Bugonia - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Bugonia



Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:



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Movie
Going into this viewing, I was rather conflicted on it. You see, I’m not a wild fan of Yorgos Lanthimos’ filmmaking, but I have come to adore pretty much everything that Jesse Plemons is in, and Emma Stone has been churning out some incredible performances lately. It’s almost as if she’s decided to stay away from the Hollywood limelight now that she’s “gotten her bag”, and intentionally is doing all the quirky passion projects that really stretch and grow her as an artist. But still, it’s Yorgos Lanthimos, and the last film I actually enjoyed of his was The Lobster back in 2015. But hey, that’s the joy of being in this industry. Being forced to watch films that you normally wouldn’t and experiencing things for the first time (surreptitiously grabs a couple of vodka shooters for this viewing, just in case).

The best way of describing Bugonia is Saving Silverman, directed by Yorgos Lanthimos (all credit to a random member of another HT forum, but I can’t get that description out of my head, and it’s eerily accurate). This is a weird, insane, crack-fueled, bloody, gory, evil, and twisted kidnapping story told through the lens of a mentally disturbed man named Teddy (Jesse Plemons). Teddy and his buddy Don (Aidan Delbis) live out in the sticks off the grid, barely making ends meet while Teddy fills Don’s head with conspiracy theories about aliens trying to oppress the human race. The two of them have plans to capture one of the aliens (known as Andromedans) and torture it till it gives up its secrets so that Teddy can negotiate a truce between the two races.

And just to be clear, the “alien” just so happens to be Teddy’s boss, Michelle (Emma Stone), who also just so happens to be the CEO of a pharmaceutical company that put Teddy’s mother (Alicia Silverstone) into a coma due to side effects from an opioid withdrawal medication she was taking. So what do you think is going to happen? Yup, a cat and mouse game between Michelle and Teddy (and Don), with Teddy’s delusional mind turning every attempt by Michelle to escape into a virtual minefield, where even the slightest misstep could turn deadly in seconds.

Based upon the 2003 Korean film Save the Green Planet (which was freaking hilarious), Yorgos Lanthimos takes the same general concepts of madness and alien contact into a darkly twisted horror/comedy/thriller/sci-fi/Arthouse film that is so far up its own rectum that it can’t even see daylight...and yet strangely brilliant at the same time. I may not be a Yorgos Lanthimos fan, but Arthouse films are a passion for me, so I sort of get both angles here. Yorgos once more tries to be so enigmatic and use the film as a corollary for so many social issues that once more, he gets so far up his own rectum that the film can’t find its way out. But at the same time, this is just brilliantly acted and visually shot. Jesse Plemons gives a stunning performance as the unhinged Teddy, while Emma Stone proves why she is so good at playing ice queens. But really, I was most impressed by Aidan Delbis as Teddy’s mentally challenged friend. Supposedly, this was his first time acting in a feature film, and he did such a great job that I would have thought he had spent years acting.

The film dabbles with several messages throughout, some of which work, others not so much. The first is dealing with the nature of truth and how it applies to actual reality instead of how we perceive it. Poor Teddy is so steeped in conspiracy theories to the point where actual reality is malleable in his head. He believes he KNOWS the truth so thoroughly, yet strangely seems to be missing it all along. Then there’s poor Don, who simply knows only know what lines Teddy feeds him, so his own truth is manipulated and taken from him due to his circumstances.

The second major thematic element running through the film pertains to how humanity treats the planet, and what we’ve squandered. Sure, it’s a time-tested element of science fiction storytelling, but it doesn’t always WORK in this situation. The essence of truth theme really does work with the horror/thriller aspect of the film (and that last 30 minutes is BONKERS), but he whole “humans are destroying the earth” element feels weirdly out of place, even for Yorgos. And maybe that’s why the twist at the end actually feels weirder than it should have. Without that whole element, it would have felt more natural (as weird as it is), and I know that it’s in there, being based on Save the Green Planet, but I can’t help but wish that they had gone a different direction and eliminated that thematic thread from the story.




Rating:

Rated R for bloody, violent content including a suicide, grisly images, and language.




Video:

And keeping with the unique nature of the film, the actual filming process for Bugonia is just as peculiar and eccentric as the movie itself. Shot using 35mm film in a 1.50:1 Vistavision aspect ratio (using a Wilcam W11 camera and spherical lenses), the flick looks very unique and intense. Colors are rich and overly saturated, but the film has a heavy layer of dimness to the entire thing. Even though primary shades can really pop and look almost bright in and of themselves, they seem to have a heavy “shadow” like quality to them at all times. Everything is heavily squashed with deep blacks throughout, both in the sunlight and in the darkness of Teddy’s basement, where he conducts his torture experiments. Film grain is visible, giving a very organic and healthy filmic experience without any problems in regards to grain structure. Fine details are generally exquisite, and I really didn’t see any major banding at all in the film. About the only “negative” I can say is that the blacks come really close to crushing, even though they tend to never really fully crush on us and obscure details. It’s a unique visual experience, and after getting used to the 1.50:1 aspect ratio, it absolutely sucks you in.









Audio:

And we finally get to the belle of the ball here. The Dolby Atmos track is easily the best part of the entire experience, infusing the entire production with an eerie and somberly atmospheric mix that just surrounds the listening position in every conceivable way. Dialog is crisp and cleanly located up front as expected, but the surrounds and overheads are absolutely delicious. Directionality is amazing, sporting objects and scrapes jumping from one end of the room to the other, and eerie score from Jerskin Fendrix permeating every section of the speaker setup. Bass is tight and clean, not too massive, but always ever present and well represented in the mix. Honestly, this is one of the better uses of an Atmos track in recent history, and one of the few that I can give an unabashed 5/5 rating without hesitation.









Extras:

• The Birth and the Bees: The Making of Bugonia

Final Score:

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My thoughts on Bugonia are a bit convoluted and conflicted. In many ways, I was rolling my eyes at Yorgos’ twisted Arthouse direction, but at the same time, I was absolutely blown away by the performances. This is a weird, bizarre, coked-out film that is both worth watching and incredibly frustrating to watch. I was sucked in like I hadn’t been sucked into a film for a good while, but at the same time, I was constantly having to pause the film so I could recover from the scene before. So yeah, this was a roller coaster of a film, and even though I can’t 100% recommend it as a blind buy, this is something serious cinephiles and Arthouse fans will definitely want to check out, and worth your time to see if it appeals to you. The Blu-ray looks and sounds amazing, but sadly, the extras are limited to only a single 23-minute “making of” video. Check it out (with a warning).


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Alicia Silverstone, Aidan Delbis, Stavros Halkias
Directed by: Yorgos Lanthimos
Written by: Will Tracy, Jang Joon-hwan
Aspect Ratio: 1.50:1 AVC
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Core), Spanish, French (Canadian) DD 5.1, English DVS
Subtitles: English SDH, English, French, Spanish
Studio: Universal Studios
Rated: R
Runtime: 119 minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: December 23rd, 2025

Recommendation: Check It Out (With Warnings)