Emma Stone's Corporate Queen Meets Alien Horror in 'Bugonia'

Olivia Bennett, 10/7/2025Emma Stone shines in "Bugonia," a film blending corporate satire and alien horror, directed by Yorgos Lanthimos. This twisted take on a cult classic promises a unique exploration of conspiracy theories, making it a must-see for this spooky season.

Fresh off their Oscar triumph with "Poor Things," Stone steps into the Louboutins of Michelle Fuller, a pharmaceutical powerhouse who's about to have the worst day of her carefully curated life. Think less "girlboss inspiration" and more "possible alien threat," at least according to the conspiracy theorists who decide to crash her party.

Jesse Plemons and Aidan Delbis play our resident tinfoil-hat brigade, and honey, they're serving paranoia realness. The premise sounds like something dreamed up during a particularly spirited ayahuasca ceremony, but that's exactly what we've come to expect — and frankly, demand — from Lanthimos these days.

This reimagining of "Save the Green Planet!" (a cult classic that deserved more flowers, honestly) comes with a screenplay from Will Tracy, the delightfully twisted mind behind "The Menu" and "Succession." The result? A satire that bites harder than a Hollywood agent who's just lost their top client.

Focus Features is rolling this one out like a perfectly timed fashion collection — select theaters get first dibs on October 24, before the full Halloween takeover. And speaking of timing, could there be a more perfect moment for a film that blurs the lines between corporate America and alien invasion? In 2025, who can even tell the difference anymore?

The early buzz from Venice is giving us life. One particularly juicy review compared it to "Michael Haneke's 'Funny Games' with eco-warrior energy instead of murderous twinks," which might be the most delectable description of a film since someone called "Barbie" a "plastic fantastic fever dream."

Stone's performance in the latest trailer is giving us everything — and nothing — all at once. Is she an extraterrestrial in Prada, or just another CEO having a really, really bad day? Plemons, meanwhile, is serving intensity that could power a small city, making us wonder if maybe — just maybe — his character's bee-keeping conspiracy theories aren't completely bonkers.

This marks collaboration number four for Stone and Lanthimos, and at this point, they're basically cinema's power couple. Their previous outing netted Stone another golden boy for her mantle, proving that audiences aren't just ready for weird — they're absolutely starving for it.

The title itself is a serve, darling. "Bugonia" references an ancient belief about spontaneously generating bees from dead cows, which sounds exactly like the kind of mythology-meets-modern-madness that Lanthimos probably discusses over breakfast.

Whether Stone's character turns out to be human, alien, or something entirely different hardly matters. The real invasion here might be how this film plans to colonize our collective consciousness this spooky season. And honestly? We're ready to be colonized.

Just when Hollywood seemed to be running low on truly original concepts, Emma Stone and Yorgos Lanthimos have cooked up a deliciously weird cinematic concoction that's perfectly suited for our paranoid times. Their latest mind-bender "Bugonia" feels like the lovechild of "The Office" and "The X-Files" — and darling, it's absolutely fascinating.Fresh off their Oscar triumph with "Poor Things," Stone steps into the Louboutins of Michelle Fuller, a pharmaceutical powerhouse who's about to have the worst day of her carefully curated life. Think less "girlboss inspiration" and more "possible alien threat," at least according to the conspiracy theorists who decide to crash her party.Jesse Plemons and Aidan Delbis play our resident tinfoil-hat brigade, and honey, they're serving paranoia realness. The premise sounds like something dreamed up during a particularly spirited ayahuasca ceremony, but that's exactly what we've come to expect — and frankly, demand — from Lanthimos these days.This reimagining of "Save the Green Planet!" (a cult classic that deserved more flowers, honestly) comes with a screenplay from Will Tracy, the delightfully twisted mind behind "The Menu" and "Succession." The result? A satire that bites harder than a Hollywood agent who's just lost their top client.Focus Features is rolling this one out like a perfectly timed fashion collection — select theaters get first dibs on October 24, before the full Halloween takeover. And speaking of timing, could there be a more perfect moment for a film that blurs the lines between corporate America and alien invasion? In 2025, who can even tell the difference anymore?The early buzz from Venice is giving us life. One particularly juicy review compared it to "Michael Haneke's 'Funny Games' with eco-warrior energy instead of murderous twinks," which might be the most delectable description of a film since someone called "Barbie" a "plastic fantastic fever dream."Stone's performance in the latest trailer is giving us everything — and nothing — all at once. Is she an extraterrestrial in Prada, or just another CEO having a really, really bad day? Plemons, meanwhile, is serving intensity that could power a small city, making us wonder if maybe — just maybe — his character's bee-keeping conspiracy theories aren't completely bonkers.This marks collaboration number four for Stone and Lanthimos, and at this point, they're basically cinema's power couple. Their previous outing netted Stone another golden boy for her mantle, proving that audiences aren't just ready for weird — they're absolutely starving for it.The title itself is a serve, darling. "Bugonia" references an ancient belief about spontaneously generating bees from dead cows, which sounds exactly like the kind of mythology-meets-modern-madness that Lanthimos probably discusses over breakfast.Whether Stone's character turns out to be human, alien, or something entirely different hardly matters. The real invasion here might be how this film plans to colonize our collective consciousness this spooky season. And honestly? We're ready to be colonized.