Now Showing: Made in Abyss

Made in Abyss
Genre: Adventure/Fantasy
Director: Peter Jackson
Writer: Seth Overton
Based on the manga series
Cast: Elle Fanning, Liam James, Lena Headey, Hugh Weaving, Timothee Chalamet, Ben Whishaw, Mackenzie Foy, Cate Blanchett

Plot:
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Intertitle
The Abyss is a colossal pit discovered 1900 years ago around the islands of the southern ocean of Beolusk.

The vertical hole has a diameter of around 1000 meters and it's at least 20,000 meters deep, with its exact depth being currently unknown. Hiding countless treasures and relics of immense value inside, many explorers have challenged the mysterious Abyss. Some are treasure hunters looking for the Artifacts inside, and others are explorers determined to unveil the secrets it hides.

In order to explore the Abyss, valiant cave raiders called Delvers were born, and the town of Orth was established at the edge of the abyss.

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Prologue
4th Layer of the Abyss (The Goblet of Giants)

The distinct sound of foliage rustling is heard with each step through the strange, humid jungle. Droplets of blood fall onto the ground as Lyza (Cate Blanchett) and Ouzen (Lena Headey) make their way through a sprawling jungle of strong vines weaving giant concave discs. They are visibly weakened, the effects of the Abyss having taken a toll on them, especially on Lyza who is pregnant. The deeper one delves into the Abyss, the more severe the symptoms are, ranging from dizziness and nausea to hemorrhaging and intense pain throughout the body, loss of senses and even death.

They wander around for a while longer and Lyza makes Ouzen promise her she will take care of her child if the curse of the Abyss gets to her. They arrive in a secluded area of the jungle where they find the relic they have been looking for: a large cube-like structure with complex patterns embedded on the outside. They tie some rope around it in order to pull it on their way out. Lyza makes a few more steps and then stops because of a sudden onset of excruciating pain. She is in labor and Ouzen must now help her deliver the baby. Nearby creatures such as neritantan and inbyo gather around cautiously, curious about Lyza's screams. After a few more intense minutes, Ouzen finally manages it. However, the baby is motionless and makes no sound. A sudden silence falls upon the forest.

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Titlecard

Made in Abyss

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Outside the Abyss (Town of Orth)

Riko (Elle Fanning) is an orphan at the Belchero Orphanage whose dream is to become a white whistle, a legendary type of cave raider, and explore the depths of the abyss in order to learn its many secrets. The orphanage consists of several buildings and also serves as a school. Many of the children there are offsprings of delvers that went on expeditions never to return again.

Riko runs in a hurry around the dormitory halls. Outside she meets Habolg (Hugo Weaving) a well known black whistle who used to go on expeditions with her mother. She greets him in a hurry, as she is late for class. She enters the school halls, bumps into another student dropping her course books. She apologizes and then continues running on a spiral staircase which leads to her classroom.

Professor Gilo (Ben Whishaw) is giving a lecture on the history of the delvers and the cartographers who made the first maps of the layers of the abyss. He excuses Riko for being late although notes that it has been a common occurrence the past couple of days.

The reason is that Riko has been staying up late, preparing her first expedition. Her plan is to wander outside the orphanage after class and look for relics at the edge of the abyss. The excitement of anticipation makes it hard for her to pay attention to Gilo's lecture, something he is aware of after he asks her a question, interrupting her daydreaming.

When the bell finally rings, she takes her empty backpack and sprints outside.

1st Layer of the Abyss (Edge of the Abyss)

It is Riko's first excavation, her backpack overflowing with low-grade relics and junk. Inexperienced delvers cannot estimate accurately the value of the relics they find so they tend to take everything in sight. She wanders around the first layer called "the edge" which is considered the most safe section of the abyss, right below the town of Orth. However, occasionally predators from the 2nd or 3rd layers might ascend in search of food. In one of the caves along the edge, she finds a skeleton that poses in prayer, the remnants of a long lost delver.

Suddenly, the sun is blocked by a giant flying red snake - the Scarlet Maw. Even if the first layer is considered generally safe, occasionally predators from the 2nd or 3rd layers might ascend in search of food. Riko tries to outrun the creature, but the overflowing backpack is slowing her down. She drops it on the ground, giving her a considerable boost of speed, though seemingly not enough. As the Scarlet Maw gets closer, she is saved in the nick of time by a beam of energy that hits the creature and makes it retreat.

The trees in the line of the beam are melted, making it easier for Riko to find its source. She finds a boy (Liam James) with strange mechanical parts in his limbs lying on the grass. His hand is still glowing with the same colour as the beam. She tries to wake him up, to no avail. Convinced she has to do right by her savior, Riko decides to carry him back to Orth at the orphanage.

Outside the Abyss (Town of Orth)

Back home, the boy wakes up and his name is Reggie. He tells Riko the only thing he remembers is a blonde woman that fits the description of Riko's mother. For this reason, Riko becomes convinced her mother is waiting for her in the Abyss and for the following weeks decides to plan the most ambitious expedition anyone her age has ever attempted. Reggie agrees to go with her. During their time together, Riko finds out that Reggie has extendable limbs and can shoot a powerful energy beam from his hand, though it weakens him and makes him faint. Because of his peculiarity she decides the best course of action is to hide her from the orphanage staff, including Gilo and Habolg.

