Bugonia review

an ode to his darkest roots, the twisted mind of yorgos lanthimos is back in full effect with bugonia.

This review was made possible by the great people at AFI Film Fest 2025 sponsored by Canva

Lanthimos’ Bugonia follows Teddy (Jesse Plemons) and his impressionable, intellectually challenged cousin, Don (Aidan Delbis) as they kidnap the sociopathic CEO of a major company, Michelle (Emma Stone). Convinced that she’s an alien on a mission to destroy earth by wiping out the entire bee population, Teddy and Don go to absurd lengths in hopes to save the human race. This is a very easy film to spoil, so while I’ll do my best not to give anything important away, please be aware there will be minor spoilers below.

Considering all of the cinematic highs we’ve seen in 2025 like Eddington, One Battle After Another, and now Bugonia, we are in no shortage of incredibly timely films from some of today’s biggest filmmakers. Much like Eddington and One Battle After Another, Bugonia is full of laughs, followed by a nervous swallow and an uncomfortable silence. With minimal cast and locations, this film doesn’t hide its modest $45-$55 million budget behind contrived plotting or gimmicky production tricks. Instead, it leads by example to prove all you need is a talented cast and crew, an exceptional script, and a vision you can trust.

Returning to his darker roots, Bugonia definitely leans more to the Dogtooth or Killing Of A Sacred Deer side of Lanthimos’ spectrum. Stone’s dry and calculated performance serves as the clearest example of this return to form in her role as the emotionally impaired CEO.

Coming off of last year's Kinds Of Kindness, the “Lanthimos/Stone/Plemmons” trio is firing on all cylinders. There is a palpable connection between them that acts as the foundation to this incredible film. The signature uncomfortable character dynamics are back in a big way here.  Every character experiences real needs and desires under the surface, all while trudging through their increasingly absurd existence.

Now, Lanthimos’ films are understandably divisive amongst fans. If you lean towards The Lobster and The Favourite then be prepared to push your boundaries when seeing Bugonia. Without spoiling anything, all I will say is that it’s not for the faint of heart. With that being said however, you are in good hands with this film. The gore is played for laughs occasionally, and when it’s not, there’s a good reason for it to be on screen. Never does this feel dark for the sake of being dark, everything is earned here, and the payoff is worth the ticket price alone. 

Weeks later, as Bugonia continued to sit and take residence in my head, I happened to come across a very interesting and insightful infographic from the instagram account, The Remedy Shelf, which you can find below. The infographic covers Yorgos’ filmography as a flow chart in relation to the main metaphorical take aways from each film, and tackles different personality traits and what films are most likely to resonate with those traits.