Love, Death & Robots: Season 1 recap and review

Netflix

The Dump

Mr. Dvorchak, an old coot who lives in a dump, is about to be evicted by the city inspector (Gary Cole). A new sanitation law has been put into effect that means that the dump is going to need to be cleaned away, including him.

He makes a deal with the inspector. He’s going to tell him a story, and if he still wants to evict him when it’s done he’ll be happy enough to go. The inspector isn’t very inclined to waste his time with the old coot’s story, but he agrees and lets him talk.

He and his friend Pearly were hanging out one night, talking about whores and such, when they are disturbed by a racket. Pearly sees some kind of creature out in the dump when he goes to take a pee and comes scrambling back to the coot yelling about monsters.

They take up their guns, because of course they just have guns lying around, and spin around looking for where it’s coming from. Sticky tendrils shoot out and capture Pearly, pulling him away. The creature reveals itself to be an animated mountain of trash and the coot takes off after it in revenge for Pearly and the protection of his home.

He gets in a forklift and impales it, running it against the chainlink fence. He is gleefully ramming it when he hears a pathetic dog whimper. The monster wasn’t just created by heat and garbage, it lived off it and whatever it ate became part of it. Pearly is there in the mound of garbage, not quite dead but not quite alive.

While it’s an impressive tale, the city inspector is decidedly unimpressed. At this point, Otto finally shows up, what the audience may have assumed is his dog but who is actually the trash monster he’s been talking about. Otto takes hold of the inspector and eats him. This will not keep other inspectors from coming to evict the old coot, but it keeps him safe for now.

I get uncomfortable and anxious in hoarder environments. A little mess and disorganization are fine, but living in a dump for me is the ultimate in toxic and unproductive spaces. I am a little disgusted by watching this, but that doesn’t make it a bad story.