Bugonia (2025) Movie Review: An Acidic Enraged Look at Dehumanization with Ruthless Black Comedy

“Bugonia” (2025) may be a remake of the South Korean science fiction comedy “Save The Green Planet!,” but the righteous anger that it permeates is specifically attuned to the America of today. Yorgos Lanthimos has always woven in a caustic sense of disturbing mischief into his work, but it’s rarely been as targeted as it is in “Bugonia.” If Lanthimos has previously shown interest in exposing the frailty and futility of imaginary social hierarchies, then “Bugonia” is a more deliberate condemnation of the mass psychosis of modernity. “Bugonia” is rarely subtle in the points that it’s making, but there’s such perverse pleasure to be found in this graphic comedy-of-errors that it’s easy to get on the film’s idiosyncratic wavelength.

“Bugonia” conjures up a character in Michelle Fuller (Emma Stone) who resembles many modern figures that have been fixated on by the media. She’s a highly successful pharmaceutical CEO who has been praised for breaking boundaries and pleasing prominent donors, even if her company is coming off a failure with one of its recent products. Michelle is kidnapped by the conspiracy-addled loner Teddy (Jesse Plemons), who works at one of the shipping centers that the company owns. Although Michelle is willing to barter her way to freedom, she finds that Teddy and his cousin Don (Aidan Delbis) hold the unwavering belief that she is an alien from the Andromeda Galaxy who is planning to destroy human life.

Although Lanthimos uses the open spaces, extreme close-ups, and uncomfortably long takes that he is known for in order to create a disorienting, absurdist effect, there’s nothing all that implausible about the events of “Bugonia.” The film is quite ruthless in how it depicts the transparent vapidness of Michelle’s corporate speak and unforgiving leadership, as she is so often putting on a performance for her clients, employees, and consumers that she is ironically at her most “human” when she is chained up in Teddy’s basement.

The degree to which conspiracy theories have infected the American consciousness may be shocking to outsiders, but the degree to which Teddy holds his convictions is not unrealistic in the slightest. However, “Bugonia” makes a conscious choice not to credit Teddy’s fringe beliefs to some sort of bigotry or antagonism; he has (rightfully) picked up on the fact that Michelle’s company is destroying lives and ravaging the Earth.

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Bugonia (2025) — A still from “Bugonia” (2025)

The fury that “Bugonia” has is for how both parties in this unusual scenario view each other as nonhuman. In Teddy’s case, it is literal. Not only does he not treat Michelle with the respect he would anyone else, but he sees her as being immune to any pain to be endured. “Bugonia” sidesteps any issues of sexual tension early on, and even if there is some pointed commentary on the standards that female CEOs are held to, there’s never the suggestion that Teddy wants to assault Michelle. His rage seems to be based on the straight-faced lies she is telling him, which is a cutting critique given the dishonesty required for someone in her position.

The dehumanization cuts both ways, as Michelle has learned to view anyone under her as an extension of her ownership, and only seems to show concern if there is a possible liability. It’s cleverly revealed that Teddy is a beekeeper who has grown upset with the disruption of biodiversity caused by corporate pollution. The fact that he serves as a “worker bee” of sorts at a conveyor belt at Michelle’s company makes for some compelling visual symmetry. Although the sporadic appearances of surrealist imagery and unusually crafted flashbacks would otherwise feel like an unnecessary stylistic flourish, they aid in the pacing of “Bugonia” because so much of the film is contained in one room.

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At the core of “Bugonia” is an exploration of what people are able to get away with, a concept that treks into increasingly dark territory once more details about Teddy’s background are revealed. The primal desire he has to aid his bedridden, ill mother (Alicia Silverstone) offers the most overt emotional hook into the story, and an appearance by his former babysitter, the police officer Casey (Stavros Halkias), twists the knife in deeper in revealing why Teddy has such a strong suspicion of authority figures.

Plemons’ performance is one of the best of his career. Teddy is a character with such consistent beliefs that his sincerity is never in doubt, and Plemons never seems to be making fun of a character who is going through an intensely relatable predicament. At the same time, the lack of self-awareness that Teddy has makes his torturous activities more horrifying, as there’s no hint of any personal satisfaction he gets from doing terrible things.

“Bugonia” was penned by Will Tracy, who has previously crafted works of post-modern satire with the acidic class comedy “The Menu” and the bizarre political thriller “The Regime.” Tracy’s previous work may be guilty of putting too fine a point on its dialogue, as it seems to literalize the more complex ideas by stating them blatantly.

This approach is actually more effective in “Bugonia” because of the pent-up frustrations expressed by both of its leads. Teddy has dedicated so much time and research into his bizarre fantasies that he has been yearning for the opportunity to explain his plans and rebuke any of the criticisms that he’s bound to face. Michelle has a history of planning calculated responses to any controversies, and is used to working through delicately worded statements that don’t actually apologize or admit to anything. Both characters have worked up arguments in their head, and the conflict comes when they’re forced to work those into average conversations.

“Bugonia” does suffer from some third-act problems, as it relies on a few too many coincidences in order to reach the inevitable fallout that the story was aiming for. While Casey has important story context, both Halkias’ performance and the character’s conception are somewhat underdeveloped, and fail to land with the appropriate impact. However, “Bugonia” is as gripping a thriller as one would expect in 2025, and certainly offers a rebuke to the accusation that Lanthimos had gone “sentimental” in the aftermath of “Poor Things.” Life in 2025 has become absurd and scary to the point of incredulous hilarity, and “Bugonia” exemplifies this unusual vibe shift perfectly.