Aliens, Bees, Conspiracies – the ABCs of Bugonia

The kidnapping of a high profile figure isn’t an unusual plot device for a thriller. But add in an alien conspiracy, dark comedic elements and a preoccupation with bees, and the curiosity surrounding Yorgos Lanthimos’s latest release, Bugonia, begins to make more sense.

Wondering what all the buzz is about? Here are five things to know about the film.

A Lanthimos vision

If you’ve seen any of the acclaimed director’s previous works – The Lobster (2015), The Favourite (2018), and Poor Things (2023) to name just a few – you’ll know they have a distinct surreal, yet often darkly funny tone. And Bugonia is no exception.

The film follows two conspiracy theorists who kidnap a powerful CEO, convinced she’s an alien plotting to destroy the planet. The bulk of the action takes place in a claustrophobic basement, and throughout the tense hostage situation, the narrative explores a range of weighty socioeconomic, environmental and psychological themes. But in typical Yorgos Lanthimos fashion, the dialogue and visuals are also sprinkled with irreverence and absurdity.

This unpredictability – switching back and forth between the intense microcosm of the house and themes of global magnitude, as well as the characters’ shifting power dynamics and the repeated juxtaposition of horror and humour – heightens the sense of unease. It also provides a stark contrast to the kidnappers’ single-minded focus as their warped plans unfold.

Some familiar faces

Heading up the cast of Bugonia are Emma Stone, who plays Michelle Fuller (the ruthless head of pharmaceutical giant Auxolith) and Jesse Plemons as Teddy (the conspiracy-obsessed brains behind Fuller’s kidnapping).

Both actors have actually collaborated with Lanthimos before: Plemons appeared in his 2024 anthology movie Kinds of Kindness (which also starred Stone), and Stone has teamed up with the director on three other occasions; for The Favourite, a 2022 short film titled Bleat, and for Poor Things (a performance which won her the 2024 Academy Award for Best Actress).

A contemporary reimagining

As wild as the premise of Bugonia sounds, it’s not entirely new. The movie is actually inspired by a Korean film released in 2003, called Save the Green Planet!. The new script was penned by screenwriter Will Tracy during the early Covid lockdowns, and shifts the setting from South Korea to the USA to recontextualise the themes within contemporary American culture.

As one of the writers behind 2022’s celebrated horror comedy The Menu and TV behemoth Succession, Tracy’s credentials for crafting narratives that offer biting commentaries on capitalist society and Western zeitgeist are top-tier. And Save The Green Planet! was put on his radar by none other than Ari Aster (of Hereditary and Midsommar fame), who also serves as a producer on Bugonia.

The bee(s) all and end all

Despite its modern setting, Bugonia’s title is lifted from ancient texts. Its roots are Greek – reflecting Lanthimos’s heritage – and translate to ‘ox birth’, describing the grotesque mystical practice the word represents.

The process of bugonia features throughout early Mediterranean literature, and it details how a beekeeper can miraculously restock their hives by spontaneously generating a new colony from the carcass of a young bull. This not only ties directly to Teddy’s hobby in the film, but his wacky conviction that by kidnapping eliminating Michelle, the world (and in turn, his beloved bees) can be saved.

The ‘truth’ is out there

As part of its marketing campaign for Bugonia, Focus Features has created a clever series of online in-world materials that enable cinemagoers to peek further into the worlds of both Teddy and Michelle.

Auxolith’s cold, capitalist polish can be explored on the fictional company’s LinkedIn page, where posts filled with corporate speak enthuse about innovation and the groundbreaking vision of its “fearless leader”. The fiercely controlled language mirrors one-percenter Michelle’s tightly scheduled, hustle-driven existence within her privileged bubble.

In contrast, the content on humanresistancehq.com is inspired by more niche corners of the internet, where conspiracy enthusiasts, like Teddy, congregate. You can browse grassroots ‘research’ and resources that have purportedly been collated by his fellow believers, giving insight into his echo chamber and shedding light on how his radicalisation came about.

Dive deeper into unsettling conspiracies and dark humour in Bugonia, in cinemas now.