The Satan Bug is a kind of fractured, disjointed sci-fi thriller that never makes it off the runway with enough steam to get airborn. Great potential for the plot as our minds venture from The Andromeda Strain through Outbreak and then on to Contagion. Unfortunately, expectations for anything on that scale is easily dashed.

You know what is coming when the DVD starts with the caveat: "This film has been manufactured from the best-quality video master currently available" which usually means 'don't bother complaining - this is the best we can do'.

The stingy MGM made-on-demand DVD shows plenty of weaknesses - the single-layered transfer exports a very soft image. The puny bitrate produces a poor representation of the film - with colors bordering on bleeding and an overall waxiness to the visuals that looks more like 3rd generation video. It is anamorphic and progressive - but it doesn't seem to help the image. The audio is unremarkable but not as big a factor in the poorness of the presentation as the murky video. There are no subtitles and only a trailer as an extra on the region free NTSC disc.

Despite such sterling actors as George Maharis, Richard Basehart, Anne Francis, Dana Andrews, Edward Asner and Simon Oakland and helmed by John Sturges - The Satan Bug is poorly written for the screen. Tack-on the lackluster SD appearance with no extras and this gets a definite 'pass'. Great title - poor film and DVD. 

Gary W. Tooze