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.
23 Reviews
You'll need to be on acid to fully enjoy this ride, albeit ignoring all the standard safety measures for said ride.
Top_Dawg_Critic28 July 2021
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.
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.
Darkly comic, uncomfortably familiar
Grismar11 April 2021
A series of vignettes, connected in weird and unsuspected ways, painting the picture of a dystopia that reminds us of daily life more often than is comfortable. Powerful imagery and intriguing stories, though it perhaps lacks purpose and direction at times. Worth watching if you enjoy movies like About Endlessness but prefer a bit more grit.
Suffering is now a film genre.
aeongale28 May 2021
First and foremost, acting is good and directing is excellent. So it has a solid foundation. The story is an anthology that loosely threads together tales of suffering manifesting within different environments. I'm still unsure if I enjoyed it. Perhaps some films are not meant to be merely enjoyed but to arouse contemplation. Either way, I'm interested to see what Chino Moya makes in the future, provided there is one.
20 Minutes Into The Future
peterjamessharpe21 March 2024
The oddest thing about this film to me was how heavily it borrowed from Max Headroom: 20 Minutes Into The Future. A whole section of it was almost a straight lift from Bruegel and Mahler cruising the ruins in search of lucrative deposits to be cashed in at Nightingales Body Bank. This couldn't have been an accident, as the end theme music was almost identical. Elsewhere it was a hotchpotch of borrowed themes, probably starting at Eraserhead and working its way through any number of long-forgotten dark films and TV episodes.
Of the cast, only Johann Myers was immediately recognisable to me, from his underplayed yet still chilling role as David Harewood's enforcer in the truly terrifying Criminal Justice. One or two others looked vaguely familiar, probably having bit-parts in The Bill in the 1980s. This didn't matter, as no stars were needed or even wanted in this film, for which the main requirement was to invest in the project with the slightly bewildered detachment required to pull it off. The party scene was strangely reminiscent of the currently popular style of many TV comedies, which instead of good old-fashioned jokes, rely on provoking feelings of extreme embarrassment and discomfort.
The film itself seems to have come to life in a strange and unusual way, being an Estonian project but using a mixture of British and European actors with National Lottery Funding. I thought the original Max Headroom film was a ground breaking classic, but I can't make my mind up whether it being flattered in this way should be viewed in a positive or negative way. I can't even make my mind up whether being a homage to one of my favourite films made me mark it up or down.
Of the cast, only Johann Myers was immediately recognisable to me, from his underplayed yet still chilling role as David Harewood's enforcer in the truly terrifying Criminal Justice. One or two others looked vaguely familiar, probably having bit-parts in The Bill in the 1980s. This didn't matter, as no stars were needed or even wanted in this film, for which the main requirement was to invest in the project with the slightly bewildered detachment required to pull it off. The party scene was strangely reminiscent of the currently popular style of many TV comedies, which instead of good old-fashioned jokes, rely on provoking feelings of extreme embarrassment and discomfort.
The film itself seems to have come to life in a strange and unusual way, being an Estonian project but using a mixture of British and European actors with National Lottery Funding. I thought the original Max Headroom film was a ground breaking classic, but I can't make my mind up whether it being flattered in this way should be viewed in a positive or negative way. I can't even make my mind up whether being a homage to one of my favourite films made me mark it up or down.
Looks good, but completely empty
abrahambull-878094 March 2022
As far as I can make out, this film is somewhere between an anthology and a complete film that is very episodic, loosely kept together by some recurring characters, backdrops and themes. The film looks fantastic and the technical aspects are very good. The themes about family breakdown and and a dystopian future are potentially interesting. Unfortunately the plot is ultimately too disjointed and senseless to be enjoyable. In fact, this aspect is so bad that it totally ruins the film. It's like the creators gave up halfway through and replaced any meaning with pretentious, impenetrable nonsense.
In a way it would be interesting to watch twice because there are several plot strands and characters that you assume are going to make some kind of return and get some kind of resolution but they never do. It is only when the film ends that you think: what the hell was that about. Please don't think there's something you missed and maybe you needed more intelligence to fully appreciate it. That is not the case.
In a way it would be interesting to watch twice because there are several plot strands and characters that you assume are going to make some kind of return and get some kind of resolution but they never do. It is only when the film ends that you think: what the hell was that about. Please don't think there's something you missed and maybe you needed more intelligence to fully appreciate it. That is not the case.
Weirdly actually pretty good!
diedaily777 May 2021
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.
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.
Disappointing
mitchowdhury-mail21 May 2021
Bleak and Tedious
peteratskegness20 March 2024
Every so often I watch a film and, having given it the benefit of the doubt and sat it out until the end, I find myself asking, "why?"
