‘Bugonia’ (2025) Movie Review - Yorgos Lanthimos's Mild, Static Apocalypse

The best thing about Yorgos Lanthimos's Bugonia is the casting of Emma Stone as Michelle Fuller, the CEO of the pharmaceutical megacorporation Auxolith. To understand what makes her so special, consider the scene where Michelle insists to Teddy (Jesse Plemons) that she is not an alien. She has a shaved head, yellow skin (thanks to the room's lighting), and eyes that seem ready to pop out of their sockets. She actually looks like an alien. The importance of this image becomes apparent during the film's climax. But wait—why is Michelle trying to convince Teddy that she's not from outer space? And who is Teddy anyway? He is a beekeeper who's fond of conspiracy theories. Teddy believes that Michelle is an Andromedan, a species apparently killing honeybees and harming humans. With the help of his cousin Don (Aidan Delbis), who is autistic, Teddy kidnaps Michelle, locks her in his basement, and tries to force her to reveal the truth about herself.

Teddy, unsurprisingly, looks like a loser—an isolated, disturbed psychopath. He barely interacts with his coworkers, speaking only about work. Apart from Don, he has no relative or friend with whom he shares his thoughts, conspiracies, or plans. Even his conversations with Don feel like they're merely fulfilling "plot requirements." Lanthimos isn't interested in creating multidimensional characters. He presents stick figures defined by one or two traits. Don is meek and almost helpless. Teddy is obsessed with Andromedans and burdened by a tragic past that initially seems included only to justify his plan. Michelle is the kind of boss who expects her employees to work around the clock. Even when she mentions they can leave at 5:30 p.m., she quickly adds that it isn't mandatory—they can always stay late to finish their tasks. What she really means is that she prefers workers who can, for the company, squeeze out every drop of sweat and blood.

What is Bugonia really about? Is it an attack on evil CEOs? Does it aim to expose the childish madness of cranks who think they were sent to Earth for a higher purpose? Teddy and Michelle appear equally pathetic, equally terrible. Yet since Teddy clearly appears unstable and his actions are illogical, Lanthimos gently nudges us toward Team Michelle. If Bugonia is meant to be a message movie about corporate overlords, its message collapses immediately. And if it wants to focus on the inane madness of conspiracy-driven podcasters and their fans, it again misses its target because of its climax. If I had to guess, I'd say there isn't anything beneath the surface of Lanthimos's eccentric vision. Bugonia is all surface—filmed with a flat, solemn tone that provides only the illusion of depth.

In Bugonia, the only moments that jolt the film to life are those involving a sudden movement or eruption of violence. I'm thinking of the scene where Teddy jumps onto the dining table, moves toward Michelle, and starts choking her. I'm also thinking of the sequence where the camera follows Teddy as he frantically cycles to the hospital. But whatever shock these moments carry lasts only seconds. Bugonia is so static, so mild, that you quickly slide into a stupor. Watching the film is like being trapped in a basement with the director as he tells sick jokes that seem profound and funny only to himself. What we're left with is a collection of grisly images (a face in a container, hair attached to skin, a severed hand) and a final arrangement of neatly positioned corpses. The story Lanthimos tells here is detached from real politics and from real human emotion. It exists inside a bubble—a bubble that bursts, literally, when the movie reaches its conclusion. Bugonia evaporates from your mind as soon as the end credits roll. If ever a film announced that its director is out of creative juice, it's this one.

Final Score- [3/10]
Reviewed by - Vikas Yadav
Follow @vikasonorous on Twitter
Publisher at Midgard Times