Bugonia Trailer, Fun Facts & Review

Bugonia Synopsis:
Two conspiracy-obsessed men kidnap the CEO of a major company, played by Emma Stone, because they believe she is an alien on a mission to destroy Earth.

Genre: Comedy, Sci-Fi

Release Date: In theaters October 31st, 2025

Bugonia Fun Facts:

Star-Studded Cast:
Alongside Emma Stone, the movie features Jesse Plemons, recognized for his role in Lanthimos's Kinds of Kindness, and a delightful addition to the cast is Alicia Silverstone, famous for her role in Clueless.

Adaptation of a Cult Classic:
The movie is an English-language adaptation of the 2003 South Korean sci-fi comedy Save the Green Planet! The original version is regarded as a cult classic, recognized for its unique blend of genres and dark humor.

A Fifth Collaboration:
Bugonia signifies the fifth collaboration between director Yorgos Lanthimos and actress Emma Stone. Their teamwork has resulted in highly praised movies such as The Favourite (2018), Bleat (2022), Poor Things (2023), and Kinds of Kindness (2024), with Stone winning an Oscar for Best Actress for Poor Things (2023).

A Gender-Swapped Role:
In the original South Korean movie, the main character suspected of being an alien was a man. In Bugonia, the character has been changed to a female, with Emma Stone playing the CEO who is suspected of being an alien.

Title Weird Ancient Meaning:
The name "Bugonia" refers to a now-discredited ancient belief that bees could spontaneously generate from the decaying carcass of an ox or bull.

Screenplay by Will Tracy:
The screenplay is written by Will Tracy, known for his work on popular series and movies such as Succession and The Menu, indicating an intelligent and witty style of comedy mixed with dark humor.

Source: youtube

Bugonia Review:

Yorgos Lanthimos's new movie, Bugonia, isn't just a regular sci-fi thriller. Instead, it's a careful look at today's paranoia, corporate greed, and how people try hard to find meaning when the world feels like it's falling apart. This film is a remake of the 2003 Korean movie Save the Green Planet! Lanthimos has turned it into a brilliant, disturbing dark comedy. It shows a fight between the super-successful, highly productive upper class and an online conspiracy theorist. The movie builds up to a final twist that is both terrifying and darkly humorous.

The movie gets right into the action, beginning with the kidnapping of Michelle Fuller (Emma Stone). She is the powerful, perfectly composed CEO of the giant pharmaceutical company called Auxolith. Her captor, Teddy Gatz (Jesse Plemons), is a disgruntled employee from the warehouse and a beekeeper who believes, after spending time exploring dark corners of the internet, that Michelle is actually an alien spy from a race called the Andromedans. He believes she was sent to Earth to help destroy it, mainly through environmental attacks like Colony Collapse Disorder (like the sudden disappearance of bees). With the help of his cousin Don (Aidan Delbis), Teddy drags Michelle to their basement in the countryside. There, he puts Michelle through a strange, intense questioning, forcing her to shave her head and covering her with antihistamine cream to stop her from sending out a distress signal to other Andromedans.

Like all of Lanthimos’ works, the fun of this movie comes from the controlled chaos and how committed the actors are to the bizarre story. Emma Stone, working with the director for the fifth time, is incredibly sharp, switching between feeling unworthy as a survival strategy and showing an unsettling mystery that makes the audience wonder who she really is until the shocking end. Is she a highly skilled and ruthless businessperson, or is she actually an alien? On the other hand, Plemons gives the best performance of his career as Teddy, capturing the frightening obsession of a man whose grief and anger over a personal loss (connected to Michelle’s company) have turned into a crazy belief that the world is ending.

Screenwriter Will Tracy, known for his work on Succession and The Menu, delivers what may be Lanthimos's most relevant script to date. This movie serves as a sharp critique of the gap between those in power and those without, implying that there is almost no real difference between corporate greed and alien threat; it's basically the same thing. Cinematographer Robbie Ryan skillfully showcases the difference between the beautiful, quiet bee farm (which is falling apart) and the terrifying, cramped basement. This contrast highlights the moral decay and rottenness hiding beneath everything, both in nature and in human society.

The movie on purpose has a very cold atmosphere and an ending that is completely without hope. However, Bugonia is a must-see for those who appreciate dark and thought-provoking films. It is a powerful and relevant movie that uses the idea of an alien invasion to show us a much more frightening truth: humanity is destroying itself.