One of the domestic premieres of November, along with comedies, dramas and science fiction - horror "Creature". The movie horrors gradually take root on Russian soil, and domestic directors and scriptwriters offer an original reading of those already familiar from foreign films of this genre.

In the story, Belova was an exemplary happy family. Polina (Elena Lyadova) and Igor (Vladimir Vdovichenkov) raised in love the only son Vanya (Yan Runov). But one day the boy did not return from a walk. After three years of useless searches, the couple decided to adopt.

However, they took away from the shelter not a cute baby, but a very strange school-age child (his role was played by Sevastyan Bugaev). The boy does not talk, but growls, grins, moves on all fours. The child looks six years old, but due to exhaustion and developmental delay, doctors suggest that he may be about nine. Just like Belov’s own son.

Since nothing is known about the past of the little hero, new parents begin to call him Vanya. It gradually turns out that the boy just does not like meat with onions, like his own child, and in his appearance parents notice more and more of their favorite features: thick dark hair has grown on his bald head, a small scar appeared on his forehead - exactly in the same place.

  • © Shot from the movie "Creature" (2019)

However, as soon as Pauline decides to punish Vanya for disobedience, the relationship changes radically, and the heroine, who at first begged her husband to take the “difficult” child to her, is now ready to get rid of him at any cost.

References and new readings


The story told in The Beast is certainly not new. An experienced horror viewer does not expect anything good from children - the images from the classic horror films ("Omen", "Radiance", "The Exorcist", etc.) taught to be afraid of the most innocent-looking creatures.

As for the plot, the Russian film in many ways resembles the Italian thriller “Deep in the Forest”: a little boy disappears, after a few years he is located, and parents begin to argue whether they are their son or not, and change their point of view several times. However, there were no mystical elements in that picture.

The pain of a child that parents do not need was previously shown by Andrei Zvyagintsev in the film “Dislike”, not developing the theme in the direction of horror, but emphasizing all the destructive power of lack of love.

"Creature" is also a film about the lack of love. Trying to cope with the pain of loss, Polina and Igor find a creature who lives even worse than himself. They unite and even for a while become a happy family.

A terrible creature strong enough to kill anyone, more than anything else wants to be loved, and even ready to give up its essence. But the difficulty lies in the fact that love, as one of the heroes of the film reminds us, is also work, and if you just push the creature a little, and it will make others suffer even more than it torments itself.

Thus, evil is relative, it does not exist by itself, but appears from pain, anger and suffering. What is most unpleasant, the responsibility does not lie with any hostile forces, but with the people themselves.

Thanks to a sufficiently powerful philosophical message, “The Creature” acquires some features of a psychological thriller, especially since the creators tried to move away from some cliches of suspense, instead focusing on the motives and emotions of the characters. It’s scary not because something with fangs and claws is about to jump out from a dark corner to a sinister music, but because the heroes consistently take away their chance of happiness and salvation.

  • © Shot from the movie "Creature" (2019)

However, the question is how harmonious such a combination will seem to the audience. Those who go on the horror for an adrenaline rush may be disappointed with a not-so-chilling feed. At the same time, it is highly likely that an audience who is interested in philosophical cinema will be confused by the positioning of “Creatures” as a horror film.

For the director of the project Olga Gorodetskaya, "The Beast" became a full-length debut. This circumstance, by the way, favorably affected the fate of the project: in early 2017, Gorodetskaya won the pitching of debutants in the Union of Russian Filmmakers.

The idea of ​​foreign representatives of the industry also received positive assessments - Sony Pictures Studio has already acquired the rights to shoot its own version. First of all, versions for South Korea and India are planned.

The original tape will be released in thirty countries of the world, including France, Germany, Brazil, Japan, Singapore and many others.