Starring Leonid Kuravlyov, Natalya Varley, Aleksey Glazyrin, Nikolay Kutuzov, Vadim Zakharchenko
Directed by Konstantin Ershov & Georgiy Kropachyov
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
A seminarian on vacation encounters a woman who turns out to be a witch, and beats her to death, but is then ordered to stand vigil over her body for three nights, during which she returns to life.
An exceptional film from Russia, based on the story of the same name by Nikolai Gogol, the picture features a strong performance by Kuravlyov as the imperfect seminarian, possessing a number of vices, and challenged by his fear, as he is reluctantly transported back to face his duty. There's also a number of dynamic visuals as he stands over the woman who returns to life who uses her powers to try to seize revenge. Impressive as that is, the directors pull out all the stops for the climax, with an incredible display of expert creature makeups and special effects that are amazing to behold and chilling at the same time. The film is augmented by a musical score that is lighthearted for the pastoral Russian scenes, but eerie and suspenseful for the horror sequences. It's a terrific production and well worth your time.
No comments:
Post a Comment