The 7 Russian horror films you probably never heard about

It’s Halloween. The ultimate horror holiday. During that time we like to party in cool costumes, eat candy and watch creepy horror films — from kid-friendly black-and-white chillers to brutal “Hard-R” bloodfests. So, in the spirit of the Holiday — let’s travel to the cool and vodka-soaked Russia. The country that brought to you “Solaris”, “Stalker” (both the game and the movie) “Leviathan” (the one about the sad drunk fighting off the local government — not the one about the actual deep sea monster) and many other interesting and intellectually stimulating dramas. Well, believe it or not — Russia also has some good old-fashioned horror flicks as well. So here I present to you the 7 Russian horror films you probably never heard about:

THE SPUTNIK

Let’s address that elephant in the room — this is probably the first thing you thought about, since the flick actually had a good run on the streaming platforms recently. And if not — you’ve gotta give it a watch. The story of the Cold War-era space mission gone wrong full of tension, conspiracy and gore… lots of gore. The movie is a slow-burn sci-fi, that takes some notes from “Alien” or more recent “Life”, and it takes some time to get good. But as soon as the horror starts — it never lets-up. Yeah, the main character is as dumb as they come and serves more like an audience substitute, rather than anything else… but if you can stomach all the nonsense — you’re in for a great B-movie time

NIGHT WATCH

Oh yeah, who can forget that comic book-like mix of horror and fantasy from Timour Bekmambetov (the director of “Wanted” and “Abraham Lincoln the vampire hunter”). Based on the Russian best-selling novels of the same name, “Night Watch” is a story of the eternal battle between the Light ones and the Dark ones. The Light Ones are the harmless, but not helpless magicians and were-beasts, and the Dark Ones are the harmful (but not necessarily evil) wizards and vampires. The trick is — both sides are equal in terms of sheer strength, so they have to compromise and make deals in order to satisfy both parties. The flick is more like a dark fantasy, but it does have some horror elements. It’s gory, fast-paced and occasionally funny. It’s got some cool special effects and some unforgettable imagery (like the rubber doll on spider legs). If you’re in the mood for the Russian “Blade”-like fantasy action flick — look no further.

DEAD DAUGHTERS

This is a bit more obscure one. The movie at first glance reminds us of the typical J-Horror stuff about the long-haired girl ghosts and their curses. A group of people are cursed by the ghost girls “The Ring”-style. The twist is — you can probably evade death if you are not gonna sin for 3 days straight. However — what is a sin? Is smoking a cigarette considered to be a sin? What about cursing out-loud? Remember — they are judged by the ghostly children, who have pretty much unrealistic moral standards (since — you know — they’re kids). The movie is very slow and filled with some unnecessary jump scares, but it does have a legit atmosphere. It’s more of a social satire, but still, when the horror starts — it actually delivers.

TRACKMAN

Now we go deep. This one is straight from the abandoned Moscow subway tunnels. The movie starts-off as a typical heist film featuring robbers taking some money and hostages from the Moscow bank. The plan flows perfectly except for one thing — they use the abandoned subways as a getaway. Little do they know about the mysterious “Trackman” — a dark murderous figure that likes to collect the human eyeballs. If I had one sentence to describe this one — I’d say it’s “Predator” meets “Creep” (2004). The movie does a pretty good job switching genres from a heist film to the body-count slasher flick. It’s fast-paced, creepy and brutal. Surprisingly enough, this movie is light on gore, but the kills are rather effective, the Trackman himself is a pretty cool slasher icon (he even comes with his own theme song — believe it or not). It’s a fun ride from beginning to end, that deserves recognition.

S.S.D.

Speaking of slashers — of course Russia at some point would try to mimic the legendary “Friday the 13th”. The way they did it was… weird. The movie takes place at the “cursed” “Pioneer Camp” (basically the Soviet “Crystal Lake”). During the Soviet times, two camp counselors were murdered there (so far — so good). Years later after the USSR collapse, the camp was abandoned… until the Russian TV-crew decides to film a competitive reality-show on the camp’s grounds. Little did the contestants know — they will have to compete for something more than money, because the show quickly turns into “Big Brother” with the bloodthirsty crazy killer as the judge, jury and executioner. This is a “cheap thrills” camp slasher flick from Russia about the spoiled awful privileged kids getting their “come-uppins” from the killer — what more can you ask for? Oh, how about a 2000s Russian sex-symbol Anfisa Chekhova as a host of the reality show (she even has a shower scene in here) — who cares if she can’t scream (or act) very well?

NAILS

But what if you’re into something weird and totally screwed-up? Then look no further than Andrey Iskanov’s “Nails” — a strange arthouse horror flick about a professional assassin who drives nails into his own skull to cure migraines. Yes — it’s as crazy as it sounds. Also — this is the shortest movie on the list, made for a shoe-string budget by the dedicated team of the Russian horror fans.

VIY

OK, but what about some “classy” Russian horror? Don’t worry — I got you covered. Introducing the 1967 “Viy” straight from the USSR. Known as the First Soviet Era Horror, “Viy” is a creepy tale of murder, conscience, demons, witches and “Gorelka” — the Ukranian moonshine. It is kinda slow and has next to no blood (Soviet censorship — you know), but it really delivers some cool and campy imagery, as well as pretty inventive pre-Star Wars visual effects, great acting and nice atmosphere of the old Ukranian countryside. Join the young priest Khoma who has to perform the funeral service for a witch that blames him for her death. Three nights of horror. The final night is the worst. This Soviet chiller is a must-see for every true gothic horror-fan.

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