After a few weeks of studying maps of the abyss at the library and gathering supplies for the expedition, they both leave the orphanage during the night.

1st Layer of the Abyss (Edge of the Abyss)

Next morning, once again at the edge, they see a cave rider in the distance and try to avoid him. However, the cave rider sees them in the distance and runs after them. Reggie grabs Riko and extends his hand up to a branch in a nearby tree in order to climb it. They climb down after a while, thinking they escaped, but the cave rider comes out of some bushes. He tries to attack them but is stopped by Habolg, who was sent to bring them back to the orphanage. He reveals that he knew all along that Riko has been hiding Reggie.

Habolg agrees to let them continue their journey, but insists that he should accompany them until they get to the 2nd layer. During the evening, they camp outside the second layer and Habolg recounts an expedition he had with Riko's mother. He wishes them good luck in their journey, gives them a bag of supplies and returns to Orth.

2nd Layer of the Abyss (The Forest of Temptation)

Riko and Reggie finally descend into the 2nd layer - The Forest of Temptation. Here, they are lured by a species of large brids of prey that can mimic human speech, something they use to attract their prey - the Nakikabane or the Crying Corpse. When they realize it is a trap, Reggie manages to fight it off using his extendable limbs.

They finally arrive at the Seeker Camp, where they meet Ouzen and her small team of cave raiders lead by her wisecracking assistant Lerume (Timothée Chalamet). Ouzen agrees to let them stay overnight and the 4 of them have dinner together. During their dinner, Riko explains the purpose of her expedition to which Ouzen replies "That can't be right. She's dead. I saw it with my own eyes."

Ouzen's comment makes Riko uncomfortable so they decide to leave, but Ouzen traps them and tells them they will only leave if they retrieve a relic (a necklage she has dropped in a previous expedition) from the 3rd layer for her. They try to escape, but are caught by Lerume. They reluctantly agree to the expedition, but have to go through rigorous training beforehand.

3rd Layer of the Abyss (Great Fault)

After weeks of training, Riko, Reggie and Lerume go to retrieve the relic from the 3rd layer - the Great Fault. There, they are attacked by the same Scarlet Maw that had attacked Riko previously. They once again try to outrun it, but Riko and Lerume fall into a hole, leaving Reggie to deal with the creature alone. He uses his blast once again and finishes off the Scarlet Maw, but passes out.

Meanwhile, Riko and Lerume find out they are actually in an Amakagame, a large bulbous creature that lives in the caves of the 3rd layer, attaching itself to the cave holes, swallowing whatever passes by. There, along with dozens of neritantan who had also been swallowed, the two of them find the Ouzen's relic. Lerume uses a knife to pierce through the creature's stomach and they both escape. They find Reggie passed out and carry him towards the 2nd layer. However, Riko is begging to feel the effects of the the abyss. She begins having strange hallucinations. Lerume warns her about the "strains of ascent", and how the effects of the Abyss somehow worsen when ascending back to the higher levels.

Outside the 3rd Layer, they are met by Ouzen who congratules Riko. They have passed their training and is confident she can go into the 4th layer. She tells her more about her mother and their expedition. She clarifies what she meant when she said "She's dead.". She recounts how she helped Lyza have her daughter, but the child had no pulse. She decided to put the child into the box-like relic they had discovered and carry them outside, as to at least give her a proper burial. In the 2nd layer they were met by Habolg who offered to get the box outside, as Ouzen was severely weakened and the strains of ascent would have more likely lead to her demise.

4th Layer of the Abyss (The Goblet of Giants)

Riko and Reggie leave Ouzen and Lerume behind as they continue their journey. Here, they encounter an Orb Piercer, a creature that resembles a large porcupine with a head that looks like a mask with multiple holes. Its most impressive trait is its ability to sense the force field of the Abyss, which is very uncommon for creatures of the 4th layer. This grants it the ability to sense the flows of consciousness and results in a foresight-like instinct that allows it to predict every movement of other living beings.

The creature predicts Reggie's every move. He thinks about using the blast, but that would leave Riko exposed. They try to escape by climbing onto one of the higher concave disks, but Riko is stung by the creature. She begins to bleed excessively. Her eyes have a pink tint. Unable to climb up, the creature retreats. In order to stop the poison from entering her entire body, Reggie realizes he might have to cut her hand. Like her mother before, her screams attracts the attention of nearby creatures. It also catches the attention of Nanachi (Mackenzie Foy) a strange girl with bunny ears and feet who is followed around by Mito, a strange squid-like creature. After hearing Reggie's desperate pleas for help, Nanachi agrees to lead him and Riko into her hideout which is protected by the effects of the Abyss.

Together, they walk through the Garden of the Flowers of Resilience, a field in the fourth layer that is said to be one of the most beautiful places that can be found deep in the abyss.

As Reggie carries Riko in his arms, the scene flashbacks to Habolg carrying the box he had received from Ouzen, outside into Orth. Everyone in town gathers around including a young Gilo. When Habolg opens the box, the child inside is all alive and well.