Bugonia (2025) – Full Spoiler Review

Poster for Bugonia 2025 Movie — Official Poster Bugonia 2025 Movie

Of all the abductions, this one is different.

R
1h 59m

Directed by: Yorgos Lanthimos
Screenplay: Will Tracy
Premiered: October 23, 2025
Language: English
Status: Released
Budget: $50,000,000.00
Revenue: $34,817,177.00
Awards: 3 wins & 18 nominations total
Country: Ireland
South Korea
United States of America
Canada

Bugonia

7.5/10 (569 vote)

★★★★★★★★★★

Production: Element Pictures
Square Peg
Fremantle
Pith Quest Films
and 2 more

Spoiler

Yorgos Lanthimos's darkly comedic science fiction crime thriller, Bugonia, plunges viewers into a bizarre world where conspiracy theories collide with cosmic realities, leading to a devastating conclusion for humanity. Released in 2025, this 1-hour-and-59-minute film, co-produced by Element Pictures, Square Peg, and Fremantle across Ireland, South Korea, the United States, and Canada, boasts a stellar cast including Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Aidan Delbis, Stavros Halkias, and Alicia Silverstone. With a compelling 7.5 rating on TMDB, Bugonia delivers a unique and unsettling cinematic experience, underscored by its tagline: "Of all the abductions, this one is different."

The film’s peculiar narrative begins with Teddy Gatz, portrayed by Jesse Plemons, earnestly expounding his elaborate conspiracy theories to his mentally handicapped cousin, Don (Aidan Delbis). Their conversation unfolds amidst the quiet hum of their beekeeping endeavors. Teddy, convinced he's on the cusp of a monumental discovery, believes he has identified the root cause of societal and governmental dysfunction. He enlists Don, urging him to join him on a mission to rectify these perceived wrongs. Their preparations involve a trip to a local store to procure necessary supplies, with Don expressing reservations about Teddy's increasingly outlandish plans. However, Teddy’s fervent conviction persuades Don to participate, framing their undertaking as a critical undertaking.

Their target is Michelle Fuller, a high-profile CEO of the pharmaceutical giant Auxolith, brought to life by Emma Stone. Following a demanding day at work, Michelle embarks on her drive home. Unbeknownst to her, Teddy and Don, their faces obscured by paper masks of Jennifer Aniston, emerge from the shadows with the intent to abduct her. Michelle, demonstrating remarkable resilience, fights back and attempts to escape her assailants. Despite her efforts, Teddy ultimately apprehends her, incapacitating her with a swift injection to the leg, rendering her unconscious.

Transported to their secluded residence, Michelle awakens to find her head shaved and her body covered in a histamine cream. Teddy, with an air of unwavering conviction, explains their belief that Michelle is an extraterrestrial being from the Andromedan race, dispatched to Earth with the malevolent purpose of eradicating humanity. The shaving, he asserts, is a preventative measure to thwart any alien communication, while the cream is intended to suppress any latent abilities she might possess. Michelle, acutely aware of her prominent status and the inevitable investigation her disappearance will trigger, recognizes the flaws in Teddy's meticulously crafted, yet ultimately ill-conceived, plan. She attempts to play along, feigning acceptance of their alien accusation, but Teddy remains resolute. He declares she has three days until the impending lunar eclipse, during which she must guide them to her mothership. While Teddy revels in the perceived progress of his grand design, Don, observing Michelle’s distress through a basement camera feed, begins to experience pangs of guilt.

A poignant flashback reveals the genesis of Teddy's conspiratorial mindset. His mother, Sandy (Alicia Silverstone), was a patient at Auxolith. Her experiences with the company's medical trials, which left her in a comatose state, profoundly influenced Teddy's burgeoning theories.

Three days prior to the lunar eclipse, Teddy's routine journey to work on his bicycle is interrupted by Sheriff Casey (Stavros Halkias). Casey, who once served as Teddy's babysitter, attempts to engage him in casual conversation, a gesture Teddy pointedly rebuffs, eager to continue on his way. It is revealed that Teddy is employed at Auxolith, working in the warehouse. A news report on a nearby television catches his attention, detailing Michelle Fuller's reported disappearance.

