“Bugonia” and the Cult of Conspiracy — A Joint Review by Sami and Christian
What a wild ride!
WARNING! This movie is excellent. Sami and Christian highly recommend watching it on the big screen and going in blind! You’ve been warned. Save this review and come back after!
What if conspiracy weren’t just a theory? That’s the question at the heart of Bugonia, absurdist director Yorgos Lanthimos’ (The Lobster, Poor Things) latest movie. A film that uncomfortably examines the dangerous realities abuzz within incel echo chambers, Bugonia satirizes paranoia and takes it to a whole other level, defying the audience’s expectations with equal parts disbelief, as it is about feeling sweet sincerity.
In Bugonia, Jesse Plemons stars as conspiracy theorist Teddy Gatz, who, along with his cousin Don (played by Aidan Delbis), abducts pharmaceutical CEO Michelle Fuller (played by Emma Stone) as they’re convinced that she’s an alien.
Meant as a social commentary about fake news and blind faith, Bugonia remakes Jang Jun-hwan’s Save the Green Planet, a South Korean classic from 2003. Naturally, since we’re fans at The DeMonster, Sami and I decided to tackle this review together…
CHRISTIAN: Alright. I can’t tell if this movie made me want to laugh, cry, or readily admit that these are incredibly stupid times that we live in. I know a lot of people in NJ who live exactly like the cousins, and even more so, a lot of business-savvy executives and characters who act much like Emma Stone’s CEO; so that, yeah, this felt relevant to today’s times.
I think that’s why I liked it. For a silly black comedy satire, all of it felt genuine, and I loved to hate the people in this movie.
But what were your thoughts and first impressions?
SAMI: So very well said, Christian! First thoughts? Going into the movie, the bar was set high—between my partner raving about it and two of my favorite horror writers, James Tynion IV and Che Grayson, praising it on their Instagram stories. And I’m happy to say my expectations were met, I loved this movie!
The social commentary is incredibly relevant. Like you said, and Emma Stone’s character, Michelle Fuller, mentioned, this explores what echo chambers can do to impressionable and disadvantaged people. This movie is set up like a crime thriller, following two conspiracy theorists who somehow manage to kidnap a high-profile CEO. They are so out of touch with reality that the entire time you’re convinced there is no way they are right in believing Michelle Fuller is an alien…but during this insane journey, there is a small voice in the back of your brain wondering “But…what if they are right?”. That entire feeling of questioning if these seemingly insane characters are somehow correct reminded me a lot of the first time I saw 10 Cloverfield Lane, which I saw without knowing anything about the original Cloverfield movie.
Overall spoiler-free thoughts: this movie was a ride! The acting was incredible, and the ending was a fantastic payoff. It’s thrilling and keeps you on the edge of your seat the entire time while still being grounded. Bugonia is a great example of modern horror that pushes boundaries, bends genres, and isn’t afraid to be weird.
What were your first thoughts going into the movie versus after having seen it?
SPOILERS AHEAD
CHRISTIAN: Haha. I went into this completely blind. Zero expectations meant for maximum enjoyment. All I remembered was that Yorgos Lanthimos did that really cool Frankenstein’s Bride-like movie with Emma Stone called Poor Things. Which was really good. With that as my only reference of why I should check this out, I said, “Absolutely,” as I like supporting artistic cinema, and so went in with 0 expectations or clues as to what was about to happen.
That TOTALLY drove the movie for me.
Heck, because of such a generic title, such as Bugonia (which apparently means death & rebirth, and was an ancient Greek practice of trying to birth bees out of caracasses), I had no clue what the genre even was about. I think that’s the best way to watch this movie after having seen it. Know nothing about it and enjoy the ride. It’s just one of those films meant to be felt and experienced, sorta like an experiment in ‘Yes, and’ style of improvisation.
Now, you brought up a really great point with “What if they are right?” because this movie does a great job of peppering in Easter Eggs to make you question reality. But for me, the tipping point was the electroshocks, as anyone who majored in Psych has heard of the Stanley Milgram experiments. No way Michelle would’ve survived that, at least, I felt that way.
SAMI: The electroshock was the first thing that tipped me off too! I was like…“they’re going to kill her…oh wait…she’s alive?”. But still, I wasn’t definitively sure.
The next moment that made me begin to believe Teddy was correct was when Michelle escaped while he was sent off to give his mom “the cure”. She lingered too long while looking at his research and what remained of his former victims. Her reaction didn’t feel right to me—I was screaming in my head, “Why aren’t you running?!” Someone being held captive who is truly innocent and isn’t an alien would have fled to safety as soon as possible. Right?
I really knew when Teddy came home and she confronted him by saying something along the lines of “How many were Andromedans?”. It was a holy crap moment! But honestly…the movie made me question everything till the very end.
CHRISTIAN: That was a dope scene!
SAMI: Was the ending what you expected? Did you expect every detail to end up being true? From the hair being a way these aliens communicate to the ship being 100% accurate? It’s comedic how he got everything right and sounded absolutely insane in doing so. And the fate of humanity…just, wow!
CHRISTIAN: Oh, I had no idea where the movie was going until the midpoint turning point. When that hit, then I got a sense that this was more of a silly comedy and full-blown satire. I just didn’t expect every detail to be true. In fact, I laughed out loud in the theatre when the movie revealed that the flat Earth theory was real. That was probably my favorite joke in the film.
