the satan bug

From the pulpy movie poster to its tough-guy leading man, The Satan Bug (1965) feels less like an apocalyptic disaster movie and more like an ambitious mystery novel. Director John Sturges followed up his epic WWII adventure The Great Escape with this much more compact story of a secret germ warfare lab robbed of one of its most potent concoctions.

Hot on the trail of the titular airborne virus, which could wipe out all life on Earth within a few weeks, is investigator Lee Barrett (George Maharis) who suspects the heist was an inside job. But time is running short as staged “events” leave hundreds of dead bodies behind as proof of the terrorists’ very real threat. With the entire city of Los Angeles targeted next, Barrett must track down each vial before time runs out on us all.

Even though the script calls for a global catastrophe and more than a few suspenseful action sequences, most of The Satan Bug is confined to laboratories, offices and meeting rooms. The impressive body count caused by the virus in Florida is viewed on a wall of black-and-white monitors (although perhaps all the more effective for it). And only side-characters like bad guy Edward Asner get to use a gun. The film’s focus is a bit too narrow and episodic, with the apocalypse feeling almost like an afterthought.

But, while the movie may play like a TV show (and casting Maharis from Route 66 in the lead role only enhances the fact), at least John Sturges directs it like a major motion picture. When given the opportunity, The Satan Bug makes one heck of a visual impression: huge mountain vistas match well with the elaborate government bunkers beneath, both shot with incredible widescreen compositions that dwarf the actors onscreen.

The screenplay, based on a book by Alistair MacLean, hits a couple of truly memorable high notes involving the stolen flasks, including their use as the world’s deadliest Molotov cocktail and a white-knuckle helicopter ride over L.A. Even Barrett’s initial exploration of the sealed lab - which, if contaminated, would mean his doom - is a model of suspense for future outbreak features like The Andromeda Strain and World War Z (which was unfairly criticized for setting its big finale in a lab).

The Satan Bug is a curious combination of styles and set-pieces that don’t always fit, with an emphasis on logic over thrills. But it makes for a genuinely interesting test case, one that future filmmakers would rush to perfect. And Kino Lorber’s new Blu-ray might be one of the best-looking catalog titles you’ll ever see. The level of detail visible in each shot is so striking, it’s like watching high-definition for the first time. That might sound like an infomercial, but talk to me after you watch. Along with the original theatrical trailer, film historian Glenn Erickson’s audio commentary is a beauty of a bonus feature. Studiously researched but never too stuffy, he touches on the history of “bio-terror” films, Sturges, the cast and The Satan Bug’s sci-fi elements...but with a personal touch that makes it an easy listen.