| Director | L. Q. Jones |
|---|---|
| Genre | arthouse science fiction film, comedy drama, comedy thriller, dystopian film, film based on literature, horror film, post-apocalyptic film, science fiction film |
| Runtime | 91 min |
| Country | United States |
| Budget | $400,000 |
| Box office | $6.9 million |
In the post-nuclear United States of 2024, Vic is an 18-year-old boy, born in and scavenging throughout the wasteland of the former southwestern United States. Vic is most concerned with food and sex; having lost his parents, he has no formal education and does not understand ethics or morality. He is accompanied by a well-read, misanthropic, telepathic dog named Blood, who helps him find women to rape, in exchange for which Vic finds food for the dog. Blood cannot forage for himself due to the same genetic engineering that granted him telepathy. The two steal for a living, evading bands of raiders, berserk military androids and mutants. Blood and Vic have an occasionally antagonistic relationship (Blood frequently annoys Vic by calling him "Albert," after the wholesome writer about dogs Albert Payson Terhune), though they realize that they need each other to survive. Blood wishes to find the legendary promised land of "Over the Hill" where above-ground utopias are said to exist, though Vic believes that they must make the best of what they have.
Searching a bunker for a woman for Vic to rape, they find one but she has already been severely mutilated and is on the verge of death. Vic displays no pity. He is merely angered by the "wastefulness" of such an act, as well as disgusted by the thought of satisfying his urges with a woman in such a condition. They move on, only to find slavers excavating another bunker. Vic steals several cans of their food, later using them to barter for goods in a nearby shanty town.
That evening, while watching old vintage stag films at a local outdoor "cinema", Blood claims to smell a woman, and the pair track her to a large underground warehouse. There, Vic attempts to rape Quilla June Holmes, a scheming and seductive teenage girl from Downunder, a society in a large underground settlement. Unknown to the pair, Quilla June's father, Lou Craddock, had sent her above ground to "recruit" surface dwellers. Blood takes an instant dislike to her, but Vic ignores him. After Vic saves Quilla June from raiders and mutants, they repeatedly have sex. Eventually, she secretly returns to her underground society. Enticed by the thought of more women and sex, Vic follows her, despite Blood's warnings. Blood remains on the surface at Downunder's portal.
Downunder has an artificial biosphere, complete with forests and a city, which is named Topeka after the ruins of the destroyed city that it lies beneath. The city is ruled by a triumvirate known as the Committee, who have shaped Topeka into a bizarre caricature of pre-nuclear war United States, with all residents wearing whiteface and clothes evocative of rural United States prior to World War II. When Vic is told that he has been brought to Topeka to help fertilize the female population, he is elated to learn of his "stud" value. His joy is short-lived, when he is informed that Topeka meets its need for exogamous reproduction by electroejaculation and artificial insemination, which will deny him the sexual pleasure that he had envisioned. People who refuse to comply with the Committee are sent off to "the farm" and never seen again, as they are murdered. Vic is informed that when his semen has been used to impregnate 35 women, he will also be sent to "the farm".
Quilla June helps Vic escape only because she wants him to kill the Committee members and destroy their android enforcer, Michael, so that she can usurp their power. Vic has no interest in politics or remaining underground. He only wants to return to Blood and the wasteland. The rebellion is quashed by Michael, who crushes the heads of Quilla June's co-conspirators before Vic disables him. She proclaims her "love" for Vic and wants to escape to the surface with him—now that her rebellion has been quashed, and the Committee has decreed that she will be sent to the farm.
On the surface, Vic and Quilla June discover that Blood is starving and near death. She pleads with Vic to abandon Blood, forcing him to face his true feelings. Vic decides that his loyalties lie with his dog. Off-camera, Vic murders Quilla June and cooks her flesh so that Blood can eat and survive. Blood thanks Vic for the food, and they both comment on Quilla June. Vic says that it was her fault that she followed him, while Blood wryly jokes that she had marvelous judgment but did not have particularly "good taste." The boy and his dog continue to talk as they walk off together into the wasteland.