Bugonia (2025) Movie Review

Reading Time: 6 minutes

Category	Details
Release Date	October 31, 2025 (USA)
Director	Yorgos Lanthimos
Distributed By	Universal Pictures, Focus Features
Writers	Will Tracy, Jang Joon-hwan
Cast	Jesse Plemons, Emma Stone, Aidan Delbis, Alicia Silverstone, Stavros Halkias
Runtime	2 hours
Age Rating	R (Restricted)
Genre	Sci-Fi, Comedy, Thriller
Budget	Estimated $35-40 Million

Review:

What if the person you're absolutely certain is plotting humanity's destruction is actually just a pharmaceutical CEO with excellent legal representation? Yorgos Lanthimos, the visionary Greek filmmaker behind Poor Things and The Favourite, returns with his most audaciously bizarre creation yet—a film that dares to ask whether conspiracy theorists might occasionally stumble upon uncomfortable truths, or if they're simply victims of their own paranoid delusions. Bugonia isn't just a movie; it's a twisted funhouse mirror reflecting our collective anxieties about corporate greed, environmental collapse, and the thin line separating righteous anger from dangerous fanaticism.

Based on the cult South Korean film Save the Green Planet!, Lanthimos reimagines the story through a distinctly American lens, transforming what could have been a straightforward remake into something far more unsettling and thought-provoking. The premise sounds like the setup for a dark comedy sketch: Teddy, a disheveled beekeeper played with manic intensity by Jesse Plemons, becomes convinced that biotech CEO Michelle Fuller, portrayed by frequent Lanthimos collaborator Emma Stone, is actually an extraterrestrial being from the Andromeda galaxy intent on exterminating the human race. Along with his naive cousin Donny, brought to life with surprising depth by Aidan Delbis, Teddy hatches an elaborate kidnapping scheme that spirals into increasingly absurd and disturbing territory.

From the opening frames, Lanthimos establishes his signature visual language while simultaneously subverting our expectations. The film begins with parallel sequences showing Teddy and Donny engaged in bizarre training rituals—stretching exercises, chemical castration, and conspiracy theory research—intercut with Michelle's pristine morning routine in her sleek modernist mansion. The contrast couldn't be starker: the cousins inhabit a claustrophobic, cluttered home filled with makeshift torture devices and dubious scientific equipment, while Michelle glides through minimalist spaces that scream wealth and detachment. Cinematographer Robbie Ryan captures these divergent worlds with striking precision, using harsh fluorescent lighting for the basement interrogation scenes and cold, clinical tones for Michelle's corporate environment.

Jesse Plemons delivers what may be his most unhinged performance to date, embodying Teddy as a man teetering on the edge of complete psychological collapse. Sweaty, grimy, and utterly convinced of his own righteousness, Teddy represents the dangerous endpoint of internet radicalization and conspiratorial thinking. Plemons doesn't ask for sympathy—his character commits genuinely horrific acts—yet he somehow makes Teddy's twisted logic almost comprehensible. We understand how someone could arrive at such extreme conclusions when faced with legitimate grievances about corporate malfeasance and environmental destruction, even as we recoil from his methods. The actor's ability to oscillate between menacing intensity and comedic incompetence creates a character who is simultaneously terrifying and pathetic.

Emma Stone, meanwhile, takes a radical departure from her previous Lanthimos collaborations. Gone are the wide-eyed innocence of Poor Things or the scheming wit of The Favourite. Here, Stone embodies corporate coldness with unsettling authenticity, speaking in the passive-aggressive jargon of executive boardrooms even while chained to a basement wall. Her Michelle remains an enigma throughout most of the film—is she maintaining composure under duress, or is there something genuinely inhuman about her detachment? Stone's restrained performance keeps us guessing, never quite letting the audience inside Michelle's mind. The visual framing reinforces this dynamic: Lanthimos consistently shoots Plemons from low angles that emphasize his manic energy while capturing Stone from above, creating an almost saintly quality that references classic martyrdom imagery.

