By skyforbes I don't know if this is obvious to everyone else, but I think I finally cracked what Bugonia is actually doing. You essentially have to watch it twice for the logic to land.
During the first round, you look at Don and Teddy with pity. You see Michelle as the victim of their delusions. But the finale – where we learn they were actually right – rewires the whole experience for the rewatch.
That second viewing is where the movie really gets under your skin.
Since you know the premise is real, you find yourself relating to the paranoia. You stop judging their erratic behavior and start feeling the panic that drives it. It’s terrifying because it forces you to emotionally simulate the mindset of a conspiracy theorist. You also see the violence as means to an end.
Genius.