Dir: Yorgos Lanthimos
Cast: Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Aidan Delbis, Stavros Halkias, Alicia Silverstone
Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons deliver career-best performances in Yorgos Lanthimos’ darkly inventive sci-fi comedy, a wild ride through humanity’s ever-present paranoia and the mysteries of an uncertain future
Since his major breakout on the European film scene with the hauntingly dark, domestic satire “Dogtooth” in 2009, Greek filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos has carved out a reputation as a maestro of modern absurdist cinema. His films are an incredibly rich blend of pitch-black humour and icy, deadpan exchanges, a signature recipe that keeps audiences teetering between uneasy laughter and genuine discomfort, never quite sure which emotion should win out.
After establishing himself as part of the European new wave movement, Lanthimos brought his uniquely twisted creative vision to English-speaking audiences with “The Lobster” in 2015 and “The Killing of a Sacred Deer” in 2017. Teaming up once again with his long-time collaborator and co-writer, Efthimis Filippou, he managed to capture the same unsettling yet darkly hilarious spirit of his native language films while tackling incredibly westernised themes of loneliness and dependence. But his true Hollywood breakthrough arrived when he joined forces with Australian playwright Tony McNamara, resulting in his most celebrated works yet. “The Favourite” (2018) and “Poor Things” (2023) stormed their respective award seasons, both picking up gongs for Best Actress, with the latter being widely tipped as the closest challenger to “Oppenheimer” for Best Picture at the 96th Academy Awards.
Though this chapter of Lanthimos’s career is often labelled as more mainstream, his signature surrealism remains front and centre. He leans even harder into fish-eye lenses, uncanny soundscapes, and lavish period visuals, all of which amplify his unmistakable visual style. This era also sparked his creative partnership with Emma Stone, who, after her Oscar-nominated turn in “The Favourite” seven years ago, has become a fixture in his films, including his latest satirical sci-fi venture, “Bugonia”.
Based on the under-the-radar Korean sci-fi thriller “Save the Green Planet!” from 2003, “Bugonia” reunites Lanthimos and Stone, with Jesse Plemons once again joining them, having also appeared in the polarizing vanity project “Kinds of Kindness”. After a less successful reunion with Filippou on that incredibly underwhelming anthology piece, Lanthimos has enlisted satirical screenwriter Will Tracy to adapt Jang Joon-hwan‘s black comedy thriller. This marks Lanthimos’ third feature in as many years, all of which I have reviewed since launching my site—more than for any other director. After its Venice premiere in August, “Bugonia” has been making the festival rounds, and I was lucky enough to catch it at the BFI London Film Festival this weekend, ahead of its October 31 release.
With little knowledge of the original Korean story, I stepped into the film with only a vague sense of its premise: an unhinged conspiracy theorist kidnaps his company’s CEO, convinced she is an alien bent on humanity’s destruction. Teddy (Jesse Plemons), the kidnapper, is a man haunted by grief and guilt, his mother (Alicia Silverstone) lying in a hospital bed after taking medication from the very pharmaceutical giant that he is employed by. Warped by his mother’s paranoia and the echo chamber of online theorists, Teddy becomes obsessed with the idea that a secret race of “Andromedons” has infiltrated society, and he alone can spot their subtle tells. Convinced his CEO, Michelle (Emma Stone), is one of the alien elite, he enlists the help of his neurodivergent cousin Don (Aidan Delbis) to snatch her from her home.
Trapped in the basement of Teddy’s family home, Michelle endures the torment and even torture she is subjected to in his desperate attempts to force a confession of her supposed alien identity. Teddy’s paranoia drives him to torment and berate her, while Michelle counters with sharp intellect and cool negotiation, determined to turn the tables. What unfolds is a relentless duel of wits, a darkly hilarious psychological game of cat and mouse where each tries to break the other for their own benefit.
Since I have never seen the original film, I can’t compare them on a narrative or thematic standpoint, but Lanthimos and Tracy’s take is so tonally distinct that it feels like a cinematic anomaly. Tracy, known for biting, eat-the-rich satires like “The Menu” (2022) and award-winning television series “Succession”, helps Lanthimos create perhaps his most grounded film yet, even as it dances with the absurd and sci-fi elements. The trio at the story’s core feel startlingly real, their flaws and fears raw and relatable. Teddy and Michelle embody the extremes of class and social divide, drawing out unexpected empathy as the truth of their situation slowly unravels. Teddy, battered by a system that failed his mother and scarred by childhood trauma that is briefly touched upon during an awkward interaction with the local law enforcement, spirals into the darkest corners of the internet and his own mind to make sense of a broken world. Plemons delivers a career-defining performance, capturing Teddy’s fragile grip on reality so convincingly that you almost root for him, even as Michelle manipulates and patronises him and Don. Yet, beneath Teddy’s wounded exterior, there lurks a shadow of menace, a reminder that good intentions can twist into something far more dangerous.
Michelle, by contrast, is polished and self-assured, convinced that her status and intellect can talk her out of any crisis. At first, she seems the clear victim as the kidnappee, but as she deftly navigates her captivity, her sincerity becomes suspect. Lanthimos and Tracy keep us guessing, twisting the narrative so we’re never sure if Michelle is simply a high-powered executive with a killer wellness routine or the mastermind of an intergalactic conspiracy that Teddy has miraculously stumbled upon.
By also making Teddy and Don beekeepers, Lanthimos weaves the intricate hierarchy of honey bees into the story, allowing both characters to marvel at the creatures and reflect on how their collective behavior mirrors humanity. The bees’ vital role in sustaining life becomes a quiet undercurrent, echoing Einstein’s warning that their disappearance would spell doom for mankind. Teddy links Colony Collapse Disorder to his imagined alien threat, and the intimate kidnapping plot ripples outward, tapping into global fears about our planet’s future, from vanishing bees to climate change and even thermonuclear catastrophe.
The film’s sharp humour and magnetic performances keep you hooked, but it’s the shadowy storytelling of Lanthimos and Tracy that lingers long after the credits roll. Depending on your appetite for darkness, “Bugonia” might feel too bleak, a world away from the offbeat optimism of “Poor Things”, even as both films wade through grit and discomfort.
The Verdict:
Yorgos Lanthimos returns with another wickedly funny genre-bender, diving into timely issues while serving up the signature absurdist humor and striking visuals that define his work. Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons deliver electrifying performances from opposite ends of the social spectrum, each battling for dominance in a tense kidnapping that may or may not have ramifications on the rest of humanity.
Bugonia is showing in UK Cinemas from 31st October
Dan Loves Film 
Terrific review as always…Yorgos is a unique and distinct cinematic voice, and it’s a joy to see, even when I may have issues with the storytelling process…better than the “cut and paste” schlock that we see today, especially in horror from Blumhouse
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Fabulous review. I actually gave it 5*s and it is one of my films of the LFF.
Stop me for a chat if you see me… I think I’m the only one wearing yellow shoes and normally bright yellow trousers to match!! 😉
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Ill be sure to keep an eye out
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