Have a fascination with spiders and other crawlers or on the contrary, a fear of them?
You are not alone. One in three movies show an insect, either a solo fly or ant that pops up in a movie you wouldn’t qualify as a bug movie, or an entire colony taking over a town which then becomes much more important to the plot.
Either way, bug movies are a big deal and there are even “Bug Wrangler” who will take care of those bugs on set. Do not worry, the U.S. Humane Society makes sure that no bugs are harmed during filming.
If you’re fascinated with bugs, here are fifteen bug movies you should watch!
Disclaimer: The first ten are horror movies.
1. Arachnophobia (1990)
Personally, my worst nightmare! A small town in America finds itself taken over by millions of spiders.
Genre: Horror, Thriller, Comedy
Length: 109 min
Logline: A species of South American killer spider hitches a lift to the U.S. in a coffin and starts to breed and kill.
Starring: Jeff Daniels, Harley Jane Kozak, John Goodman
Writers: Don Jakoby (story) (screenplay) | Al Williams (story) | Wesley Strick (screenplay)
Director: Frank Marshall
Budget: $22 Million Dollars
US Box Office: $53.2 Million Dollars
World Box Office: $53.2 Million Dollars
2. Them (1954)
A black and white movie influenced by the rise of atomic energy (a big concern in the 50s), this movie still is terrifying today and won an Oscar for its special effects.
Genre: Horror, Sci-Fi
Length: 94 min
Logline: The earliest atomic tests in New Mexico cause common ants to mutate into giant man-eating monsters that threaten civilization.
Starring: James Whitmore, Edmund Gwenn, James Arness, Joan Weldon
Writers: Ted Sherdeman (screenplay) | Russell S. Hughes (adaptation) (as Russell Hughes) | George Worthing Yates (story)
Director: Gordon Douglas
Budget: $2.35 Million Dollars
US Box Office: $2.2 Million Dollars
World Box Office: Not reported
3. The Fly (1986)
Scientist Jeff Goldblum accidentally matches his DNA with a fly, soon turning him into a human-fly hybrid.
Genre: Horror, Drama, Sci-Fi
Length: 96 min
Logline: A brilliant but eccentric scientist begins to transform into a giant man/fly hybrid after one of his experiments goes horribly wrong.
Starring: Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis, John Getz
Writers: George Langelaan (from the story by) | Charles Edward Pogue (screenplay by) | David Cronenberg (screenplay by)
Director: David Cronenberg
Budget: $15 Million Dollars
US Box Office: $40.4 Million Dollars
World Box Office: $60.6 Million Dollars
4. Mimic (1997)
New York city is infested by cockroaches. Scientists create a new kind of bug that will kill them. You guessed it, the new bug adapts and starts feeding on humans.
Genre: Horror, Sci-Fi
Length: 105 min
Logline: Three years ago, entomologist Dr. Susan Tyler genetically created an insect to kill cockroaches carrying a virulent disease. Now, the insects are out to destroy their only predator, mankind.
Starring: Mira Sorvino, Jeremy Northam, Alexander Goodwin, Charles S. Dutton, Giancarlo Giannini
Writers: Donald A. Wollheim (based on the short story “Mimic” by) | Matthew Robbins (screen story by) (screenplay by) | Guillermo del Toro (screen story by) (screenplay by)
Director: Guillermo del Toro
Budget: $30 Million Dollars
US Box Office: $25.4 Million Dollars
World Box Office: $25.4 Million Dollars
5. Tarantula (1955)
One tarantula is transformed into a giant monster by a scientist.
Genre: Horror, Sci-Fi
Length: 80 min
Logline: A spider escapes from an isolated Arizona desert laboratory experimenting in giantism and grows to tremendous size as it wreaks havoc on the local inhabitants.
Starring: John Agar, Mara Corday, Leo G. Carroll, Ross Elliott, Nestor Paiva
Writers: Robert M. Fresco (screenplay) (story) | Martin Berkeley (screenplay) | Jack Arnold (story)
Director: Jack Arnold
Budget: Not Reported
US Box Office: $1.1 Million Dollars
World Box Office: Not Reported but since it’s an old movie, most likely not much
6. The Swarm (1978)
Killer Bees are attacking people. Not so fun fact: real bees were used for this production.
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Length: 116 min
Logline: A huge swarm of deadly African bees spreads terror over American cities by killing thousands of people.
Starring: Michael Caine, Katharine Ross, Richard Widmark
Writers: Arthur Herzog III (novel) (as Arthur Herzog) | Stirling Silliphant (screenplay)
Director: Irwin Allen
Budget: $21 Million Dollars
US Box Office: 7.7 Million Dollars (considered a commercial failure)
World Box Office: Not Reported
7. Ticks (1993)
A bunch of teenagers camp far away from civilization and get attacked by mutated ticks.
Genre: Horror, Sci-Fi
Length: 85 Min
Logline: A group of troubled teenagers are led by social workers on a California wilderness retreat, not knowing that the woods they are camping in have become infested by mutated, blood-sucking ticks.
Starring: Rosalind Allen, Ami Dolenz, Seth Green
Writer: Brent V. Friedman
Director: Tony Randel
Budget: $2 Million Dollars
US Box Office: Not Reported
World Box Office: Not Reported
8. Bug (2006)
A couple is convinced their hotel room is hosting a flesh eating bug. A psychological thriller that takes you on a ride where nothing is what it seems.
