Bugonia (2025)

Nobody on screen says the title. It's a Greek type of ritual sacrifice once thought to produce bees, which appear sometimes herein for an analogy. That's about the only reason I felt the need to look at the movie's Wikipedia page, because the plot's easy to remember.

Cousins Teddy (Jesse Plemons) and Don (Aidan Delbis) kidnap pharma CEO Michelle (Emma Stone) and hold her in Teddy's house. Teddy is fully convinced that she is a high-ranking alien from the Andromeda Galaxy responsible for the slow ruination of many things for humanity. He demands that Michelle arrange a meeting between him and the Andromedan emperor on the lunar eclipse, which comes four days after the kidnapping. The longer Michelle doesn't do as Teddy bids, the less inclined he is to choose civility over rage. Slightly complicating matters are periodic check-ins by deputy Casey (Stavros Halkias), Teddy's former abusive sitter.

These days see a lot of conspiracy theories from both sides of the aisle, but Teddy's is especially far-fetched in almost every sentence he speaks. It's hard to guess what gave him conviction on so many details, but we get a few black and white flashbacks to show what set him on this path: His paranoid mother (Alicia Silverstone) went comatose from an experimental drug under Michelle's direction. As for Don, he's unhappy with his life and simple-minded enough to mostly trust Teddy's claims. I read that Delbis is autistic, so he was cast as an autistic character. Teddy loses my already sparse sympathy in bossing around Don more than necessary, insofar as any of this is "necessary."

Within a few minutes, I was not at all certain I would watch the whole movie. Just listening to Teddy explain things slowly to Don is pretty torturous, and while I tend to like hostage movies, this one promised to be quite hard on Michelle. The alleged comedy is so dark I couldn't tell it was supposed to be funny. AFAIK, there's exactly one punchline, in the form of a twist.

My sources basically spoil it just by including "sci-fi" among the descriptors, so I might as well do the same. No wonder Michelle takes the scenario better than I expect most women would. In a way, it's a relief to know that Teddy's very close to the truth. OTOH, I don't want to encourage RL conspiracy theorists.

The filmmakers express a dim view not just of the direction of civilization but of the human race down to the genetic level. I do not share this attitude, nor do I think much of their alternate take on human origins. Really, I perceive the whole shebang much like I perceive Teddy: not as smart as marketed, too emotional for sound judgment. Borderline pathetic as Academy Award nominees go.

Bugonia may well be a slight improvement on its basis, Save the Green Planet!, but I'm not going to find out. I still plan to give director Yorgos Lanthimos another chance with Poor Things, whenever I find the time.