Good evening, House of Madness residents:
The world is busy, and trying to navigate through life's obstacles can be challenging to say the least, and here in the HoM it's no different. Would I like to be able to watch horror movies every day, followed by immediately transferring my impressions from my brain to this page? Duh. But let's be honest, while I'd love to say there just aren't enough hours in the day, I'd also argue that there sometimes just isn't enough exciting content to gush over, and rush to my keyboard to share my delight with you. Sure, there's always something new (or old) to watch, but that doesnt necessarily mean there's always something to be excited about, and although I've seen plenty of films, good and bad, during the time I stepped away, it's been a while since I've seen something which excited me to write about. Until today.
Michelle (Emma Stone) isn't your average businesswoman. At the tender age of 45, she has helped build and shape a major corporation into the success story it has become, and judging by her vehicular choice, and her modest mansion, is doing quite well for herself as a CEO. With high profile success, comes high profile attention, and it seems as though Michelle has caught the eye of one man in particular named Teddy (Jesse Plemons), and his very susceptible cousin Don (Aidan Delbis) who is very much on life's spectrum. What could a couple of seemingly dimwitted townsfolk take issue with when it comes to the world's elite? I mean, they have a roof over their heads, steady income, and the comfort of each other to keep one another going. Well, I guess if you're of the mindset that we live amongst aliens (or they live amongst us), and the CEO of a certain company just happens to be the key to granting them access to her Mother Ship in order to enable a meeting of the minds, per se, then I suppose there's a lot more at stake in this little town than meets the eye. The plan is simple enough; kidnap Michelle, get her to admit she's an alien, have her set up a meet and greet with her alien overlords, and save humanity from annihilation. After all, it really is a shame that before Teddy came along, nobody else has been able to see what's been happening, and decipher the alien's plans to rid the universe of humankind and its sadistic treatment of planet Earth.
"Bugonia" is the breath of fresh air I've been waiting for without realizing I was waiting for anything. It takes a simple premise with simple characters, turns it all upside-down, and just when you're sure everything is right-side-up, it fucks with the balance all over again. It does leave you wondering one horrifying thing at the end though, just what exactly did Casey (Stavros Halkias) do to Teddy when they were kids? That's the real mystery I don't think we're open to hearing in a story as crazy as this one is......or seems.
Madness Meter: 7.9/10
NB