Looking back at it, even though I loved this ending, I do worry, like with most modern satire, that the message will go over some people’s heads. That some may actually take this movie’s conspiracies literally. Because we live in strange times.
SAMI: That’s true with modern satire. Not everyone will understand what it’s trying to say. And Bugonia says a lot. Just like The Substance, Bugonia goes big with its ending by leaning into absurdism.
CHRISTIAN: The Substance is a great comparison!
Now, did you like this movie’s ending, Sami?
SAMI: I liked the ending a lot. To think that this conspiracy theorist, who actually was right about everything, doomed humanity with his unhinged and aggressive behavior, is hilarious in an ironic way.
CHRISTIAN: It reminded me of the films Beneath the Planet of the Apes and Terminator 3, two apocalypse movies that end with the extinction of humanity. Not great movies, but they lead to similar conclusions: that humanity sorta sucks and has run its course.
Did you think the movie did enough to lead up to here? I can’t think of many standout scenes for me, inasmuch as I liked the whole of this experience.
SAMI: No standout scenes for me either. It was all gold.
Did I think the movie would end up where it did? Up until the end, I had no idea what to expect. That’s what made it so fun. When they got to Michelle’s office and she was trying to remember the code to the calculator to unlock the transporter in the closet, I began to think that maybe she isn’t an alien. Maybe she’s just f*cking insane, too, or playing some sort of psychological game with him. Was this all a ploy to escape this madman’s grasp?
Emma Stone played that scene like she was genuinely lying and making things up on the spot. So it was a great twist when everything, everything, was real!
CHRISTIAN: Haha, I loved the office scene and calculator moment too. Made me think Michelle was trying to psychologically mess with him as well. Like, I remembered as a kid in algebra class circa the 90s, you could write the word BOOBLESS on one of those old-school calculators (hilarious revelations as a kid). I started to think that they were going to make that joke. That Michelle was going to leave a cringeworthy message for her staff on the calculator as a warning, but there really wasn’t much of a vocabulary to use, so it would be lost in absurd translation.
That’s what made this movie fun. I couldn’t tell if she was real or an alien up until the ending.
SAMI: I think they did a great job setting up the ending. They sprinkled in a lot of clues from the beginning. I also really like that everything Teddy believed was right except for one major detail–the motivations of the Andromedans, which, as many parts of the movie did, critiqued the negative attributes of humanity that will probably lead to our own demise. And it did.
What were some of the major themes that you took away from the film?
CHRISTIAN: It’s hard to say what my takeaway was, because, as you mentioned, a lot is being said. The conspiracy theorists reminded me of incels who talk to ChatGPT far too much. I also still can’t figure out if Teddy’s addict mom, played by ’90s actress icon Alicia Silverstone, was actually floating, or if it was how Teddy metaphorically internalized his own trauma with her.
SAMI: Oh, absolutely. I don’t think she was floating. But really, we can’t know for sure!
CHRISTIAN: Agreed. At the same time, Teddy’s not wrong about challenging authority. He’s not wrong about bringing up issues regarding class inequality and the crappy way we treat addicts, especially given big pharmacies’ guilt in the opioid crisis. I know firsthand because… well, I live in the town that created the opioid crisis. The HQ of that pharmaceutical giant is right here, and it’s definitely destroyed the lives of families for people like Teddy, so I get it… I really do.
Though none of that changes that he’s a total piece of sh*t.
SAMI: To me, that scene with Teddy was meant to show us a glimpse into his mind. The facts are correct, just as he got everything right about the Andromedans, but he still isn’t sane—the way he’s processing the world around him is fractured.
I agree, Teddy isn’t wrong about challenging authority or the issues regarding classism and the harm pharmaceutical companies have done and continue to do. CEOs and billionaires are corrupt. With Teddy, though, he’s got fantastic points but terrible execution. The end does not and should not justify the means, and he just takes things way too far. That’s what makes him an incredibly interesting and dynamic character.
CHRISTIAN: What did you think about the performances overall?
SAMI: All of the performances from the main cast were incredible! These people felt real, they didn’t feel like actors acting in a scene. And none of these characters were written one-dimensional or flat. This movie wouldn’t have worked if the acting wasn’t strong. I’m genuinely impressed!
CHRISTIAN: Agreed. Anything else stand out to you?
SAMI: The way that the movie subverts expectations and tropes. Everything was unexpected, but wasn’t randomly thrown at the audience. It was fun to watch it in a packed theatre, as well. I love hearing everyone’s reactions! I can’t wait to see it again and pick up on things I missed the first time.
CHRISTIAN: For sure. I think this is a movie that warrants multiple watch-throughs. I really liked it for its originality.
SAMI: Yes! I love how weird this movie was. It took risks and went all out, yet had a good core message that grounded the story!
Bugonia is still in theatres right now. Go see it and let us know what you think!
Christian Angeles is a writer and entertainment journalist with nearly a decade of experience covering comics, video games, and digital media. He was senior editor at The Beat during its Eisner Award–winning year and also served as managing editor of The Workprint. Outside of journalism, he writes comics and books.
Sami DeMonster is the founder of The DeMonster and is a freelance writer for DC.com. She is mostly known for being a content creator who passionately shares her favorite comics and stories with people online–with an affinity towards horror. She works with most major comic book publishers to help promote new titles and encourage people to read more comics!
 | A guest post by
|