Upon returning home, Teddy resumes his interrogation of Michelle. She reiterates her denial of being an alien, attempting to negotiate her release. The exchange escalates, culminating in Teddy striking Michelle after she suggests he is mentally unwell.

Two days before the eclipse, Michelle makes another desperate attempt to convince Teddy of her alien identity, hoping to secure her freedom. Instead, Teddy subjects her to electroshock torture, a procedure so disturbing that it even unsettles Don. Despite Michelle's evident agony, Teddy interprets her high tolerance as a sign of her elevated status within the Andromedan hierarchy. Another brief flashback offers a glimpse into Michelle's past actions, revealing her role in concealing incidents that led to Sandy and other patients falling into comas, and her subsequent efforts to mask the true nature of Sandy's treatments.

The day before the eclipse, Teddy allows Michelle to join him and Don for dinner upstairs. Their conversation delves into Teddy's theories, particularly his conviction about a connection between the Andromedans and the alarming decline in bee populations. Michelle’s logical arguments and her pointed references to Sandy's case provoke Teddy to a violent outburst. He lunges across the table to attack Michelle, who retaliates by stabbing him with a fork.

Their confrontation is abruptly halted by the arrival of Sheriff Casey, who is investigating Michelle's disappearance. Don escorts Michelle back to the basement, holding her at gunpoint with a rifle. Upstairs, Teddy engages with Casey, who awkwardly attempts to atone for past molestation by confessing his actions to Teddy. Teddy then leads Casey outside to his apiary. Meanwhile, Michelle attempts to persuade Don that she will assist him if he alerts the authorities about Teddy, emphasizing his apparent reluctance to fully endorse Teddy’s scheme. Don appears to agree, but then asks Michelle to convey a message of apology and love to Teddy. In a shocking turn, Don then places the rifle barrel under his chin and takes his own life, splattering Michelle with blood. Teddy and Casey hear the gunshot, prompting Teddy to unleash his bees on Casey before bludgeoning him to death with a shovel.

Teddy rushes downstairs, devastated to discover Don's lifeless body. Michelle informs Teddy that she possesses an "Andromedan cure" for Sandy's condition, contained within a bottle of antifreeze. Teddy races to the hospital and injects Sandy's IV with the antifreeze, which, instead of healing her, proves fatal. He flees the hospital before he can be apprehended. Simultaneously, Michelle frees herself using Don's keys and discovers a room filled with the corpses and remains of individuals Teddy had previously identified as suspected Andromedans.

Upon Teddy's return home, Michelle confronts him, seemingly admitting her true identity. She claims to be an Andromedan empress who first arrived on Earth during the dinosaur era. She explains that after inadvertently causing their extinction, they recreated a new population resembling their species. However, they have grown disillusioned with humanity's destructive impact on the planet and their internecine conflicts. The experiments conducted on Sandy and other Auxolith patients, she reveals, were intended to facilitate humanity's next evolutionary leap. Michelle then instructs Teddy to escort her to Auxolith, where she can initiate contact with the Andromedans and bring him along.

Michelle and Teddy reach Auxolith and proceed to her office. Unbeknownst to Michelle, Teddy has strapped a homemade bomb to himself. Michelle directs Teddy into her office closet before activating a device intended to establish contact with the mothership. Teddy’s vest detonates within the closet, and his severed head flies out, striking Michelle and rendering her unconscious.

Michelle awakens in an ambulance, from which she escapes, returning to the office. She enters the closet and teleports herself to the Andromedan mothership, reuniting with her species. They collectively deem Earth and its human inhabitants a failed experiment, beyond any hope of redemption. Michelle approaches a model of Earth encased in a bubble, which she then pops, causing the instantaneous demise of all of humanity. She gazes upon the now-barren Earth with profound sadness.

Across the globe, people drop dead en masse. Back at Teddy's desolate home, bees are observed slowly returning to their natural habitat, a silent testament to the catastrophic events that have transpired.