Bugonia Movie Review

“Bugonia” is a movie makes you get out a coin from your pocket. Do you root for the misguided, tin-foil-hat-level conspiracy theory believing low-level weirdo dude who kidnaps a CEO? Or do you root for the soulless, pontificating, arrogant self-absorbed CEO who just might be causing the End of the World? Toss that coin, you pick…

Teddy Gatz (played by Jesse Plemons) is a man on a mission. It does not matter to him that almost any other sane and rational person might think his ‘mission’ was loony tunes. Living in a remote rural house on the edge of a small town with his cousin Don (played by Aidan Delbis), Teddy is preparing to save the world. He is convinced that he has discovered a secret alien life that lives among us.

Teddy is sure that there is an alien race — a species named the “Andromedans” — who have taken human form and have infiltrated society. There is a ‘mothership’ that is headed to Earth, and it will arrive at Earth soon.

In a few days, during the lunar eclipse, the Andromedan space craft will be here — to pick up the hidden alien beings. He has also convinced his cousin Don, who is really his only friend. Don is developmentally challenged, so he is very susceptible to any idea that Teddy feeds him.

One of signs of an alien presence is that his colony of bees is starting to die off. He knows that this is due to the chemicals added into the environment by a huge pharmaceutical company located nearby. The woman who runs this large company is named Michelle Fuller (played by Emma Stone). She is the one identified, by Teddy, to be an Andromedan. It is his mission to capture this alien.

Teddy’s mother, Sandy Gatz (played by Alicia Silverstone), has had a run-in with the large company before. She was part of a test drug trial. But for her (and for quite a few others), it did not end well. Sandy is now a in a permanent coma. Could this be another reason that Teddy does not like this company? It is hard to tell, because he got a job there in the shipping department.

Fuller is a power-obsessed CEO who has had a lot of issues with company drug test scandals and the like. She is sharp, witty and ready to face anything. But she does not count on meeting up with Terry and Don, wearing masks, attacking her at her humungous house. She gets doped up and is out like a light. Teddy and Don kidnap Michelle Fuller without anyone knowing what happened.

Since Teddy knows that Michelle Fuller is only pretending to be a human, he has cousin Don shave off her hair. Teddy believes that Andromedan creatures communicate using hair as a sending and receiving device. They also slather on face cream on Fuller. That is to prevent her from using her mind-control powers on them.

Teddy, along with Don, keeps Fuller locked and chained up in the basement of his house. She is pretty clueless about what Teddy is talking about. She knows that not an alien and has worked for that drug company to make it one of largest in the world.

The company is helping people in poverty-stricken countries and working on getting new life-saving drugs into the market. Why is she being singled out for this type of mistreatment?

Don is baffled by all of this, and it is Terry who is the one with the overall plan. He knows all about this alien’s secret plans to meet up with the Andromedan mothership during the lunar eclipse. What Teddy wants to for this creature to bring him along, so he can communicate with the Andromedan Emperor. He wants to convince the Master of the alien race to leave the Earth alone. Stop interfering, and stop killing all the bees.

There is a local Sherriff named Casey (played by Stavros Halkias) who knew Teddy when he was much younger. Casey had worked as a babysitter for Teddy’s mom, Sandy, back in the day. What Sandy did not know was Casey was awful to Teddy during that time. Casey really wants to meet up and apologize for the things he had done. He could not pick a worse time, of course…

Teddy decides that Michelle Fuller is lying about everything. The only way he knows to get her to talk is to hook her up to a very painful electric shock machine he has built. Fuller is terrified, and Don looks on with a pained expression. Terry amps up the power on the machine higher and higher. Don tells him to stop. Michelle blacks out from this torture.

Teddy now sees he was wrong about Michelle Fuller. She is not a low-level Andromedan worker bee. Since she was able to withstand so much power, she must be Andromedan royalty. He stars to treat Fuller with more respect, and invites her to dinner up the stairs. Still chained up to the floor, of course – because even a royal alien might try to flee and get away.

Michelle Fuller has figured out that the only way to get out of this situation is to give in to Teddy’s conspiracies. She admits to being an alien, while at the dinner table with Don and Teddy. But she also brings up Sandy Gatz, Teddy’s mother. This sets off Teddy and he lunges at Fuller to take her out. That, of course, is the moment that Sherriff Casey decides to stop by for a chat.

If things were tense before all this, now they are about to get a lot nuttier. The captured CEO and the single-minded conspiracy nut are about to have it out. The overwhelmed cousin is not going to be able take any more. The sorrowful Sheriff is ready to say he is sorry — but, by the way — have you seen this person missing for the past couple of days?

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“Bugonia” is a very bleak and dark story of obsession and dangerous ideas. Teddy has convinced himself, and convinced Don, that he is saving the world by kidnapping Michelle Fuller. This is a scary look at someone who is so self-assured that they feel they can do no wrong.

There is an amazing commitment given to these roles, by both Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons. Stone (playing Michelle) has her head shaved – on screen – and that is a huge level of reality right there. She is not afraid to look weak and scared, after being portrayed as a powerful CEO.

Plemons also gives his role (Teddy) the full measure. He is unkempt and wild-eyed, with a true focus on his character being the only one who knows the truth. He has a single goal, and gets enough help to get the job done.

Aidan Delbis is also very interesting to see on screen. He is an actor in the Autism Spectrum. So, he plays the role of Don as being very unassuming and shy – but definitely not dumb.

The story plays out with a few sidebars into a (perhaps) alternate universe. But mostly, the design and feel are true to the real world as we know it. This is actually based on a movie from South Korea that was called “Save the Green Planet!” Maybe this version is more or less the same; however it is probably much crazier.

“Bugonia” is a weird view of how extreme ideas can cause people to lose all touch with reality, and how trying to ‘save the world’ might being about the end of it all. Maybe only the bugs will survive…