I’ve Been Thinking About Bugonia Since I Saw It, And I Think I Need To Change My Initial Rating

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I enjoyed Bugonia immediately after seeing it, but it’s hard to know which films will really stay with you. Days later, I’m still thinking about it, and I’m starting to reconsider my initial rating for Yorgos Lanthimos’s new 2025 movie.

Heads up: This article reveals significant plot details from the movie Bugonia! If you haven’t watched it yet, you should probably stop reading now. However, it’s a really good movie, especially if you enjoy films that are a bit unusual. If you’re unsure whether to watch it, check out Eric Eisenberg’s review, which doesn’t contain any spoilers.

My Original Star Rating Was Pretty High

I originally gave Bugonia 4 out of 5 stars, which is a high score for me. So far in 2025, Sinners is the only film I’ve given a perfect 5-star rating to, though there’s still time for that to change. Bugonia is really sticking with me – it’s one of those movies that stays in your thoughts, and I’m seriously considering raising my rating to 4.5 or even a full 5 stars.

A Lot Of It Has To Do With The Ending

Before seeing the movie Bugonia, I only saw one trailer. I remember being really curious if the main character was secretly an alien after watching it. Looking back at the trailer now, it’s not so obvious, but it definitely made me question things at the time. That mystery, plus hearing it was a crazy, dark comedy, is what made me want to see the film.

As I watched the movie, it became increasingly obvious that Jesse Plemons’ character, Teddy, is deeply troubled due to past trauma. This, combined with his strong belief in his own ideas, leads him to act violently and irrationally, as he genuinely thinks he’s doing what’s best for everyone.

Beyond the disturbing history of abductions and experiments involving possible aliens—events that happened before he met Michelle—he’s now giving his comatose mother antifreeze through her IV, convinced it will heal her. Even as her vital signs started to fail, I couldn’t dismiss the idea that Michelle Fuller, played by Emma Stone, might actually be an alien and had somehow provided a miraculous cure for his mother.

Even after Teddy tried to blow himself up hoping to reach an alien spaceship, I still wondered if Michelle might be an alien too. It seemed possible both things could be true – Teddy could be a dangerous kidnapper with a penchant for violence, and Michelle could also be from another planet. It wasn’t like one ruled out the other, right?

This Movie Was A Puzzle From The Start

I’m not sure if the movie intended to leave viewers feeling this way, but it felt like a mystery to unravel from start to finish, and I was eager to see how everything connected. I particularly enjoyed the ambiguity surrounding Michelle’s character throughout the film. Even though I quickly realized Teddy wasn’t the protagonist, I needed Michelle herself to reveal the truth about her for it to feel believable, no matter what that truth was. Her earlier explanations just didn’t quite convince me either way, until the final reveal.

I’m still trying to make sense of the aliens’ choice to essentially eliminate humanity while letting other animals live. It confirmed the worst fears of Teddy and his cousin Don, which, in a way, proves they weren’t entirely wrong to be suspicious. However, Teddy’s understanding of what was happening was flawed, and even if he’d been right, his belief in aliens doesn’t excuse his actions.

I’m currently giving this movie 4.5 stars, but it has the potential to become one of my top films of 2025 – possibly even a 5-star movie. I need some time to fully process it, and I’d like to rewatch it when it’s newer to streaming services to see if I notice anything new now that I know the ending.

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2025-11-06 17:08