Friday Films: Bugonia

A film screening of Bugonia (2025); 1 hr. 58 m; Rated R; closed captioning available.

Strange beliefs and unfounded convictions have shaped conspiracy theorist Teddy Gatz into the man he is today. And haunted by the crazy idea that malevolent extraterrestrials live among us, Teddy has embarked on a quixotic crusade to rid humankind of the otherworldly menace. His latest target is Michelle Fuller, the high-profile CEO of Auxolith Biomedical, and Teddy is determined to beat a confession out of her. All he needs is courage. Now, reason won't cut it, and Fuller's intricate mind games won't save her skin, unless she comes clean about her sinister hidden agenda. However, Michelle is such a lovely person—perhaps a bit cold, but still a living, breathing human being. Then again, what if Gatz is onto something?

“It’s telling that a film about aliens judging the rottenness of our species comes from a Greek filmmaker using America as a setting. That outsiderism intimates an acknowledgment of all sides while making the case that no force is as destructive as human selfishness. And if we cannot cast away that egotism, then perhaps we, as a species, simply deserve to peter out." - Robert Daniels, Roger Ebert