Undergods screened as part of the Glasgow Film Festival from 26 Feb-1 March. A wider release is scheduled for later in 2021.
Synopsis
An otherworldly journey through a Europe in decline and the debut feature from UK filmmaker, Undergods is a cautionary tale of societal collapse told through a collection of visually striking and darkly humorous fantasy tales about ill-fated characters and doomed fortune.
Review
There are certain buzz words which are perfect for hooking me in to the concept of a film. Those words include “otherworldly,” “disparate,” “dystopian” and “synth score.” So Chino Moya’s Undergods felt like an absolute must-watch for me when I was first introduced to it at Fantasia Festival last year. After failing to capture a viewing at Fantasia, the film circled back around to my inbox courtesy of the Glasgow Film Festival 2021 and finally I was united with this otherworldly journey through a Europe in decline.
Undergods is the debut feature for the Spanish-born, UK-based Moya. It fuses together some truly bleak but incredibly striking visuals with an unapologetically 80’s inspired score. A series of individually visually striking stories present doomed characters one after the other until finally the audience can take no more. It is, at times, darkly humorous, whilst never straying from its core message of societal collapse. Unfortunately in the year we find this film hitting screens, it feels like Undergods is now a potential future rather than a truly cautionary tale.
Moya is undoubtedly a visual artist. Undergods is unwavering in its presentation of the future landscape. There are countless ruined cityscape shots. All bathed in a wonderfully icy blue hue. Ruined buildings littering the brutalist, Eastern bloc landscapes. Anyone with a penchant for Stalinist architecture will be left in awe of Moya’s visual style. Interior set design is equally bleak with sparsely decorated apartments and houses awash dimly with concrete blocks. It really is a feast for the artistic eye.
Teamed with composer Wojciech Golczewski’s score, Undergods is a force to be reckoned with. A mix of Blade Runner style sci-fi beast and 80’s synth pop, it’s as unrelenting as the film’s visual style. Both work in tandem to create a truly immersive aesthetic which I certainly felt weighed heavily on me long after the film was done.
The stories of Undergods feel at times a little disconnected. Though they present disparate viewpoints of this collapsing society there are still a small number of plot threads tying them together. Two scavengers (Geza Rohrig, Johann Myers) crop up on a number of occasions to provide a narrative through-line. A number of the stories also focus on familial relationships, using marital and familial communication issues as an analogy for the wider collapse of society. The smaller stories always perfectly reflect the wider message of the film.
Standouts amongst the cast are the always excellent Kate Dickie, whose weary housewife find herself struggling with two husbands, and Burn Gorman. Gorman presents a pompous businessman with such ease that it barely feels like acting. Fans of Netflix’s Sex Education will also recognise up-and-comer Tanya Reynolds who commands the screen through her small part in the narrative.
Though not a wholly cohesive entity, Undergods proves that even in the darkest of times there’s still a craving for this type of cinema. He presents a reality which, despite that weight on my chest, is incredibly visceral and exciting to watch. It’s an ambitious debut feature which cements Moya as a visual storyteller to watch in the future.
Verdict
Undergods beleaguered presentation of a hopeless future has never felt more relevant. Underpinned by an outstanding, synth-laden score this is must-watch dark fantasy at its best.
Made with the support of the BFI (using funds from the National Lottery), the Wallonia Brussels Fund for Audiovisual and Cinema, the Estonian Cultural Fund, the Estonian Film Institute and Sweden’s Film I Vast, UNDERGODS is produced by the UK’s Z56FILM in co-production with Velvet Films (Belgium), Homeless Bob Production (Estonia), Media Plus (Serbia), Filmgate Films (Sweden) and Ridley Scott Creative Group’s Black Dog Films and RSA Films.
The pan European ensemble cast includes Kate Dickie (The Witch), Ned Dennehy (Mandy), Geza Rohrig (Son of Saul), Adrian Rawlins (Chernobyl), Jan Bijvoet (Embrace of the Serpent), Sam Louwyck (The Wonders) and Tanya Reynolds (Fanny Lye Deliver’d).
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