Undergods is one of those films. Pretentious, depressing, and lacking anything remotely resembling an even half-decent storyline. I think back and try and find if there's anything in its favour, but there isn't. Whatever point(s) the Writer and Director thought they were making, lost by this tedious drivel. The filming and scenes are generally bleak in appearance. None of the characters portrayed evoke any interest, let alone sympathy (other than that for cast members who had to perform this rubbish).
Undergods is one of those films. Pretentious, depressing, and lacking anything remotely resembling an even half-decent storyline. I think back and try and find if there's anything in its favour, but there isn't. Whatever point(s) the Writer and Director thought they were making, lost by this tedious drivel. The filming and scenes are generally bleak in appearance. None of the characters portrayed evoke any interest, let alone sympathy (other than that for cast members who had to perform this rubbish).
Dark, disturbing, thought provoking, visually striking
lee-966967 July 2023
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.
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.
Really, really bad!
duvalmarka5 November 2021
Do not waste your time on this movie. It is absolutely the worst movie I've ever watched all the way through. I'm very sorry I did. I was so happy it was over I came straight here to warn y'all. Do not watch this movie!!!
Undergods? More like the over before it started
timothyrobertcooke17 November 2021
Awful. Self indulgent, incoherent dribble. I was really looking forwards to this, but did it deliver? Well, it delivered something. Utter rubbish. If you are going to film an anthology, make sure all of the stories link together.
Just confusing, but not in a smart way.
becky-9234629 August 2022
Undergods (2020) follows various people in Europe and their stories of the downfall of their lives, the film is set in the dystopian society that follows. This film has a fairly unique premise but just really didn't follow it through in an effective way. I was very disappointed with this one, there wasn't much to it and I really wasn't sure what it was supposed to be about.
The camerawork was fairly basic, but luckily I did like a lot of the visual aspects of this movie. The practical effects looked good and were pretty realistic, also the colour scheme was nice at times. There was a good mix of cooler and warmer palettes but the film had a intriguing gloomy look all throughout.
The acting was mainly good, which ended up being a shame because the characters were all somewhat boring. Harry interested me, he was mysterious and I wanted to know more about him, but the film didn't give his story enough time to be developed so his character was over way too quickly. The rest of the characters were forgettable, and the dialogue was odd and felt poorly written.
The score was alright, it wasn't anything too special but it had a nice sci-fi feel too it and set the mood well. I just wish it could have been a little more unique. The sound design was way too chaotic however, and really drew me out of my immersion and just ended up irritating me in the end.
The structure was messy and confusing, it took me embarrassingly long to realise that the film was somewhat of an anthology. I feel like the film could've been a lot smoother with tying the stories together for it to actually make sense, I couldn't tell where each story began and ended! Not to mention, the stories felt like they were cut short. Also, the movie was quite dull and hard to pay attention to. It just had no driving force and I ended up getting easily distracted while watching.
The camerawork was fairly basic, but luckily I did like a lot of the visual aspects of this movie. The practical effects looked good and were pretty realistic, also the colour scheme was nice at times. There was a good mix of cooler and warmer palettes but the film had a intriguing gloomy look all throughout.
The acting was mainly good, which ended up being a shame because the characters were all somewhat boring. Harry interested me, he was mysterious and I wanted to know more about him, but the film didn't give his story enough time to be developed so his character was over way too quickly. The rest of the characters were forgettable, and the dialogue was odd and felt poorly written.
The score was alright, it wasn't anything too special but it had a nice sci-fi feel too it and set the mood well. I just wish it could have been a little more unique. The sound design was way too chaotic however, and really drew me out of my immersion and just ended up irritating me in the end.
The structure was messy and confusing, it took me embarrassingly long to realise that the film was somewhat of an anthology. I feel like the film could've been a lot smoother with tying the stories together for it to actually make sense, I couldn't tell where each story began and ended! Not to mention, the stories felt like they were cut short. Also, the movie was quite dull and hard to pay attention to. It just had no driving force and I ended up getting easily distracted while watching.
Extremely underrated film
wydwhkg18 February 2023
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.
EXCUSE
ricarsarav23 May 2022
No, no, i'm not asking for the "writer/director" of this...thing...to be forgiven, no. What i want to say is that this is yet another pathetic excuse of meaningless self-indulgence under the excuse of "postmodernism". This piece of manure is so pretentious and pointless that it's hard to write anything more than this. There is absolutely no plot, and obviously the aforementioned guy thought he can fool people into believing this is art. There is no plot, only the vehement desire to spread a nihilistic view of human behavior. Probably, he's another new world order lackey, that is all. AVOID THIS IF YOU RESPECT YOURSELF.
Underrated gem
djhellsinki-647038 May 2021
Just wanted to say that this is a very aesthetically pleasing movie, beautiful even when the subject is ugly, watch the first 10 minutes and be convinced. The acting is great, and the vignettes slowly get you into a parallel world where everything is slightly off while still being relatable. It's an unpolished gem worth watching.
