Bugonia Review: A fantastic five-genre blender
My best cinephile friend, Hunter Haubert, once upon a time convinced me to watch Jordan Peele's Nope. And, unfortunately, I didn't like it that much. Hunter, looks like Bugonia is my Nope, and you've said Nope to Bugonia. Because this is my crazy alien movie with great dialogue and biting social commentary, like Nope was for you (and obviously many others). So let's talk about why I love Bugonia in today's Reel Ranker review.
Like Nope, which I will stop bringing up in a moment, Bugonia has a bizarre premise: two weirdos kidnap a tech CEO in a revenge plot in which they're convinced she's an alien. This movie does a fantastic job balancing both the horror and humor of the situation. It also has a lot of tension and commentary that only a true visionary could add to such an odd premise. The film is an absolute thrill ride through and through, and it's certainly a must-watch. It might not be for you in the end, but it's just crazy enough that I doubt you'll regret the experience, even if you despise the film.
Now let's get into the spoiler territory, now that I've recommended the film for those who haven't seen it yet.
The first thing I'm strongly compelled to share is that this film's score and sound design were immensely unique. It was unlike any score I've ever heard. However, it did indeed evoke a more Hitchcockian, vintage-cinema vibe while still innovating on that style through an alien-like modus operandi. Jerksin Fendrix absolutely cooked with this score. It's crazy how he didn't even read the script before making this. I want to watch every movie he's scored now!
The next compelling thought to share is that Bugonia's back-and-forth tension is impeccable. This film's most intriguing aspect is that it constantly flips the script on who's in the right and who's in the wrong, and it keeps flipping the idea on its head over and over about whether Emma Stone's character is the alien or not. Kinda reminded me of the cinematic version of Jackbox's hit game Push the Button. It's been a long time since I've felt this much tension and change of opinion in a film.
Another aspect that was so intriguing for me was its ability to bend and blend so many genres at once. The movie switches between comedy, tragedy, sci-fi, horror, and thriller so often and so well that I wouldn't know what genre I'd say the film is—probably thriller, if I had to choose.
The dialogue in this film is electric! The film uses a lot of words I don't see often in screenplays, and a vast majority of them are among my favorite English words. I know that's silly, but it's awesome. My favorite part of this movie is when our two protagonists are debating. It was so fun to watch and hear.
The last few minutes of this film reveal that, without a doubt, she's an alien. With how arthouse-y and (I don't mean this negatively) Oscar-bait-y this film felt, I thought we'd get an overtly pretentious, have-your-own-interpretation ending. I was incredibly satisfied with the ending, which was surprising, because I had originally been rooting for a more grounded, down-to-Earth resolution. Yet by the end, I felt there was no better way to end this, and it recontextualizes the story in the best possible way. It's one of my favorite endings in recent memory, even though it kind of went against everything I typically enjoy about a movie's conclusion.
Bugonia is a masterfully shot and scored film that somehow nails comedy, horror, drama, thrills, tragedy, and sci-fi. While it's an entertaining thrill ride, that's not at the cost of delivering haunting commentary and beautiful emotions, making it a must-watch film, even if its eccentricity may be off-putting for some.
The cutting between all the beauty of humanity and its sudden end was some of the most heart-wrenching horror I've ever seen. After hearing the speech about how humans failed, I got teary-eyed, witnessing so many beautiful shots that encapsulated all of humanity, and how they ended so grimly. I was especially heartbroken, imagining that one couple in bed, as if it might be their magical first time, and then, in the blink of an eye, it all fades to black. Hit too close to home as somebody who's all-but-engaged to my best friend. Yes, I extrapolated data and made stuff up in my head in that scene, but scenes that make me think and haunt me on a personal level are the most horrifying of them all.
Bugonia explores many great themes, including capitalism, humanity's failures, the nature of conspiracy, and more. I still need to watch Save the Green Planet!, the Korean film this is based on. More often than not, for some reason unbeknownst to me, I resonate with how Korean creators portray themes through their cultural lens more than I do with American filmmakers, so I'm really excited to see how that film plays out. Either way, there's no doubt in my mind that Bugonia is far more aptly named, with its name coloring its themes even before you walk into this film.
Sounding alien in and of itself, the Latin term "bugonia" refers to the belief that new life comes from decay (more specifically, bees spawning from rotten carcasses). This term was so fitting for the film, and quite sad in general. Reminding me of the hit video game Tales of Vesperia and the themes it presents, with the Entelexia: life moves on even without the human race. Like many prehistoric creatures, we'll one day expire our tenure as Earth's dominant species, yet life will move on. It's so haunting to see the apocalypse play out because The Creator deemed humanity a failure—as a Christian, I'm sure happy my god is far more merciful than Emma Stone's character is, and that I'll get some semblance of a happy ending. That I won't (at least I sure hope I won't) die in a simple moment of hanging out with my family, studying to fulfill my life's dreams, or, as mentioned earlier, loving my partner.
My only slight negatives pertaining to this film that hold it back from perfection were some underbaked story elements. I think a little more focus leading into the third act would have been nice, and I wish there had been more time to unpack why our lead came to believe in the aliens, what he had done to gain that knowledge, and how he was hurt by Emma Stone's character. I loved the dialogue, but a bit more heart-wrenching dialogue that showed the way our lead felt broken by the actions of the Andromedan queen would have balanced out his methodically scientific speech better. Lastly, the main character killing the police officer felt out of place in the film... Our main character seemed too witty to be stupid enough to just kill a police officer. I feel like he would've known that killing him wouldn't solve anything, and instead would've chained him up until he was proven correct. A nitpick, I know, but it just felt a little out of character.
The Reel Ranker Verdict
Reel or Unreel? - Reel
The Reel Ranker Score: 93%
Letter Score: S
Star Ranking: 4.5 out of 5
Bugonia is a masterfully shot and scored film that somehow nails comedy, horror, drama, thrills, tragedy, and sci-fi. While it's an entertaining thrill ride, that's not at the cost of delivering haunting commentary and beautiful emotions, making it a must-watch film, even if its eccentricity may be off-putting for some.
Here's my Nope review, since I kept mentioning that movie at the beginning of this review xD
Brighton Nelson
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