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.