Genre: Horror, Thriller, Drama
Length: 102 min
Logline: 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.
Starring: Ashley Judd, Michael Shannon, Harry Connick Jr., Lynn Collins
Writer: Tracy Letts (screenplay) (play)
Director: William Friedkin
Budget: $4 Million Dollars
US Box Office: $7 Million Dollars
World Box Office: $8 Million Dollars
The Wasp Woman (1959)
A Female Cosmetic Company owner promises a cure based on wasp royal jelly against aging but the results turn her into a wasp.
Genre: Horror, Sci-Fi
Length: 63 Min
Logline: The head of a major cosmetics company experiments on herself with a youth formula made from royal jelly extracted from wasps, but the formula’s side effects have deadly consequences.
Starring: Susan Cabot, Anthony Eisley, Barboura Morris
Writers Leo Gordon (screenplay) | Kinta Zertuche (story)
Director: Roger Corman
Budget: $50 Million Dollars
US Box Office: Not Reported
World Box Office: Not Reported
10. They Nest (2000)
A deadly cockroach breed is infesting a small town in Maine and is eating people from the inside.
Genre: Horror, Sci-Fi
Length: 92 Min
Logline: A Maine island becomes infested with lethal insects that root inside their victims, while a local doctor battles the bugs and incorrigible locals that don’t believe him.
Starring: Thomas Calabro, Dean Stockwell, John Savage, Kristen Dalton
Writers: John Claflin | Daniel Zelman
Director: Ellory Elkayem
Budget: $4 Million Dollars
US Box Office: Not Reported
World Box Office: not reported
11. Eight Legged Freaks (2002)
In the same vein as Arachnophobia, a small town is taken over by big dangerous spiders.
Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy
Length: 99 min
Logline: Venomous spiders get exposed to a noxious chemical that causes them to grow to monumental proportions.
Starring: David Arquette, Kari Wuhrer, Scott Terra, Scarlett Johansson, Doug E. Doug
Writers: Ellory Elkayem (story) (screenplay) | Randy Kornfield (story) | Jesse Alexander (screenplay)
Director: Ellory Elkayem
Budget: $30 Million Dollars
US Box Office: $17.3 Million Dollars
World Box Office: $45.8 Million Dollars
12. Honey, I shrunk the kids (1989)
An inventor accidentally turns his kids into bug-size. We now follow the kids on their journey in the backyard, which through their eyes is like a gigantic city filled with bugs.
Genre: Comedy, Adventure, Family
Length: 93 min
Logline: The scientist father of a teenage girl and boy accidentally shrinks his and two other neighborhood teens to the size of insects. Now the teens must fight diminutive dangers as the father searches for them.
Starring: Rick Moranis, Matt Frewer, Marcia Strassman, Kristine Sutherland
Writers: Stuart Gordon (story) | Brian Yuzna (story) | Ed Naha (story) (screenplay) | Tom Schulman (screenplay)
Director: Joe Johnston
Budget: $18 Million Dollars
US Box Office: $130.7 Million Dollars
World Box Office: $222.7 Millions Dollars
13. A Bug’s Life (1998)
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Length: 95 min
Logline: A misfit ant, looking for “warriors” to save his colony from greedy grasshoppers, recruits a group of bugs that turn out to be an inept circus troupe.
Starring (Voice Over): David Foley, Kevin Spacey, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Hayden Panettiere
Writers: John Lasseter (original story by) | Andrew Stanton (original story by) (screenplay by) | Joe Ranft (original story by) | Don McEnery (screenplay by) (as Donald McEnery) | Bob Shaw (screenplay by)
Directors: John Lasseter | Andrew Stanton (co-director)
Budget: $120 Million Dollars
US Box Office: $162.7 Million Dollars
World Box Office: $363.2 Million Dollars
14. Antz (1998)
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Length: 83 min
Logline: A rather neurotic ant tries to break from his totalitarian society while trying to win the affection of the princess he loves.
Starring (Voice Over): Woody Allen, Dan Aykroyd, Anne Bancroft, Jane Curtin
Writers: Todd Alcott (screenplay) | Chris Weitz (screenplay) | Paul Weitz (screenplay)
Directors: Eric Darnell (directed by) | Tim Johnson (directed by)
Budget: $105 Million Dollars
US Box Office: 90.7 Million Dollars
World Box Office: 171.7 Millions Dollars
15. Bee Movie (2007)
The adventures of a bee.
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Length: 91 min
Logline: Barry B. Benson, a bee just graduated from college, is disillusioned at his lone career choice: making honey. On a special trip outside the hive, Barry’s life is saved by Vanessa, a florist in New York City. As their relationship blossoms, he discovers humans actually eat honey, and subsequently decides to sue them.
Starring (voice over): Jerry Seinfeld, Renée Zellweger, Matthew Broderick
Writers: Jerry Seinfeld, Spike Feresten, Barry Mrder, Andy Robin, Chuck Martin, Tom Papa
Directors: Simon J. Smith | Steve Hickner
Budget: $150 Million Dollars
US Box Office: $126.6 Million Dollars
World Box Office: $293.5 Million Dollars
Halloween might have passed, but it’s always a good time for a bug movie! Enjoy these 15 classic bug movies!
