Trailer
Plot summary
Teddy Gatz is a conspiracy theorist and a beekeeper. His mother, Sandy, lies comatose after a clinical trial of a drug made by Auxolith, and he blames the pharmaceutical conglomerate. He is certain that its chief executive, Michelle Fuller, belongs to the Andromedans, an alien species that kills Earth's honeybees and pushes humans into servitude. His cousin Don helps him abduct her and lock her in their basement. They shave her head and cover her in antihistamine cream, which Teddy says blocks her from signaling other Andromedans. He sets a deadline of four days for her to arrange a meeting with the Andromedan emperor, ahead of a lunar eclipse that would let the mothership enter the atmosphere undetected.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Bugonia (2025)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Yorgos Lanthimos told composer Jerskin Fendrix to write Bugonia's score from three words, "bees", "basement" and "spaceship", and, according to sound designer Johnnie Burn, gave him neither the script nor any footage until after hearing the music.
- Lanthimos wanted to shoot Bugonia's ending at the Acropolis of Athens, but the Central Archaeological Council of Greece turned him down; the ending was filmed instead at Sarakiniko Beach on the Greek island of Milos in May 2025.
- The head-shaving scene was shot in a single take with four VistaVision cameras running at the same time, because the cameras had a tendency to shut down.
- Cinematographer Robbie Ryan shot roughly 95% of Bugonia on 8-perf 35 mm VistaVision film, more use of the format than any film since One-Eyed Jacks in 1961.
- Bugonia's title is the name of a real folk ritual found in ancient Mediterranean texts including Virgil's Georgics, in which a cow was sacrificed in the belief that bees would spontaneously generate from its carcass.
