Undergods – Fantasia Review (3/5)

UNDERGODS is a very dark fantasy movie with an anthology-like story. I didn’t know what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised. It could be a bit tighter and a tad shorter, but it still works. Screened at Fantasia 2020. Read our Undergods review here!

UNDERGODS is a new fantasy movie showing a very dystopian future – or perhaps alternative reality. It almost plays out like an anthology with stories overlapping one another. In a good and very efficient way.

At first, you’ll probably feel lost in this strange world, but you should adapt dangerously fast. Especially thanks to a wonderful cast that pulls in viewers straight away.

Continue reading our Undergods review below.

​We’re all doomed

If we’re to believe any of the stories in this dark fantasy anthology, then we are well and truly doomed. The future of this world is at least as dark as any past we’ve seen.

Forget Blade Runner or even Mad Max, with Undergods the world is more like a World War 2 concentration camp in a Mad Max world.

It’s dark, brutal, and with the quirkiest elements. You see, we do jump back and forth between a relatively recognizable world and then this dystopian future or maybe an alternative world.

The astonishing cast of Undergods

The cast features lots of faces you should recognize. There’s Kate Dickie who I honestly adore more and more with each performance. I saw her in Get Duked! just days ago and this is a totally different role, but she nails them both.

Recommended reading: Our review of the Amazon Original Get Duked! horror-comedy here >

Another brilliant character in Undergods is portrayed by Ned Dennehy, who also keeps surprising in the best ways. You might know him from the Good Omens series or Mandy (2018).

Also, there’s Tanya Reynolds (Sex Education), Eric Godon (Yummy), and Jan Bijvoet (Into the Night). To name just a few more members of the Undergods cast.

Don’t miss out on Undergods

Chino Moya wrote and directed Undergods. A movie that is very hard to describe, but easy to recommend. You won’t know what hit you and you will be both amazed, terrified, and disgusted.

Sometimes all three at once!

Undergods is the first writing credit for Chino Moya and a feature film debut. Previous directing credits are primarily for music videos, which tends to be a wonderful place to start. David Fincher started there and he’s done pretty well in feature films since.

If you like movies that challenge you but also make sure you’re still on board with its craziness, then Undergods is worth checking out. A tad too long, this movie certainly manages to show the immense potential of its writer-director.

We screened Undergods at Fantasia Fest 2020, but it will be out in US theaters and on digital on May 7, 2021.

Details

Director: Chino Moya
Writer: Chino Moya
Stars: Johann Myers, Géza Röhrig, Michael Gould, Ned Dennehy, Khalid Abdalla, Eric Godon, Tanya Reynolds, Tadhg Murphy, Jan Bijvoet, Kate Dickie, Adrian Rawlins, Sam Louwyck