The Dead Auteur Society

Reel 042

Still from Bugonia

Nominated by Zelie January 2026

Bugonia

Directed by
Yorgos Lanthimos
Released
2025
Screened

The verdict

5.33 / 11.5

Mean of 6 reviewers · 46.35% of a perfect score

Highlights

  1. 1A Rank

    #39

    of 42 films screened

  2. 2A Top category

    Acting

    78.67% of the category max

  3. 3A Consensus

    Highly Controversial

    σ 2.45 across reviewer totals

  4. 4A The Fan

    Krishan

    Highest total · 8.65

  5. 5A The Cynic

    Yasin

    Lowest total · 2.9

  6. 6A The Specialist

    Sara

    Themes · 100% of max

Plot synopsis

The Abduction

Teddy (Jesse Plemons), a grieving beekeeper, becomes convinced that Michelle Fuller (Emma Stone), the CEO of a pharmaceutical giant, is an alien from Andromeda. Along with his cousin Don, Teddy kidnaps Michelle and imprisons her in his basement. He subjects her to bizarre “anti-alien” rituals—shaving her head and applying antihistamine cream—hoping to force her to stop an alien invasion before an upcoming lunar eclipse.

The Psychological Game

As the days pass, Michelle shifts from being a victim to a manipulator. She realizes Teddy’s delusions are rooted in the death of his mother, who died during one of her company’s drug trials. Michelle eventually “confesses” to being an alien, but claims her race is actually trying to save humanity from self-destruction.

The Climax and Twist

The tension leads to a series of violent events:

  • The Suicide: Overwhelmed by guilt, Don kills himself.
  • The Confrontation: Teddy takes Michelle to her office, believing she will teleport him to her mothership. However, Teddy is killed when a suicide bomb vest he is wearing accidentally detonates.
  • The Reveal: After Teddy’s death, the “absurd” theory is proven true. Michelle returns to her office and uses a hidden device to teleport to an actual mothership.

The Ending

Safe on her ship, Michelle—revealed to be the Andromedan Empress—judges humanity based on her experience with Teddy’s violence. She deems the “human experiment” a failure. She pops a holographic bubble of Earth, causing every human on the planet to drop dead instantly. The film ends with a silent world where only the bees continue to thrive.

Category by category How scoring works

  1. Enjoyable 1.67 / 5
  2. Plot 0.98 / 2
  3. Acting 1.18 / 1.5
  4. Camera 0.62 / 1
  5. Themes 0.28 / 0.5
  6. Music 0.33 / 0.5
  7. Casting 0.36 / 0.5
  8. Wildcard -0.08 ±0.5

The ledger

ReviewerEnjoyablePlotActingCameraThemesMusicCastingWildcardTotal
Krishan Fan51.11.20.90.10.20.35-0.28.65
Zelie510.80.50.20.350.2508.1
Muhammad01.31.50.80.20.40.50.24.9
Sara011.20.50.50.30.504
Reem011.20.50.30.40.3-0.253.45
Yasin Cynic00.51.20.50.40.30.25-0.252.9
Mean1.670.981.180.620.280.330.36-0.085.33
Max521.510.50.50.5±0.511.5

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