Bugonia

This one's less "Alien Nation" and more alienation.

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Going into Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos’ latest “Bugonia” (now in theaters) I didn’t realize it was a reimagining/remake of South Korean writer/director Jang Joon-hwan’s 2003 film “Save the Green Planet!,” which came as a surprise as the picture feels so distinctly Lanthimosian.

Jesse Plemons and Aidan Delbis star as suburban Atlanta-based cousins and best friends Teddy and Donny, respectively. The two men live in Teddy’s folks’ place as his father took off after his mother Sandy (Alicia Silverstone – between this and “The Killing of a Sacred Deer” Lanthimos sure seems to love torturing this woman) slipped into a coma.

Teddy’s convinced that Michelle Fuller (Emma Stone), the CEO of local pharmaceutical company Auxolith for whom he works in a menial warehouse job, is a member of an alien race known as the Andromedans. Teddy blames the Andromedans for his family’s misfortunes and takes it upon himself and Donny to kidnap and interrogate Michelle. They shave Michelle’s head bald believing her hair is the key to communicating with the mothership and stash her – chained – in the family home’s basement.

Disrupting Teddy’s plans is local sheriff Casey (comedian Stavros Halkias) – Teddy’s former babysitter with whom he has a sordid past – who begins sniffing around as Michelle’s cell signal was detected in the area.

“Bugonia” marks Stone’s fourth film with Lanthimos after “The Favourite,” “Poor Things” and “Kinds of Kindness” (fifth if you count the 2022 short “Bleat”) and Plemons’ second after “Kinds of Kindness.” The actors appear to be very comfortable with the edgy filmmaker and turn in brave performances in his wild works – that’s no exception here. They’re strongly supported by Delbis, who lends the picture some much-needed heart and soul.

Despite not having seen “Save the Green Planet!,” I pretty much knew where “Bugonia” was headed from the jump, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing here as the telling of the tale is plenty interesting. (However, I was somewhat perturbed that one of the reasons listed for the film’s R rating serves as a spoiler/trigger warning.) The script from Will Tracy (“The Menu”) is equal parts funny, sad and scary and it’s shot beautifully by Lanthimos’ frequent cinematographer Robbie Ryan.

Lanthimos cheekily thumbs his nose at the international montages that have concluded sci-fi and disaster movies from the mid-1990s to now giving us a movie that’s less “Alien Nation” and more alienation.