Undergods

I once read a John le Carré novel in which, early in the action, a spy, who was gut-shot and bleeding out on someone's carpet, was first and foremost profoundly apologetic about the mess, more than he was concerned with his own demise. Carré painted this as a quintessentially English approach to being in a state of profound distress. I must say: a fair enough stereotype, at least in those awkward cases where the carpet might be antique, and even for the aspirational masses too.

During the first ten minutes of this movie, I wasn't sure if I was watching something good. If you watch you'll see why--although the acting was really great then and throughout. Things were just so uncomfortable, inhibited, and so obviously sure to turn out badly in a predictable way. However, suddenly the movie took various hard, unexpected, and pleasantly intriguing turns. The slow start became, for me, canvas and backdrop to some actual stories. What ensued was actually pretty interesting and unpredictable.

Ultimately, despite the uncomfortably dystopian mess it drops on your proverbial carpet, this film owes you no apologies beyond the naked grotesqueness of it's own dark, forlorn, and pathological message. To me it's quite the interesting, last-minute suicide note of the languishing English soul.

My final verdict: well acted, interestingly plotted, very stark and dystopian, and it even offers a bit of futurist s/f backed up by completely convincing special effects. Absolutely worthy of a watch.

Good looking, in a gloomy sort of way, short stories cleverly and randomly connected to each other. It's very well directed and acted without any real focal point other than the future looks mighty grim. It's a somewhat hypnotic film that offers many impressive visuals, but they are nearly all dark, violent, depressing or evil. I can't say I "enjoyed" it, but it is an interesting, cheerless, and somewhat miserable journey.

Undergods starts with K and Z, a pair of corpse collectors trolling the bombed out streets of a European city in a dystopian future. Although this was shot before the Ukraine war, the setting could easily be Bakhmut or any city in the Ukrainian east today. Were the writers prophetic?

From there the story bounces about into thinly connected mini-stories, back to the past, the present, and even into what may be alternative worlds (or is it K's and Z's imagination).

The next story is of a couple, the only residents in a new, sterile apartment tower, who are tricked in to allowing a stranger to board with them for a weekend. Needless to say, bad things happen.

We quickly segue into another tale -- there is a thread-like connection --- this one of a father who tells scary bedtime stories to his young daughter.

One story is about a greedy merchant whose love of money causes him to cheat an old eccentric inventor out of a mysterious machine that might make him rich. The setting looks to be Serbia, circa 1980s. The run-down art deco office building is amazing.

From there we jump -- again there is a connection with the last story -- to a hellish underworld of the future where slave labor is the norm. And then on to a man, dressed in slave attire, who returns home to the present after a long absence to find that his wife has moved on with her life. Chewing gum and a lottery actually figures into this segment. Then back to K and Z.

The Undergods is a dark and disturbing film, creepy even, yet it is also powerful and thought-provoking. The film explores themes of alienation, despair, loyalty, love of family, and the nature of power. It's a film that will stay with you long after you watch it.

The set designs, the overall visual style are stunning. Everything is grey, depressing, or in the "today" segments, cheap and artificial looking. The humor is dark and very twisted often with a dagger like edge.

The characters are complex, and for the length of the movie surprisingly well fleshed out. Their motives are, for the most part, clear and you feel their torment, their alienation and despair.

This is NOT a film for everyone. But if you like dark, strange fantasy, yes, give it a watch.

This film is a dark satirical dream of interwoven stories within a dystopian hellhole. It's a grim fairytale book of Orwellian doom yet oddly hilarious at times. Undergods is flawlessly written, perfectly casted, creatively scored and a true hidden gem of cinema. The world parallels our own with its depiction of "normal" society in which a mistake could easily kill you or throw you into the dark hell of society's underbelly. A place unthinkable until you are trapped within that nightmare. I truly hope that one day this beautiful masterpiece will find its proper place within the halls of cult cinema.

Cinematography and visual effects: stunning.

Wardrobe and backdrops/sets: jaw-dropping perfection (I wanted much more of the crumbling dystopian cityscapes).

Casting and performances: exceptional.

Music/score: on point.

Directing and camera angles/shots: great (especially for a newb).

The overall feel and tone as a dark dystopian science-fiction fantasy: outstanding.

Newb filmmaker Chino Moya certainly is a visionary, and sharing his breathtaking vision through his eyes was a huge success. His style and design of the film is to be admired and marveled at.

But his writing was rather dull and random, with stories that don't go anywhere, feel disconnected, and have an uneven narrative that made them feel incoherent. I do get his many dark-humor satirical metaphors, and although ambitious, the underwhelming domestic anthology dramas leave you with more questions than answers. His stories had plenty of style, but not much substance, and what was under the surface, needed much finessing and attention.

Overall, there were so many brilliant qualities to Moya's feature film, that it would shame some seasoned filmmakers recent films. I just wish his screenplay was just as great. Nevertheless, a must watch for dystopian/sci-fi fans, even if just for the atmosphere and visuals.