The film begins with a theatrical stage setting, where we find Dante Alighieri waking up in a confusion-filled stupor, struggling to recall how he arrived there. Shortly after, he encounters Virgil, an elderly man clad in a bathrobe, who introduces himself and reveals an image of Beatrice, Dante’s deceased beloved. With the intent to aid Dante, Virgil sets off to guide him to the gates of hell.
As they pass under a horrifying street sign warning, "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here," Virgil introduces Dante to those inhabiting Limbo, individuals who failed to choose a side during their earthly existence, and eternally lamenting at a harbor. Here, they meet Charon, the ferryman, and after experiencing an unsettling earthquake, they brave the river Acheron to enter the first circle of hell, where the souls of those whose sin was not accepting Christianity exist with no severe punishment other than their separation from God. Virgil enlighteningly describes to Dante the liberation of various notable Old Testament figures trapped in hell.
Continuing their journey, they confront King Minos, an ominous figure delivering judgment to sinners. Upon entering the second circle, they bear witness to the lustful, eternally trapped in the throes of passion. After absorbing the tragic tale of Francesca and Paolo, Dante succumbs to unconsciousness. When he regains awareness in the third circle, he finds himself amidst a chaotic construction site littered with refuse. Virgil asserts control over Cerberus, exposing Dante to the gluttonous, condemned to perpetually consume food.
Traveling onward, the fourth circle unfolds before them, revealing greedy souls obscured in identity, compelled to push a car ceaselessly in circles. Approaching the river Styx, Dante and Virgil opt for a taxi boat ride, battling with the wrathful souls amid the turbulent waters. Once they step into the City of Dis, portrayed as a mundane, suburban area, Virgil persuades the residents to grant them passage, allowing them to witness the sixth circle, where heretics suffer in fiery Jacuzzis. Here, Dante recognizes his former landlord, Farinata, who shares the tragic insight into their souls' ability to vaguely perceive the past and future.
As they encounter a horrendous stench, Virgil suggests they rest and explains the next three circles representing violence, fraud, and treachery, as mugshots of notorious historical figures cycle across the screen. Following a culinary detour at the Minotaur's Greek food stand, they meet Chiron and other centaurs dressed in police garb, paying them for a ride along the Phlegethon, a blazing river filled with the souls of those who have committed violence against others.
Their journey leads them into a park characterized by those who took their own lives, their souls imprisoned in trees. They press on to The White Swallow, where Dante meets Mr. Latini, his former teacher, who reveals to him that those in this circle are cursed to endlessly dance.
As their expedition unfolds further, Dante and Virgil find themselves descending from a helicopter after being cast out by Virgil. Dante's next encounter involves flirtation with pimps and a ride offered by the demon-pimp Celia. They reach Capitol Hill, where a musical performance condemns lobbyists, and subsequently venture into a church of simonists, individuals who exploited their religious authority. Curiously, they find the diviners in a grim fate, with their heads twisted in unnatural ways.
The pair arrives at an airport where barrators are punished, witnessing Spiro Agnew receiving a harsh reprimand from TSA agents for bribery. Amidst chasing figures, they leap from a jet bridge to confront the hypocrites, garbed in costume, further delving into the chaotic gloom of hell. During a puppet show, Ulysses recounts his own narratives of betrayal, highlighting the dire consequences of abandoning family for the pursuit of reckless ambition, ultimately sinking his crew.
Outside their narrative, a hostile taxi driver disparages Dante and Virgil, leading to their punishment of being cleaved in two. Within a towering structure, they come face to face with the falsifiers, taking an elevator down where they observe the ironic torments faced by money launderers, asset inflators, and insider traders.
Taking a subway ride into Cocytus, a frozen wasteland, the duo finds themselves ice-skating amidst chilling despair. In an encounter with Dick Cheney, he shares a tale of being possessed by a demon on Earth. Their odyssey reaches a terrifying climax at hell's core, where an unnervingly human Satan, draped in crimson paint, devours the infamous traitors Judas, Brutus, and Heinrich Himmler. In a frantic escape from danger, Dante manages to flee through an unimaginable passage, transcending Satan and triumphantly exiting the nightmarish realm of the underworld.
