Agnes White (Ashley Judd) is afraid her abusive ex-husband, Jerry (Harry Connick, Jr.) is stalking her so when a friend (Lynn Collins) introduces her to a drifter named Peter (Michael Shannon), she invites him to stay. Sure, he keeps Jerry at bay but soon reveals that he believes he is infested with bugs, bugs that live in his blood, that feed on him, and now feed on Agnes.
It's hard not to read this as anything other than post-9/11-PATRIOT Act fear. There are so many conspiracy theorists that gained traction by virtue of the government admitting that they spied on people and continue to do so. People don't like uncertainty. And the beauty of conspiracy theories is that, even when they're proved wrong, there's always another one that explains why they're actually right.
Look at the Qanon people, looping practically every celebrity death into their story about how there's a secret cabal of Satanic pedophiles running through every layer of government. Zero evidence to support their claims but they say it anyway. (Here's a spoiler alert: if you dig deep enough into any conspiracy theory, what you end up with is anti-semitism.)
Anyway, this is a great example of horror being used as a vehicle for social commentary brought to you by a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and an Oscar-winning director. It's currently streaming on HBO Max.
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