Up!

The Greek Chorus appears in the nude except for long black boots and narrates key plot points as the film begins. It provides context, foreshadows events, and inserts quirky narration between scenes. The sequence establishes a surreal, satirical tone that threads through the story.

A man posing as Adolf Hitler lives tucked away in a Bavarian-style castle in northern California. He hosts an orgy in a dungeon with three women—the Headsperson, the Ethiopian Chef, and Limehouse—and a man named Paul. The ostentation and secrecy set the stage for the film’s shocking turn of events.

After the orgy, someone places a ravenous piranha in his bathtub, killing Schwartz. The murder is swift and spectacular, signaling a break from the castle's decadence to a new wave of danger. The incident catalyzes the surrounding chaos.

Margo hitchhikes to the town of Miranda and is spotted by Sheriff Homer Johnson. He makes unwanted advances, but Margo rejects him, setting up a tense dynamic between the two. The encounter foreshadows the complicated alliance that follows.

Leonard Box, a troublemaker and son of the local sawmill owner, confronts Margo, subdues her, and rapes her. She regains consciousness and kills him in retaliation, marking a brutal turn in Margo’s nightmarish sequence of events. The act demonstrates the town’s dangerous undercurrents.

Homer Johnson witnesses the killing but chooses to cover it up to protect Leonard’s powerful father. He then uses the incident as leverage, tightening his hold over Margo and fueling a harmful power dynamic between them. The cover-up initiates their complicated, unfaithful relationship.

Margo and Homer begin a fraught relationship built on manipulation and mutual risk. Their liaison is marked by secrets and lies that echo through the town’s darker corners. The affair helps propel subsequent schemes and alliances.

Homer helps Margo get a job at Alice’s diner. The diner is run by Alice, who is married to Paul and who harbors her own complicated sexual orientations. This workplace becomes a new nexus for jealousies and flirtations.

Paul shows renewed interest in Limehouse, confirming his pattern of infidelity. He is revealed to have previously serviced Schwartz as well, tying the sexual web to the murder plot. The alliances in town become increasingly entangled.

After finishing work, Margo goes to Salmon Creek where Paul follows. While Margo undresses by the stream, Paul approaches and they have sex, marking a charged, dangerous encounter in a natural setting. The moment underscores how the town’s affairs bleed into the outdoors.

Meanwhile, Homer beds Pocohontas, a Native American woman, but shoves her out when Margo’s van returns. Nude and unsettled, Margo enters the house, while Homer bathes and accidentally scalds himself. The scene underscores Homer’s self-destructive impulses.

Margo performs a strip show at a bar, provoking lumberjack Rafe to rape her with others participating. Homer arrives and a violent confrontation unfolds, resulting in the deaths of both Rafe and Homer. The event crystallizes the town’s dangerous sexual politics.

Margo stops by a phone booth, revealing to the audience that she is an undercover cop investigating the crimes. She then takes a shower; during this moment she is attacked by a figure dressed in black. This twist heightens the suspense and shifts the motive of the pursuit.

In the forest, it’s revealed that Alice is Adolf’s murderer and his daughter, driven by jealousy that he slept with Paul and planned to do the same to Margo. A clash leads to a tense standoff as the two struggle through the creek and woods. The scene reframes the web of betrayals driving the plot.

Paul appears and shoots Alice out of revenge for Adolf, whom he loved. Margo disarms Paul and ends by apprehending both him and Alice, bringing the central crime story to a sharp, unresolved edge. The ending consolidates the theme of power, deception, and justice in a small town.