Movies

Plot
Bugcrush is a short film directed by Carter Smith based on Scott Treleavens story of the same title. It is about a high school boy named Ben (Josh Caras) who is infatuated with a mysterious guy named Grant (Donald Cumming). Grant is one of the new kids in school, and he gets to accomplish what the other  goths and freaks  (Treleavean 23) were trying to do become an outcast. Ben is largely interested in Grant for his personality is very intriguing that he even stalks Grant in order to catch glimpses of him. For some reason, Ben finds Grants mysterious aura as something both terrifying and sexually arousing. Despite the warnings of his closest friend, Amber (Elnore Hendricks), Ben eventually decides to muster up some courage to finally talk to Grant and see whether he has a chance.

When Ben finally gets a chance to talk to Grant, he feels a mixture of butterflies in his stomach which are both of the good and the bad kind. It can be said that he has some sort of hesitation located somewhere deep in his brain, but since he is infatuated with Grant, he pushed his negative thoughts aside. Eventually, Grant invites Ben over to his place to hang with him and some of his friends, and Ben, thoroughly ecstatic over the fact that Grant wanted to hang out with him, immediately agrees. Grant tells Ben that they could hang out at his house along with his friends, and maybe they could have a good time together. When Ben is finally hanging out with Grant and his friends, he becomes excited over the fact that Grant seems to reciprocate his feelings towards him. However, Ben discovers that Grant has a chilling secret and unfortunately, he could not escape.

The Technical Aspects
Carters Smiths Bugcrush has amazing cinematography the lighting, the shots, and the cuts of the film all work together into maintaining the atmosphere of unease. From the beginning of the film, the viewers get a sense of foreboding that, unfortunately, does not dissipate as the film progresses. The blend of erotic overtones and the disturbing atmosphere glues the viewers to their seat, heart thumping while waiting for the next scene.

In a manner of speaking, the movie makes the viewers want to grasp the screen and shake it violently, just to alert the young protagonist that there is something terribly wrong about the individual he is attracted to even if one does not know what exactly is wrong about Grant. The film injects a nagging at the back of the viewers mind, and it is quite possible that one gets frustrated in fear for Ben. The atmosphere of tension and unease is carried out throughout the film, and it undeniably sucks the viewers into the story. The pacing of the short film is also laudable, since it does not hurry the story and it makes the viewer constantly uneasy with the notion that the next scene might confirm their worst fears.

Apart from this, the cast of the film were chosen perfectly in fact, it is quite hard to imagine anyone else playing their roles. The roles were carried out with sincerity and were very realistic. There is one point in an individuals life where he or she feels the same kind of longing that Ben has for Grant, and one can certainly relate to his decisions, despite the fact that there may be something wrong with the decision altogether.

Of course, Bugcrush is not the typical horror film in fact, it is hard to categorize it as a horror film, since it has also something to do with a young gay man pursuing his hearts interests. In analysis, it could be said that the film is a blend of drama and constant dread as it reflects the teenage problems regarding sexuality and acceptance, and at the same time, it injects an eerie cloud of unease to the viewer.  It is easy to say that the feeling of unease settles in and eventually grasps the audience into watching despite the common reaction of wanting to close ones eyes during the scenes. The film, with its cinematography, will grasp the viewer by the arms and whisper that it will be okay, so the viewer continues to watch despite the feeling of unease much like Ben who continues to pursue Grant despite reason.

Lastly, the end of the film is a perfect cliffhanger, for it confirms that ones worst fears about Grant and his friends were justified, and yet it leaves the viewer with merely nothing else but that realization. It is undeniable that thirty-five minutes of run-time for this film is too short, for it leaves the viewers hanging to their own paranoia of what could have happened to Ben. In fact, the viewer could come up with various endings to the disturbing cliffhanger ending of the film, but in reality, this scene would forever remain embedded in the viewers mind.The Prose vs. the Movie

In analysis, it could be said that the movie is faithful to Treleavens story. Smith was careful to include the vital parts of the story and succeeded in making an almost-perfect translation of the story. Of course, in the movie, Ben was given a surname, Holcomb, whereas in Treleavens story, it was merely Ben. Apart from this, Ben does not have a specific best friend in the prose it is stated in the story that he feels ashamed of his friends and eventually, he isolates himself from them as they seem pretentious compared to Grant.

One problem with the film, like every other film, is that one cannot hear or read or possibly know what the character is thinking. Smith was able to depict Bens desires quite well, but it is simply not like Treleavens prose, wherein one has an omniscient view of what the character is thinking regarding various situations. At the end of the film, when Ben is paralyzed, the viewer could not possibly hear what Ben is thinking. However, at the end of the story, it is stated that  There was nothing he could do but try to shut his eyes and concentrate on the warmth of the body that was now lying on top of him. He hoped it was Grant  (Treleaven).

As for the end of the film, some would argue that it is too ambiguous or that it is far too disturbing for those who are far more inclined to happy endings. Nevertheless, in some ways, it can be said that the film remained somehow faithful to Treleavens version of the story. Most of the scenes seem to be actual depictions of what is written in the story, and they carry the same atmosphere and sense of foreboding.

However, the final few scenes seem like Grant and the other guys are killing Ben, which is a certain twist, for in Treleavens story, the ending is also a cliffhanger, although it appears like he would be killed by the bugs. When Grant and his friends violate him, Ben is positioned outside the ring of light, which means that the bugs are less frightened to come closer. Also, the story merely ends with  He hoped it was Grant  (Treleaven).

Although there are certainly a few discrepancies between Carters film and Treleavens story, it cannot be denied that the overall concept remained intact. Apart from this, Smith was able to capture the essence of the story and depicted his interpretation of it through his foreboding film. There are very few films which capture the real essence of the original story version most filmmakers cut the important scenes or alter the story altogether that it does not bear any semblance to the original one. However, Smiths Bugcrush is one film that somehow remained faithful to the Treleavens story.