Little Otik

In this poignant tale, Karel Horák (Jan Hartl) and his wife, Božena Horáková (Veronika Žilková), find themselves trapped in a life without children due to medical constraints. During a vacation with their neighbors, the Stadlers, at a rural retreat, Karel seizes an opportunity to purchase the property at Mr. Stadler's suggestion. As he embarks on renovating the house, his discovery of a peculiar tree stump sparks a chain of events that will forever alter their lives.

The stump, which bears a striking resemblance to a newborn baby, captures Karel's imagination, and he presents it to Božena as a gift. She affectionately names the find Otík and begins treating it with maternal devotion, eventually concocting an elaborate plan to feign pregnancy and accelerate the process. Božena's anticipation builds, and she gives birth to Otík one month prematurely.

However, this "child" has a voracious appetite that leaves destruction in its wake. Alžbětka (Kristina Adamcová), the Stadlers' daughter, has been harboring suspicions from the start and uncovers the truth by reading the fairy tale of Otesánek. Meanwhile, Otík continues to thrive, consuming everything in sight, including a chunk of Božena's hair and their family cat.

As Karel and his wife navigate this surreal reality, they find themselves at odds over what to do with the creature. Karel pushes for its destruction, while Božena fiercely defends it as their own child. The situation escalates further when Otík devours a postal worker (Gustav Vondráček) and a social worker (Jitka Smutná), leaving no doubt that this enigmatic entity is a force to be reckoned with.

As the body count rises, Karel's actions become increasingly erratic, leading him to confine Otík to the dingy basement of their apartment building. The desolate space becomes a prison for the once-mischievous creature, forced to subsist on scraps and starvation. Meanwhile, Alžbětka assumes the role of reluctant caretaker, her maternal instincts piqued by Otík's plight. Her efforts to sustain him with human food are thwarted by her mother's intervention, prompting a desperate game of chance – drawing matches that ultimately seal the fate of their next victim: Mr. Žlábek (Zdeněk Kozák), a pedophile who has been stalking Alžbětka.

In a shocking turn of events, she lures the unsuspecting stalker to the basement, where Otík's sinister vines ensnare him, and he becomes the creature's latest meal. The air is thick with tension as Karel arrives on the scene, chainsaw in hand, but his hesitation upon encountering Otík is palpable – a fleeting moment of paternal affection that ultimately proves his undoing. As if the horrors below had awakened some primal fear within her, Božena (no actor specified) descends into the basement, her screams echoing through the desolate space.

In a darkly comedic twist, Otík's insatiable appetite prompts him to devour Mrs. Správcová's (Dagmar Stříbrná) prized cabbage patch, prompting the old woman to take matters into her own hands. In the film's final act, Alžbětka recites the haunting conclusion of the fairy tale, her tears falling like autumn rain as she descends the stairs – but the brutal truth is left to the audience's imagination, the fate of Otík's next victim left shrouded in uncertainty.