When a childless couple learn that they cannot have children, the man finds a piece of root in the backyard and chops it into the shape of a child. The woman takes the root as her baby which comes to life, but its appetite is much greater than a normal child.

The baby from David Lynch’s Eraserhead finds some cinematic company in this singular folkloric concoction from cult surrealist Jan Švankmajer. A nightmarish Czech spin on Little Shop of Horrors, Little Otik is a satirical examination of parental anxiety and a marvel of stop-motion ingenuity.