Title – Bugonia (2025)

Director – Yorgos Lanthimos (The Lobster)

Cast – Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Aidan Delbis, Alicia Silverstone, Stavros Halkias

Plot – Conspiracy theorists and cousins Teddy (Plemons) and Don (Delbis) kidnap high-profile corporate CEO Michelle (Stone) believing she is an alien in disguise and humanities only hope to communicate with her race and sure up the future of humankind.  

“You can’t beat me because you’re a loser and I’m a winner”

Review by Eddie on 15/12/2025

Getting back on track after his prior experimental feature Kinds of Kindness failed to set the world alight after the roaring success of Poor Things, the one and only Yorgos Lanthimos is back with another bout of visually arresting strangeness in the form of the conspiracy theory laden darkly comic Bugonia.

A typically assured film that works on many different levels and is a strong visual offering from start to finish, Bugonia doesn’t manage to pull off all of its ambitious undertakings but it’s another fine example of a filmmaker who walks to the beat of his own drum, conjuring up magnificently unique features that surprise, shock and satisfy.

Re-teaming once more with his acting muse Emma Stone, here playing kidnaped corporate power player Michelle, who finds herself beholden to Jesse Plemon’s and Aidan Delbis conspiracy obsessed cousins Teddy and Don in their isolated rural property, Lanthimos keeps things pretty small-scale overall here with most of Bugonia’s action taking place in a singular location but it doesn’t stop Bugonia from harbouring more than its fair share of ideas and story angles.

Starting out in gripping fashion and losing steam in parts through its mid-section, Bugonia builds towards a fascinating crescendo that acts as one of 2025’s most memorable final acts and while it’s a shame Lanthimos wasn’t able to instil his cult-film in waiting with more of his noteworthy humour, his unapologetically odd and unashamedly confrontational offering is championed by a trio of awards calibre performances.

A well and truly proven leading lady, Oscar winner Stone is as solid as you’d expect here, even if Michelle isn’t the most memorable of her screen characters while Plemons and his offsider Delbis (in his first ever feature film role) steal the show in their respective roles with Plemons in particular on career best form as the committed and determined Teddy.

Easily one of the calendar years most interesting original characters, Plemons knocks it out of the park with his performance as Teddy’s motivations and convictions come forward you can’t help but root for his character against all reasoning, with Plemons here showcasing why he remains one of the most consistent and undervalued Hollywood performers at work today.

Lacking in a certain magic that has made some of Lanthimos’s films over the past 10 – 15 years the instant classics they are regarded as, Bugonia is still a highly entertaining and refreshing film watching experience that ensures Lanthimos’s name goes hand in hand with quality original filmmaking that has found itself somewhat of a dying bread in recent years outside of small-scale streaming and VOD formats.

Final Say –

With some rough around the edge’s elements, lack of big laughs and some down periods in its middle stretches, Bugonia may not be one of Lanthimos best work’s but with a great concept, a collection of notable performances and a killer score and visuals, this newest offering from one of Hollywood’s most unpredictable filmmakers is still highly entertaining.

3 1/2 closets out of 5