By Forris Day Jr.
I am not afraid of bugs, well, except for that huge one in the hallway of my parents house when I was about 7 years old. That one was scary. Bugs make a great topic for creepy Sci-Fi movies. Over the decades we movie-goers have seen giant ants, spiders and locust just to name a few. Gargantuan bugs are pretty chilling because we tend to feel helpless around the normal size version of these critters. How do you handle one the size of a truck? That is the question in “Millennium Bug”.
The story goes that every one thousand years this Buick sized bug bores its way out of the Earth to lay its eggs and die. The eggs hatch and the larva stay in the Earth for a thousand years as the cycle continues. Enter the Haskin Family. They have decided to escape all the Millennium frenzy of Dec 1999 and spend New Year’s Eve camping deep in the woods of the Sierra Diablos Mountains. All is fine, battery powered Christmas lights are strung, champagne is opened and now they have bedded down for the evening. Yes all is fine until some wacky hillbillies discover their campsite. The family is kidnapped but soon discovers the hillbillies aren’t their only problem as it is also time for our friend the Millennium Bug to make his grand entrance. Will they escape the clutches of this inbred clan, and if they do, can they run from the Millennium Bug too?
I LOVED this movie. It really was relatable to me and brought me back to my childhood of watching “Creature Double Feature” on Boston’s channel 38 WSBK TV. I went into it thinking it would be so-so. I was wrong. It was so creatively done. I truly admire the filmmakers on this one and wish I could have been part of this project. It really connected with me. I’ll break it down a bit by saying it has elements of five of my favorite movies. The first movie is “Texas Chainsaw Massacre”. These hillbillies could be direct relatives of Leatherface’s family with their over the top personalities, rotten teeth and tendency to inbreed. They were so entertaining. I actually think if they were Leatherface’s family that these are the hillbilly relatives Leatherface doesn’t like to talk about.
“Wizard of Oz” comes to mind because of the sets. The Hillbilly family’s house was so colorful, dirty and detailed that it was a bit surreal. So many details to look at that tell the story of this demented family. “Beatlejuice” was referenced in there too, whether deliberately or not, as one of the hillbilly brothers talked like him and had his sense of humor. The next movie, or movies, are the “Godzilla” films. This is where I fell in love because the use of miniatures in “Millennium Bug” is second to none. There is no CGI in this film, just miniature sets and a man dressed as the bug, similar to how Godzilla was filmed back in the day. Great special effects all around. Lastly I had a connection with “Raiders of the Lost Ark” the way the filmmakers used dozens of skeletons throughout this flick. You really get the feel that no one escapes this place as our family continues to find human remains everywhere they go.
These comparisons are the best way I can explain how I felt when I watched “Millennium Bug”. If you enjoy any of the movies I’ve mentioned, then put “Millennium Bug” on your “must see” list. Loaded with humor, family love and scary locations deep in the woods, “Millennium Bug” is a fun and scary film that I will revisit often so if anyone borrows my copy you must return it!
“I think we’re gonna need a bigger can of Raid”
Rating: 8.5/10