What elevates Bugonia beyond mere provocation is Lanthimos's masterful control of tone. The film pivots between grotesque body horror, slapstick physical comedy, and genuine psychological thriller territory with remarkable fluidity. One moment has Teddy pedaling furiously through streets on a comically small bicycle while pursuing a suspect; the next shows Michelle subjected to increasingly elaborate "interrogation" techniques that would make any Geneva Convention observer blanch. Lanthimos never lets us settle into a comfortable viewing experience—just when the absurdity threatens to undercut the seriousness of the themes, he'll introduce a flashback revealing Teddy's tragic backstory involving his mother's participation in a disastrous pharmaceutical trial. These sequences, shot in stark black and white, provide crucial context that complicates our perception of every character's motivations.

The film's structure cleverly mirrors its protagonist's conspiracy theories, dividing the narrative into three acts corresponding to the days leading up to a lunar eclipse—the supposed deadline for preventing Earth's destruction. Each "day" peels back another layer of the mystery, introducing new information that forces us to constantly reassess what we think we know. Lanthimos plants just enough evidence to keep Michelle's potential alien nature ambiguous, allowing viewers to momentarily share in Teddy's paranoid worldview before yanking the rug out from under them. This structural choice transforms the viewing experience into an active participation in conspiracy thinking, demonstrating how easily confirmation bias can warp our perception of reality.

Aidan Delbis deserves special recognition for his portrayal of Donny, bringing authenticity and unexpected emotional depth to a character who could easily have become a one-dimensional sidekick. Delbis, an autistic actor, infuses Donny with a genuine sweetness that contrasts sharply with Teddy's volatility, creating a dynamic that feels both protective and exploitative. The film never condescends to Donny or uses his neurodivergence as a punchline; instead, it examines how vulnerable individuals can be drawn into extremist thinking through emotional manipulation and the promise of purpose. The relationship between the cousins becomes a microcosm for how conspiracy movements recruit and radicalize followers.

Lanthimos populates his film with bold stylistic choices that may prove divisive for audiences accustomed to more conventional storytelling. The score swells and crashes with operatic intensity during moments that might otherwise play as mundane, while the production design oscillates between grimy realism and surrealist fever dream. The director's decision to keep certain crucial questions unanswered until the final moments creates a delicious ambiguity—is Bugonia ultimately a satire of conspiracy culture, a condemnation of corporate evil, or something more philosophically complex about humanity's capacity for self-destruction? The film refuses to provide easy answers, instead leaving viewers to grapple with uncomfortable questions about where legitimate criticism ends and dangerous delusion begins.

While Bugonia represents some of Lanthimos's most confident work, occasionally the film's philosophical ambitions outpace its narrative momentum. The second act sags slightly as the interrogation scenes become repetitive, and some viewers may find the director's moral ambiguity frustrating rather than provocative. Unlike the more focused narratives of The Lobster or Dogtooth, this film casts a wider net of social commentary that doesn't always cohere into a unified statement. Yet these perceived flaws feel almost intentional—a reflection of the chaotic, contradictory nature of contemporary discourse where truth becomes increasingly difficult to discern amidst competing narratives.

Ultimately, Bugonia succeeds as both a wickedly entertaining black comedy and a provocative meditation on the human condition. Lanthimos has crafted a film that will spark fierce debates and linger in viewers' minds long after the credits roll. It's a movie that understands how easily righteous anger can curdle into destructive fanaticism, how corporate doublespeak can mask genuine harm, and how our species' greatest enemy might ultimately be ourselves. For audiences willing to embrace its tonal whiplash and resist the urge to demand clear-cut moral positions, Bugonia offers a darkly hilarious, deeply unsettling experience that feels urgently relevant to our current moment of social and environmental crisis.

"We need to cleanse ourselves of our psychic compulsions. Only then can we see the truth."

Teddy's words might sound insane, but maybe that's exactly what makes Bugonia so uncomfortably brilliant. This twisted, hilarious, terrifying masterpiece will make you question everything—including your own sanity. Don't miss the wildest ride of 2025.