Plot
An unhinged war veteran holes up with a lonely woman in a spooky Oklahoma motel room. The line between reality and delusion is blurred as they discover a bug infestation.

Release Year: 2006

Rating: 6.0/10 (17,340 voted)

Critic's Score: 62/100

Director: William Friedkin

Stars: Ashley Judd, Michael Shannon, Harry Connick Jr.

Storyline
Having escaped her abusive ex-husband Goss, recently released from state prison, Agnes, a lonely waitress with a tragic past moves into a sleazy, rundown motel. Her lesbian co-worker R.C. introduces her to Peter, a peculiar, paranoiac drifter and they begin a tentative romance. However, things aren't always as they appear and Agnes is about to experience a claustrophobic nightmare reality as the bugs begin to arrive...

Writers: Tracy Letts, Tracy Letts

Cast:
Ashley Judd - Agnes White
Michael Shannon - Peter Evans
Harry Connick Jr. - Jerry Goss
Lynn Collins - R.C.
Brían F. O'Byrne - Dr. Sweet
Neil Bergeron - Man in Grocery Store
Bob Neill - Pizza Harris (voice)

Taglines: First they send in their drone... then they find their queen.

Official Website: Lions Gate Films [United States] |

Release Date: 25 May 2007

Filming Locations: Metairie, Louisiana, USA

Box Office Details

Budget: $4,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend: $4,015,846 (USA) (27 May 2007) (1661 Screens)

Gross: $7,006,708 (USA) (17 June 2007)

Runtime: 102 min

Trivia:
During the shoot, many of the crew members got rashes from bed bugs in their hotel rooms.

Goofs:
Continuity: Throughout all the scenes in the motel where the bathroom is visible, we see that the bathroom door is a regular standard door. But in the scene when Peter is removing a tooth, as he goes to enter the bathroom the door changes into a double louvered door. Then changes back to the regular door in later scenes.

Quotes:
[first lines]
[phone rings]
Agnes White: Hello? Hello?
[hangs up]
Agnes White: Bastard!

Intense and Unique

Rating: 10/10

Certainly not for everyone...but if you appreciate completely unique and intense cinema...check it out. I am so impressed by Ashley Judd, who I always liked, but had no idea of her range and courage. The film is very disturbing...I would describe it as a dark comedy that gets darker and darker and darker...calling it horror is too limited although there are horror elements to it. It reminds me of Cronenberg or early Polanski (Repulsion). But comparisons don't really do it justice. It's exciting to see that there are directors that still have guts. I was exhilarated and disturbed by the end of this film. I recommend it highly to anyone who wants something different and powerful.

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