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Netflix’s Paranoid Sci-Fi Masterpiece Is the Perfect Weekend Watch
Collider critic Luca Mehta recommends Yorgos Lanthimos's 2026 film Bugonia as a weekend watch, calling it one of the director's sharpest satires and a fitting close to a prolific three-year run following Poor Things (2023) and Kinds of Kindness (2024). The film uses a paranoid, conspiracy-theorist storyline to satirise how societies avoid accountability by scapegoating marginalised groups, a theme the writer links to contemporary populist politics.
Bugonia stars Jesse Plemons and Aidan Delbis as cousins who kidnap a pharmaceutical CEO, played by Emma Stone, believing her to be an alien "Andromedan." It is adapted by Will Tracy from Jang Joon-hwan's 2003 Korean film Save the Green Planet!, with Lanthimos taking directing duties due to Jang's health concerns. Shot largely on VistaVision 35mm and blending minimalist and maximalist visual styles, the film earned four Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, though it won none; Stone received her fifth acting nomination for the role.
In short
- Critic praises Lanthimos's Bugonia as a top weekend pick
- Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons star in alien-kidnapping satire
- Film earned four Oscar nods but no wins
Explained simply
Yorgos Lanthimos is a Greek-Cypriot film director known for unconventional films that blend dark humour with social commentary. Bugonia is his latest film, released on Netflix in 2026, following recent releases Poor Things (2023) and Kinds of Kindness (2024).
The film uses a paranoid conspiracy-thriller narrative as a vehicle for satire, examining how societies avoid accountability by scapegoating marginalised groups. Two cousins kidnap a pharmaceutical CEO, believing her to be an alien being called an 'Andromedan', a premise through which the film explores themes around institutional blame-shifting and populist politics.
The film stars Jesse Plemons and Aidan Delbis as the cousins, with Emma Stone as the kidnapped CEO. Based on South Korean director Jang Joon-hwan's 2003 film Save the Green Planet! and adapted by Will Tracy, it was shot largely in VistaVision 35mm. The film received four Oscar nominations including Best Picture, with Stone earning her fifth acting nomination, though none of the nominations resulted in wins.