuries long hibernation by the construction. Word of the massacre gets to Pollack & Foster who call in a special marine unit lead by officer Benton (Duane Murray) to prevent whatever's lurking down there from making it out...This Canadian production was directed by Joseph Conti & I personally thought Bugs was a throughly entertaining & harmless way to pass 80 odd minutes (it states on the IMDb that with commercials it runs 120! Talk about ruining the pacing & flow of a film! But not the version I saw thankfully...). The script by Robinson Young, Patrick Doody & Chris Valenziano is at heart a pretty clichéd creature feature but I think one of the better ones that I have seen. Bugs has a conveyor belt script, the monster threat that become intelligent when the story needs them to be, the isolated location, the race against time, the hero, the scientist, the marines with big guns, the corrupt corporate official & the disposable creature food. Having said that the clichés aren't as annoying as usual, it moves along at a really nice pace has surprising amounts of gore, decent CGI & puppet creature effects, a neat underground subway location & has a good feel to it. One thing I did notice is how much it rips-off or pay homage, whichever way you want to look at it I suppose, to the film Aliens (1986) which in itself isn't a bad thing because every sci-fi horror lover knows how great Aliens is. I mean the marines sent into the creatures nest & their extermination relayed back via a video link & radio, the retreat from the nest to the safety of a getaway vehicle with the creatures in hot pursuit, the forming of barricades, the character's, one problem cropping up after another one being caused by an explosion, lots of dark tunnels & corridors, the strong female & male heroes, the fight with the queen at the end & just the overall feel of Bugs resembles Aliens very closely.Director Conti does an OK job & it is certainly better than it's made for TV status would have suggested, it isn't the best film ever but I think Bugs is far from the worst. The creatures themselves look like a cross between a scorpion & spider & are pretty cool, Conti wisely keeps them in the shadows & flickering lights to maintain their creepiness & try to hide any deficiencies in the CGI which I thought was actually rather good. There are pleasing amounts of gore, the cop at the beginning is impaled & his limbless torso is found & medically examined, there are severed arms, sliced throats & Conti doesn't forget about the red stuff either as every attack seems to feature fountains of blood spraying everywhere which is by no means a bad thing.Technically the Bugs is very good considering the TV budget limitations, it's somewhat bland & forgettable but it's well made & doesn't embarrass itself in any department. I must mention the computer systems in Bugs as they actually look plausible & realistic for a change. The acting was OK.Bugs was a pleasant surprise, maybe I've seen so many bad 'creature feature' type films that a film like Bugs seems like a masterpiece. Hell, it's definitely better than Python (2000). I think Bugs is well worth a watch especially if you like these monster films.