Undergods (2020)

Undergods: Directed by Chino Moya. With Johann Myers, Géza Röhrig, Michael Gould, Hayley Carmichael. An otherworldly journey through a Europe in decline – a collection of darkly humorous, fantasy tales about ill-fated characters and doomed fortune.

“I once read a John le Carré novel in which, early in the action, a spy, who was gut-shot and bleeding out on someoneu0026#39;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.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eDuring the first ten minutes of this movie, I wasnu0026#39;t sure if I was watching something good. If you watch youu0026#39;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.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eUltimately, despite the uncomfortably dystopian mess it drops on your proverbial carpet, this film owes you no apologies beyond the naked grotesqueness of itu0026#39;s own dark, forlorn, and pathological message. To me itu0026#39;s quite the interesting, last-minute suicide note of the languishing English soul.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eMy 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.”