To what lengths a scientist could go to achieve fame and recognition? Are they willing to endanger humanity for their gains? Through its narrative, the Russian film, The Superdeep puts an ambitious scientist under the scanner. Anna Fedorova’s character and her choices will further decide the fate of human existence. So let’s dig deep into Kola Superdeep.
Plot Summary
The story begins with a guilt-ridden Russian Scientist, Anna Fedorova, who approves human vaccines designed by her team. Lack of preliminary tests causes the death of her associate, Dr. Maxim Zotoff. Unable to continue the experiments, Anna is weighed with remorse. A commanding officer persuades her to continue with her research as the lives of Russian soldiers in Africa depend on the vaccine. She shouldn’t let the death of Zotoff go in vain.
Anna was credited with creating an antidote. Then, the commanding officer contacts her for another task. 20 people had gone missing from a secret underground lab in Kola Superdeep. The army notices some unknown illness of unknown origins, and the officer wants Anna to retrieve samples from the deepest borehole in the world. In return, she is told that she would get all the credit for the discovery and also be put in charge of the Military Biological Defense Institute. This was an offer that ambitious Anna couldn’t deny.
Anna reaches Murmansk and faces a hoard of men attacking them with guns and grenades. She extracts a sample from a dead body and discovers an unknown fungus in their body. She rides to the lower levels of the lab through an elevator, where a grave danger awaits her. The infection is lethal enough to exterminate entire humanity. Will Anna be able to save her and others?
Major Spoilers Ahead
‘The Superdeep’ Ending Explained
Through a test conducted at the residential module (6kms below ground), Anna found a bizarre cellular parasite infecting the people. It looked like a highly virulent form of mold and spread like a contagious parasite. Moreover, it preyed upon its host body, which was expanding its colony. By the end of the film, it turned into an uncontrollable gory monster aimed at conquering the world.
The former head of research at Kola Superdeep, Dr. Grigoriev, was denounced for hiding the data of the unknown disease. At first, everyone saw him as a traitor, but later, Anna realized that he concealed the secret for a reason. Grigoriev discovered that parasites could not only control the muscular and nervous system of the host but had also learned to melt bodies together for warmth and power. To control its spread, the only possible thing to do was to crush the elevator.
In the end, Anna dropped her personal ambitions towards the most remarkable discovery. She decided to secure the facility so that no one ever would step in again or try to bring out the parasite to the outer world. She destroyed the elevator by inputting wrong codes thrice. However, an infected Anna was pulled off by the army. They decided to take Anna to a research facility. Still, Anna pulled out a grenade and threatened everyone around her. The scene was similar to the chaos she witnessed when she first stepped into Murmansk. It was suggested that every person, who infected tried to destroy themselves to protect humanity from the parasite, as it can’t live without a host body. The frame closed with Anna pulling off the grenade pin. However, army personnel was approaching her from behind too.
Hence, an open-ended climax left the viewers with two possibilities. If the grenade kills Anna and her infection, there would be no annihilation. But if the parasite infected other living beings, then the end would be inevitable.
The Superdeep is a 2021 Russian Science Fiction film directed by Arseny Syuhin.
