In the online cinemas Wink and Kinopoisk, the thriller "Frozen Earth" directed by Oksana Karas ("Doctor Lisa", "Good Boy") is released. The script of the project, based on a real story, was written by Maria Izyumova, Sergey Kaluzhanov and Andrey Kurganov.

The main role in the series is played by Svetlana Khodchenkova ("Metro", "House Arrest"). Also in the film play Anton Filipenko, Polina Gukhman, Yuri Chursin, Andrey Burkovsky, Sabina Akhmedova and others.

The action takes place in a small seaside town of the Leningrad region, where the corpse of a young girl is discovered. On the night the murder allegedly occurred, she left a party at a local café and ordered a taxi, but never made it home.

The main character Larisa Aidarova and her future husband Maxim work as taxi drivers. They could have taken the order that night, but it was intercepted by another driver. In addition, the couple decided to finish the shift and go home. On the way, they saw the same girl waiting for a car at a stop.

The investigation begins with a taxi company. This is not the first murder with traces of violence in the city, and the capital's investigator Orlov (Yuri Chursin) takes up the case. Despite the fact that Maxim has an alibi, the prosecutor finds evidence against him and takes him into custody. An enraged Larissa, meanwhile, tries to find the killer on her own to prove the innocence of her lover.

The plot of the series is rather banal: there is a killer, a tough investigator who comes from a big city and restores order in the local area, as well as the main character, who tries with all her might to protect her man, but at the same time she herself periodically doubts his innocence.

In general, the story holds attention, because the mysterious killer is unknown until the finale. However, in this case, the implementation of this idea was not the most successful: despite the intrigue, the tape sometimes seems boring and lifeless, mainly because of the repeated illogical actions of the characters, on which the plot rests.

For example, the future victim leaves the cafe at night, calls a taxi. Immediately after that, for some reason, without waiting for the driver, she goes to the stop where a homeless man sleeps on a bench, takes a phone from his hand, calls someone and asks to pick her up. The absurdity of the scene lies in the fact that the heroine on someone else's mobile presses one button and calls the right subscriber. How the homeless person turned out to have even a push-button, but working phone and why the heroine decided to call someone else at all when she had already ordered a taxi, remains a mystery.

  • © Still from the TV series "Frozen Earth" (2022)

Everyone in the city learns about the incident almost instantly: the media trumpets, people hate Larisa and for some reason her daughter for the fact that Maxim is allegedly a murderer. Obviously, rumors spread quickly, and it is strange that earlier, when other victims of the alleged maniac were found, no one even stuttered about it. But in part, all this justifies the fact that the last victim is the daughter of a former traffic cop, who, by the way, behaves like a maniac himself - follows Larissa, threatens her with a knife and forces her to "tell the truth" about what Max did.

In many ways, the series rests on the brilliant game of the performers of key roles. Svetlana Khodchenkova managed to convey the character of a desperate woman who tries her best not to lose her happiness. Yuri Chursin is also very convincing in the image of a stylish, intelligent and self-aware investigator Orlov. The former toxic husband of Larisa on the screen was perfectly embodied by Andrei Burkovsky - everything in his character causes antipathy.

Somewhat disappointing is the visual range of the picture. The locations in which the series was filmed are very monotonous, and the colors are gray and devoid of life. Probably, the authors of the tape thereby wanted to create an atmosphere corresponding to the gloomy plot, but still a few aesthetically pleasing landscapes would not hurt.

Nevertheless, the main thing deserves praise - the detective line of the series. It will not be easy for viewers to guess who the maniac is and why witnesses call Max guilty, although on the night of the murder he slept next to his beloved. Throughout history, suspicions fall in turn on almost every hero, including Larissa and local police officers.

In general, "Frozen Land" is a good and quite fascinating series with its pros and cons. But to revise it after a while and recommend it to friends, most likely, will not want.