It's been decades since i saw such a dark "movie"
cabtv3 July 2021
Atmosphere, acting and music are perfect and i only say movie in quotes because it's actually 3 unrelated short stories. Watching them is not fun and it isn't meant to be fun. It's the kind of dark movie we can't really show anymore because people won't see the point, mainly because there simply is none.
The stories follow normal people trying to cope with a highly unusual situation and failing in a (imho) very human way. Again, it's got no action nor comedy, it is just dark with a bit of mystery. But if you disregard the standards of today's sensational entertainment, it is an incredibly good movie.
The stories follow normal people trying to cope with a highly unusual situation and failing in a (imho) very human way. Again, it's got no action nor comedy, it is just dark with a bit of mystery. But if you disregard the standards of today's sensational entertainment, it is an incredibly good movie.
thought provoking but ultimately a satire
tothelakethismorning26 June 2023
The movie is about how dysfunctional families ruin eachother and ultimately end up ruining the entire society by proxy.
Visually this movie is aesthetically interesting
the storyline is ultimately a satire on how society really is at times
a mosaic of various different occurences in different lives that ultimately is self destructive in whole
it shows how a persons life can be destroyed from having people in families that ultimately dont really care for eachother
this movie can be heart breakingly tragic to those that actually lived similar occurences in their personal lives and might rub the wrong way psychologically
in my experience most families have good bonds and support eachother in real life
so the ultimate premise of this story is that families ruin everything and from thenforth ruins an entire society because these families are what constructs as little pieces of a company, a neighborhood and ultimately an entire city. What i took from my viewing and perhaps someone else viewing this film might be different.
Thought provoking and visually striking
but overall a grim look at humanity as an inevitable downward spiral
would be 10/10 except it kind of leaves you with a disgusting after taste that somehow makes you resent humanity for its inherent flaws.
Visually this movie is aesthetically interesting
the storyline is ultimately a satire on how society really is at times
a mosaic of various different occurences in different lives that ultimately is self destructive in whole
it shows how a persons life can be destroyed from having people in families that ultimately dont really care for eachother
this movie can be heart breakingly tragic to those that actually lived similar occurences in their personal lives and might rub the wrong way psychologically
in my experience most families have good bonds and support eachother in real life
so the ultimate premise of this story is that families ruin everything and from thenforth ruins an entire society because these families are what constructs as little pieces of a company, a neighborhood and ultimately an entire city. What i took from my viewing and perhaps someone else viewing this film might be different.
Thought provoking and visually striking
but overall a grim look at humanity as an inevitable downward spiral
would be 10/10 except it kind of leaves you with a disgusting after taste that somehow makes you resent humanity for its inherent flaws.
Human tales from a dystopian future near you.
mike-puorro17 June 2023
Deeply disturbing and heartrending themes are explored here such as a thin line between love and hate, hierarchy and the division of class, power in the wrong hands, death, and dehumanization.
I'm giving it 10 stars to up the average. I imagine it's low ratings are the result of some viewers being bored and/or unacquainted with hard ship.
The allegories here are subtle and relatable. The stories are interconnected in theme, but don't necessarily take place in the same thematic world.
Expect loose ends and permission to come to your own conclusions.
On a personal note, this movie affected my dreams the night after I watched it. The bizarre workhouse segment spoke to me.
I'm giving it 10 stars to up the average. I imagine it's low ratings are the result of some viewers being bored and/or unacquainted with hard ship.
The allegories here are subtle and relatable. The stories are interconnected in theme, but don't necessarily take place in the same thematic world.
Expect loose ends and permission to come to your own conclusions.
On a personal note, this movie affected my dreams the night after I watched it. The bizarre workhouse segment spoke to me.
Gates of Hell
dochito5 February 2022
It's doesn't all need pretty little bows
olidean5 October 2023
The fact that someone reviewed this saying 'don't watch this if you respect yourself' had me hooked.
I thought it was brilliant, each segment tying nicely into the next. Giving you enough to enjoy while keeping you on your toes.
Films, like life shouldn't be gift wrapped in lovely little parcels were each thing makes perfect sense. This film isn't any where as incoherent as some make out. The message just isn't plastered in your face and for some that's intolerable.
If you have the time to spare, give it a watch and be open minded to the whole thing from start to finish. You may just respect yourself more than when you started.
I thought it was brilliant, each segment tying nicely into the next. Giving you enough to enjoy while keeping you on your toes.
Films, like life shouldn't be gift wrapped in lovely little parcels were each thing makes perfect sense. This film isn't any where as incoherent as some make out. The message just isn't plastered in your face and for some that's intolerable.
If you have the time to spare, give it a watch and be open minded to the whole thing from start to finish. You may just respect yourself more than when you started.
Irony
alafouzos-1324315 June 2021
In the same line with works from Lanthimos,Alex van Warmerdam and. Haneke. The real deep bad in society that reproduce itself and the irony for the little "cute" problems,little "cute" bubbles they live bourgeoisie families as alienatied.
See also
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