“Bugonia,” directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, hit theaters Friday with a smash at the box office, showing audiences that a sci-fi thriller with a corporate flair goes together quite well.

Michelle Fuller, played by Emma Stone, is the CEO of the major pharmaceutical company Auxolith Corp. Teddy, played by Jesse Plemons, is a beekeeper and conspiracy theorist who believes Michelle is an alien intent on destroying Earth and all humans. 

Teddy indoctrinates his cousin Don, played by Aidan Delbis, into his mission to capture Michelle and force her to take them to see her leader.

After a regular day at work, Michelle drives home and is promptly kidnapped by Teddy and Don as she gets out of her car. When she wakes up, all her hair has been shaved off, because hair is how the Andromedans communicate. She is also covered in white antihistamine cream, which blocks her alien powers. At least, that’s what Teddy and Don think.

Teddy has personal reasons he wants the aliens gone; his mother, played by Alicia Silverstone, was on an experimental drug designed to help people get off opioids. But the drug hadn’t been properly tested and left her in a coma. Teddy believes Michelle is personally responsible because the drug was manufactured by Auxolith. 

I honestly didn’t know what to expect when sitting down in the theater to watch this movie, but it sure wasn’t that. 

SPOILERS AHEAD 

Throughout the movie, we are led to believe the action takes place in the real world and that Teddy is crazy for believing the CEO of a big pharmaceutical company is actually an alien who wants to destroy Earth and everyone on it. 

In a futile attempt to get Teddy to let her go, Michelle “admits” she’s an alien. 

I’m going to try to avoid spoiling everything, so anyone who hasn’t seen the movie can still be surprised. Michelle convinces Teddy that the way onto the alien ship is through a portal in the closet in her office. She takes Teddy to her office, and all of her employees are very concerned to see her show up there like it’s a regular day after she has been missing for four days. 

The two arrive at Michelle’s office, where she pulls out a calculator and tells Teddy there is a 58-digit code she has to enter. Once she hits enter, the “portal” will open, and he will be on the ship. 

But Teddy has strapped a homemade bomb to his chest in case Michell tries to escape or harm him; his plan of saving humanity by getting rid of the aliens will still work. He steps into the closet, Michelle is about to hit Enter, and then the bomb explodes. Teddy no longer has to fear aliens, and Michelle is now safe from Teddy. 

This movie is one of the craziest and weirdest movies I have ever seen, and I have seen a lot of weird movies. From the beginning, I didn’t really know where this movie was going, and I definitely didn’t expect it to end the way it did. 

While this is a movie I don’t think I’ll ever watch again, I think everyone should see it at least once. Emma Stone does an incredible job of playing an entitled CEO, and somehow Jesse Plemons plays Teddy in a way that makes you feel for him, even after he kidnaps someone and kills two people. 

If you haven’t had a chance to see Bugonia, I definitely recommend it if you like major twists. 

Official Score: 6/10

Categories: Arts & Entertainment