Undergods (2020)

Directed by: Chino Moya | 92 minutes | fantasy | Actors: Johann Myers, Géza Röhrig, Michael Gould, Hayley Carmichael, Ned Dennehy, Khalid Abdalla, Eric Godon, Tanya Reynolds, Tadhg Murphy, Jan Bijvoet, Kate Dickie, Sam Louwyck, Adrian Rawlins, Slavko Labovic, Jonathan Case, Maddison Whelan, Burn Gorman, Simon Manyonda, Lorraine Hilton, Tim Plester

‘Undergods’ opens with images of a dilapidated city. Buildings are in ruins or on the verge of collapse, deep cracks are carved like scars in the pavement and sidewalk, and not a living soul is to be seen on the filthy streets. Against this desolate backdrop, two shabbily dressed men drive around in a dilapidated truck to pick up the fly-covered dead lying by the side of the road. Occasionally they also arrest living people, doomed souls who are sold to an underground cooperative that carries out all kinds of dark and degrading practices. The dystopian world in ‘Undergods’ seems like a nightmarish cross between the post-apocalyptic universe of ‘Mad Max’ and the ruins of World War II.

How did it come to this and what caused the visible collapse of civilization? Director Chino Moya doesn’t tell us and gives the viewer’s imagination room to answer that question. When the two men in the truck start telling each other stories to pass the time (and perhaps also to mentally escape the depressing reality for a while), the film takes on a kind of omnibus form. We are presented with different stories that appear separate from each other, but nevertheless have a link to the overarching setting of the film. Moreover, the stories all have a common denominator: they leave little room for hope and are populated by mostly unhappy characters who have been doled out all kinds of doom in the form of troubled relationships and home situations, murder, manslaughter and unfulfilled desires.

The narration swings up and down a bit; often the tone is serious and gloomy, but Moya also regularly lards the stories with a good dose of absurdism, irony and melancholy humor. It is not clear in all stories whether they are made up or true. In any case, two stories seem to be set in a period before the total collapse of society (or perhaps in an alternative universe).

‘Undergods’ is not easy to catch; the film forges elements from different genres (thriller, drama, black comedy, fantasy and a touch of horror and science fiction) into a dark cocktail. That experimental method yields quite a nice result, which is certainly partly due to the skilled cast. There are no big stars in the film, but there are a few good character actors that you have probably already seen in a few series or films. The soundtrack, which strongly hints at music from the seventies and eighties of the twentieth century, contributes well to the feeling of despondency and total hopelessness that this dark parable of the future continuously radiates.

Although ‘Undergods’ is a bit slow at times, it’s a captivating film experiment that manages to stay on the right side of the thin line between genius and madness most of the time.