Bugonia
Comedy
Review: ‘Bugonia’ is a Dark, Alien-Conspiracy Comedy That Blends Social Satire, Absurdist Sci-Fi and Edge-of-Your-Seat Suspense
October 23, 2025Ben MK
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From tabloid headlines about a government cover-up at Roswell, New Mexico to FBI agent Fox Mulder's lifelong preoccupation with extraterrestrials, alien conspiracies in the media are nothing new. But even if you don’t believe in the existence of intelligent life beyond our solar system, it's hard to refute the evidence that it all makes for some crowd-pleasing Hollywood fare. Whether it's the campy '80s action of They Live or blockbuster franchises like Men in Black, moviegoers are no stranger to such strange tales from outer space. And with Bugonia, director Yorgos Lanthimos is re-teaming with his The Favourite, Poor Things and Kinds of Kindness star Emma Stone for another entry in the sub-genre, in this pitch-black comedy about an alien-obsessed man who kidnaps a high-powered CEO. It's three days before a lunar eclipse plunges the planet into temporary darkness, and Teddy Gatz (Jesse Plemons) is about to set his long-in-the-making plan into motion. Ever since his mother, Sandy (Alicia Silverstone), went into a coma after suffering complications from an experimental drug treatment for opioid withdrawal, Teddy has been going deeper and deeper down the Internet conspiracy rabbit hole. Convinced that Auxolith, the biomedical company that manufactured the drugs, is responsible for her condition, Teddy and his naive cousin, Donnie (Aidan Delbis), have been plotting to kidnap Auxolith's CEO, Michelle Fuller (Emma Stone), and hold her captive in their grungy basement. Unbeknownst to Michelle and the authorities searching for her, however, it's not a ransom or even an apology that they're after. Instead, Teddy has come to strongly believe that Michelle is an alien-in-disguise from the planet Andromeda, sent to Earth as part of a scheme to wipe out humanity. And, in turn, he plans on using her as a bargaining chip to broker a meeting with the Andromedan emperor, so that he can negotiate for these extraterrestrials to leave our world and return from whence they came. It's a risky mission that Teddy knows is fraught with danger, and so he's ensured that both he and Donnie have taken all the necessary precautions. Shaving all the hair off of Michelle's head — because he believes that Andromedans communicate through their luscious locks — and slathering her in antihistamine lotion — to block the Andromedan mothership from tracking her — Teddy is confident that he's got all the angles covered. What he doesn't anticipate, though, is that Michelle might not be your average, run-of-the-mill Andromedan. And when he does, it sends his carefully-thought-out plan on a whole different trajectory. Believing that Michelle may actually be an Andromedan of royal descent, Teddy decides to change up his approach, loosening the shackles he's imprisoned her with and trying to negotiate with her directly. But will Michelle play along with him long enough to secure his own freedom? Or could there actually be something to Teddy's seemingly crazy theories about alien interference on Earth? Either way, Teddy and Michelle's bizarre adventure may soon be at an end. And when that inevitable conclusion arrives, the outcome might surprise them all. Based on Jang Joon-hwan's 2003 sci-fi comedy, Save the Green Planet!, The Menu screenwriter Will Tracy's adaptation feels very much in line with Lanthimos' other films, delivering no shortage of disturbing scenarios, off-kilter humor, and nail-biting suspense. What will stick with audiences most of all, however, are Stone's and Plemon's performances, as the pair play an on-screen game of cat-and-mouse that will keep viewers mesmerized from beginning to end. Whether it's Plemon's portrayal of a man so entrenched in his own beliefs that he's unable to recognize the reality of his situation, or Stone's portrayal of a woman put in the precarious position of fighting for her life, there's ample cinematic substance here for moviegoers to chew on. Ultimately, though, viewers who aren't on Lanthimos' wavelength may not feel as enthusiastic about the result. It all amounts to one of the most unconventional and darkly hilarious movies of the year. Still, even with a pair of Oscar-caliber performances, Bugonia nonetheless presents a mileage-may-vary scenario for audiences in search of their best option at the multiplex. Make no mistake, Lanthimos' tenth feature certainly makes a compelling case for his filmmaking talents. For viewers not in the mood for his trademark blend of satire and science fiction, on the other hand, the belief suspension required here might be too much to ask. Bugonia releases October 24th, 2025 in select theaters and October 31st everywhere from Focus Features. The film has an MPAA rating of R for bloody violent content including a suicide, grisly images and language. Its runtime is 2 hrs. |
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