Bugonia Review

Bugonia is a visually striking, darkly funny film that commits fully to its weird tone, for better and worse.

Apr 22, 2026

While I wasn’t always sure Bugonia worked, it’s certainly a film I don’t think I will ever forget.

Plot

Two conspiracy-obsessed men kidnap the CEO of a major company when they become convinced that she's an alien who wants to destroy Earth.

Good Points

Strong performances
Striking 35mm cinematography from Robbie Ryan
Dark humour that lands more often than not
Final act
Bold, satirical edge throughout

Bad Points

Slow, dragging first act
Some ideas feel underdeveloped
Not the most accessible watch

My Thoughts on Bugonia

It commits to the weird, and doesn’t soften it

Bugonia certainly isn’t a film that wants to be approachable, as it’s a strange and weird tone the film just plays out, and you’re either on its wave length or you arent, but you cannot deny the confidence.

The cast is strong

Emma Stone is fantastic here, playing Michelle with a cold, detached energy, but there are small cracks running through it all, but it never tips into something too dramatic, thankfully, as it stays measured, which certainly helped make the character more interesting.

Jesse Plemons character takes the opposite approach, where Teddy feels unpredictable from the start, and there’s this fragility to him, but also this constant sense that he might snap or spiral at any moment, but he doesn’t push the performance too hard, as it all just sits there, slightly off, which makes it even more effective.

Then we have Aidan Delbis as Don, who ends up being one of the more important pieces, and on a film that leans heavily into extremes, his performance brings things back down slghtly, with some genuine sincerity, which gives the film an emotional anchor it probably needed more of, because without that, everything might’ve drifted a bit too far.

It looks better than it probably needs to

Visually, it’s good too, with Robbie Ryan’s cinematography gives the whole thing a texture that really stands out, and shooting on 35mm adds a kind of heavy weight to every frame, even when the setting is mostly confined, so it manages to stays visually engaging - lighting, framing, movement all keeps shifting just enough to avoid feeling static.

The tone and pacing

Tonally, it’s a mix bag, as we have some dark comedy running through it all, but it’s not constant, but it mostly hits fairly sharply, especially when it leans into the absurdity of what’s happening.

But there are moments that could’ve pushed further into the comedy and really landed, but instead the film stays in this middle ground - not flat, but probably not as strong as they could’ve been.

The biggest issue I had though was the first half, because it drags, and there’s no real way around that for me, as the setup takes longer than it needs to, especially as it builds Teddy’s mindset and the central dynamic, and while I understood what it was doing and why, I definitely felt it as the viewer.

But then it finally lets itself go

The shift in the final act is excellent however, and makes a massive difference to the film, because once it gets there, the film opens up into something much bigger - more chaotic, more violent, more in line with what it’s been hinting at.

And it’s also not subtle about it all either, as it leans into the brutality and absurdity at the same time, mixing slapstick elements with genuinely uncomfortable violence - it’s messy, excessive, and very very effective, and that escalation certainly makes the slower build feel a bit more justified, even if it doesn’t completely fix the pacing.

But there’s a point where it gets close to losing control, where the scale of what’s happening, especially later on, pushes the film into territory that could’ve easily broken it - timelines stretch, ideas get bigger, and it starts to feel like it’s juggling too much - but thankfully it never fully collapses, and the performances have a lot to do with that.

It doesn’t try to be for everyone

This is definitely a divisive film, and while I didn’t like all parts, when it worked, it worked very well for me, so if you’re not into this kind of offbeat, uncomfortable tone, it’s going to be a tough watch.

But if you’re willing to go with it, there’s a lot to take from it - certainly it isn’t a film just relying on weirdness for the sake of it - as there’s a satirical edge running underneath everything, and while it doesn’t always explore those ideas as deeply as it could, they’re there, giving the film a bit more weight than just surface-level chaos.