Genre: Fantasy-Thriller

Director: Chino Moya

Cast: Kate Dickie, Ned Dennehy, Geza Rohrig, Burn Gorman and Tanya Reynolds

Studio: Gravitas Ventures

Runtime: 92 minutes

Release Date: Available on VOD and in Theaters May 7, 2021

MPAA Rating: Not Rated

Reviewer’s Rating ★★★★★

Undergods, written and directed by Chino Moya, is a dystopian fantasy-thriller which follows several people in a collection of stories as they meet their darkly humorous fates. Due to the way this film is set up, it’s difficult to give more of an idea on what it’s about.  However, I do have some strong comments and opinions that may help you decide if it’s worth your while.

The score in Undergods is amazing. I really dig the whole chill electronic sound more films are using these days. It’s reminiscent of Blade Runner 2049, which is a favorite of mine. The music fits due to how much it lends itself to the sense of dread the director tries to convey. I would enjoy the music more if it didn’t completely drown out the actors at times. Some of the actors have such thick accents, it makes it that much harder to hear the dialogue through music that is edited to be too loud.

There are some particularly interesting shots throughout Undergods. One particular standout is of Hans (Eric Godon) walking down some stairs outside of a skyscraper. The blocking is almost perfect, and the air units in the walls really help add a certain contrast. Although not all the cinematography is as spectacular, and many scenes suffer from something else that could have been fixed in editing; the dark scenes are much too difficult to see.  

The acting isn’t anything special for the most part. The director seems to focus more on cinematography and making the audience feel uneasy by how the scenes and characters are portrayed. There is one actor that stands out, though. Burn Gorman, who plays Tim in the final tale of the film, has a very animated face. His level of ability to emote is more on par with how his character behaves, and not some anomalous reaction to slowly going crazy.

The storytelling in Undergods is hit or miss. I love weird stories. There are times that the weirdness of the environment or the story being told is enough to hold my interest. Other times, one story would meld into another too abruptly. If you miss the transition, you’ll likely have a tough time understanding where you are. More than once, a change happens making it difficult to understand what the actors are saying. The struggle in keeping up due to these issues becomes frustrating.

The individual stories all seem to center around the same type of bad luck. It is unclear to me whether it’s intentional or just a comfortable topic for the writer. While many of the tales lacked enough differentiation, the changes of time and location of when the events take place are varied.

One thing Moya does well is make some of stories ambiguous. The style of the characters and the settings may seem like they are from the early twentieth century, but you might catch a glimpse of something that looks a little too modern for the time. It makes you think there is more than one way to be dystopian, and I enjoyed that this didn’t follow the same desert-lacking-water trope.

All in all, Undergods has a lot of promise but also too many issues to really deliver. It has a strong Welcome to Night Vale vibe, however, it’s disjointed and poorly edited, making it incoherent. I’m disappointed because this type of story is right up my alley, and I am left to wonder what it could have been in the hands of someone more capable. If you can find the soundtrack to stream somewhere, I recommend giving it a listen, although the film may not be worth your time.

For more films, visit:

Gravitas Ventures – http://gravitasventures.com/ and Red Arrow Studios – https://redarrowstudios.com/

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