Deus Irae

Following a devastating nuclear war in 1982, fallout and mutations reshape humanity and animal life. A new messianic movement, the Servants of Wrath, worships Carleton Lufteufel, the ex-chairman of ERDA who detonated the war's ultimate weapon. The world becomes a fragile, faith-driven landscape where religion polices itself against the ruins of civilization.

In Charlottesville, Utah, surviving Christians clash with the Servants of Wrath over competing visions of salvation. The SOWs' anger-driven theology clashes with faith-based communities clinging to pre-war beliefs. The debates highlight a fractured religious landscape in the wake of civilization's collapse.

Tibor McMasters, an armless, legless cyborg phocomelus artist, is commissioned to paint a mural of Lufteufel. Nobody knows where Lufteufel lives or what he looks like, making the work both aspirational and precarious. The task places McMasters at the center of a religious myth in the making.

The Servants of Wrath leadership sends McMasters on a pilgrimage to locate Lufteufel and capture his divinity in a mural. The quest requires crossing a shattered landscape where information networks have collapsed. McMasters accepts, driven by faith, art, and the promise of a living god.

As McMasters travels, it becomes clear that national communications have collapsed, leaving communities isolated and suspicious. He travels with other seekers through ruined towns and hostile terrain. The journey underlines how modern infrastructure has disappeared in the post-war world.

The group encounters evolved, sentient mutants—lizards, birds, and insects—that survive the war’s aftermath. They also confront the Big C, a decaying artificial intelligence that endures by consuming humans for trace elements. The dangers illuminate a world where science and religion mingle as sources of awe and fear.

While trying to remove shrapnel from his forehead, Lufteufel loses consciousness from blood loss. His daughter Alice attempts to help, an act that binds her to a priceless relic and the god-figure they seek. The moment marks a turning point in the pilgrimage toward Lufteufel’s supposed divinity.

Alice preserves the shirt with Lufteufel’s blood imprint, believing it to be the only remaining likeness of his face. The artifact echoes the Veronica veil and the Shroud, turning a simple fabric into a relic of the God of Wrath. It anchors Alice’s faith and memory of the wounded man she adores.

During the encounter, Lufteufel, traveling under the name Jack Schuld, kills McMasters' dog. Unaware of who Lufteufel truly is, McMasters later murders him, not realizing who he has killed. The brutal turn ends Lufteufel's bid for presence in the mural and shatters the pilgrims' hopes.

After Lufteufel's death, his spirit visits Alice, offering quiet guidance and lifting the 'fog' in her brain. The visitation removes her disability and reveals a sense of peace that underscores the anti-material truth of their quest. The moment ties personal revelation to the broader religious mythos.

Another survivor experiences a vision of a 'Palm Tree Garden' akin to the Garden of Eden, suggesting Lufteufel's influence transcends death. The vision hints that Lufteufel may have been a gnostic demiurge, an imperfect divine figure rather than a traditional savior. These insights complicate the community’s understanding of his divinity.

McMasters is duped by his Christian companion Pete into using an elderly, dying alcoholic vagrant as the likeness of Lufteufel for the commissioned mural. The scheme exposes how myth-making can co-opt real people and pain for religious art. The resulting mural becomes a focal point for Servants of Wrath institutions.

The mural endures within Servants of Wrath institutions, serving as a tacit argument that religious belief is often built on mythological accretions rather than decisive events. Its survival prompts reflection on faith, history, and how communities choose to remember the war. The film uses the mural to critique faith’s reliance on artifact rather than actual revelation.