The Satan Bug

You want Armageddon? An Apocalyptic threat? This gives you the unscientifically-pegged Satan Bug, a virus so lethal, it can kill everyone in California in a few hours, the U.S. in a week, and the world...oh, a couple of months. Towards the end of this movie, the one who makes this pronouncement takes a step back and admits it's unclear if this virus can actually be so effective (life tends to survive, as we all know), but let's not test it, shall we? I wonder if this film influenced Stephen King's "The Stand" (the novel and the mini-series). The chilling scenario first described manages to up the ante from the generally-regarded worst threat of nuclear annihilation. An atomic bomb, destructive as it is, is still limited to a certain area; this bug - you open the flask, it's all over, baby, for the entire planet. The allusions to the 'Pandora's Box' fable are quite obvious (similar to those in "Kiss Me Deadly" from 10 years earlier).

The threat surfaces at one of those government installations for biochemical warfare, in the middle of the desert - a barren, vast, empty landscape. There's no such thing as perfect security, but here they really bumbled it by letting two unpacked crates inside; to make a long story short, with the help of an insider, certain flasks are removed from the property. The government here also seems to have lapsed badly as far as background checks. There's an air of mystery to the story, since we don't know who the master villain is, and tension is ratcheted up on a regular basis when the bug may be released at certain points. I also like the use of the desert locations where much of this takes place; the very sparse layout of an occasional building lends an almost alien-like atmosphere to the terrain.

There are some contrivances to the story which make you shrug afterward. For example, the hero (Maharis) and two government agents (including Star Trek's Jimmy Doohan in a small non-speaking role) are captured at a key point; it's obvious they are to be killed by the villains. Instead of simply shooting them, as would be proper in the isolated location, the villains go through this elaborate method of using a flask of a deadly bug. But it's an exciting sequence and sets it up for the most intense moment of the film, when any or all of the 3 may die in the next few seconds from exposure. The main villain's motivations are also hard to buy into. He seems to be doing this as a protest against biochemical weapons, but is willing to wipe out cities to make his point. He's dismissed as a paranoid delusional, a maniac, at one point, but never comes across that way, as if he has an alternate plan. This storyline is similar to a James Bond adventure and most viewers will strain to keep track of all the character names. Later films with similar threats were "The Andromeda Strain", "Warning Sign" and "Outbreak."

The first half of this movie is really great. The mood is ominous and intercuts between the good and bad guys in a way that keeps us just slightly ahead of the characters in the movie if we watch closely.

The production is not quite top-drawer, but the sets and locations are attractive and interesting, and the main cast members are solid. (I have fond memories of Anne Francis as a kid, and she still looks good to me. Maharis is cool and clever, and Basehart actually does a solid job. The sad thing is that Dana Andrews, who was a really first-class talent in his younger days, just walks through this picture; fortunately he's not onscreen very much.) The tension isn't maintained through the entire movie, but the pacing is. The showdown at the end is pretty weak.

Not a bad way to spend a Saturday afternoon. The laser disc version that I just saw was very clean.

A great Sci-Fi movie with twists and plot changes from the beginning.I find it hard to believe that this movie was made in the 60's with it's timely topic.If you like the old-school(Fantastic Voyage,The Andromeda Strain)Sci-Fi thriller this movie won't let you down. The cast of this film are the top of their game from the start. I think the director did a excellent job in casting and presenting the plot, Never read the book but after watching the movie and reading other comments I just might. After watching the movie you may find yourself wondering if this was a topic in the 60's what other things could have gone wrong during this time period.

From the outstandingly sterile germ warfare facility to the stunning natural beauty of what is called the desert, this is an amazing film on many levels. I had expected it to be another simplistic view in the litany of 60s anti-war statement films, but it is not that, yet it makes the case for non-development of biological weapons more clearly than any of those over-the-top and jingoistic propaganda films do. And to make it all better, it comes with a thrilling plot, excellent cast and direction, suspenseful music score. I would have rated it a 10 but for the unlikeliness of some major plot directions, still they are handled in a manner that makes them possibilities if yet improbable. A great one to view alongside Andromeda Strain.

Despite all its obvious flaws I've always really liked this film and having seen it again recently (and having still enjoyed it) I wondered why it still held its appeal.

Yes, the plot groans a bit (for instance, the Anne Francis character, though well-played, seems to serve no purpose - except as a poorly explained romantic interest), the characters are one dimensional (well it is a suspense film and you can always use your imagination), and some of the motivation is a bit suspect; but this film still generates a real tension and sense of terror. It's a well-imagined, claustrophobic world of neurotic scientists, a secret state, disillusioned spooks, and isolated top-secret labs. There are good performances (especially Jon Anderson, Ed Asner, Frank Sutton, Richard Basehart - despite dodgy Austrian accent - and George Maharis) and a superb, tense score by Jerry Goldsmith that keeps the fear and suspense palpable. The action too remains tight but down-played; it does move forward at a reasonable pace but the emphasis generally remains on the realistic and the prosaic. This lack of the spectacular may be more due to the small scale of the production but for me it fits perfectly to the claustrophobic style of the film and doesn't detract from the plausability of doomsday-virus-goes-missing plot line; this is key to why the films' appeal has remained strong - the story seems all too possible (and hence frightening), and it certainly is as possible today as it was 40 years ago.

There are two other stars of this film that deserve special mention. One is the desert - I think much of the the filming was done around Palm Springs in the Colorado Desert. It looks truly beautiful and other-worldly (well if you're from London it does) but also desolate and lonely. Its emptiness intensifies the sense of paranoia and isolation and serves as a subconscious reminder to the watcher of the apocalypse that the Satan Bug could unleash upon mankind... the other star is a small flask with a red seal that requires just 4 lbs of pressure to break it... if I had to compile a list of the scariest things in cinema I think I'd place that little flask pretty near the top.