Movie of the Week
Conspiracies blur facts and fakes in ‘Bugonia’
The new sci-fi thriller follows two cousins who confront a corporate leader they believe is an alien.
Bugonia blends science fiction with psychological tension in a story about two conspiracy-obsessed cousins. In the movie, they kidnap a powerful pharmaceutical CEO, convinced that she is an alien plotting to destroy Earth.
Bugonia is screening in Ster-Kinekor cinemas, Nu Metro theatres, and The Bioscope from today (31 October 2025).
The story unfolds as a tense battle between paranoia and logic. As the cousins try to expose what they believe is a planetary conspiracy involving bee extinction and a lunar eclipse, their interrogation takes increasingly bizarre turns. What begins as a sci-fi abduction tale becomes an exploration of delusion, power, and control.
Academy-award winner Emma Stone (Mia in La La Land, and Gwen Stacey in The Amazing Spider-Man 2) stars as the captured executive. The cousins are played by Oscar-nominee Jesse Plemons (Geroge Burbank in The Power of the Dog, and Todd Alquist in Breaking Bad) and newcomer Aidan Delbis.
The film aims to combine sharp dialogue with moments of dark humour, using its outlandish premise to reflect the growing divide between truth and obsession in the digital age.
Bugonia challenges viewers to question what’s real in a world where conspiracies spread faster than facts. It asks whether the true danger lies in the alien threat or in the humans who believe it exists.
The movie’s title refers to an ancient Greek belief in the birth of bees from dead cows.
