Postmortem photography, the macabre photographic practice in vogue in the 1800s, is the main theme of The Bride (aka Невеста and Nevesta), the Russian supernatural horror film distributed in Italy thanks to Midnight Factory. Erected on this grim elaboration of grief, the story of The Bride (Russia - 2017) links to it a curse that, like a shadow, darkens the lives of the protagonists. Initiating the horror show is a photographer during the Victorian age. As a kind of mad doctor (in this he is vaguely reminiscent of Frankenstein) he will try to bring his beloved back to life.
Screenwriter and director Svyatoslav Podgayevskiy (Vladenie 18 and Pikovaya dama. Chyornyy obryad) tests not only the terrain of death but also that of love, a feeling, the latter, poisoned by a sick perception of reality and the absence of resignation. The horror depicted in The Bride is visual and psychological. It becomes almost ubiquitous, fueled by an efficient livid, cyanotic atmosphere (cinematography is by Ivan Burlakov) that nicely adorns a story of mourning that drags on through the years due to reincarnation. Indeed, transmigration into other bodies, the rebirth of the soul, is another nuance that adds to the more funereal side of The Bride.
Extremely atmospheric and engaging, this supernatural horror film with gothic overtones overwhelms not only because of its subject matter but also because of its skill in breathing new life into clichés (the old location with secret passages) and overused themes (death). Even the story's slower moments seem functional to it-a slowness that allows the darker scenes to highlight their murkier, more disturbing side.
The Bride is able to pull the viewer into darkness and make him smell death.
Plot: Nastya (Viktoriya Agalakova) joins her beloved's family to plan the wedding together with his relatives. The family members are very attached to the traditions and customs of 19th-century imperial Russia but, for love, the girl is willing to undergo a mysterious Slavic wedding ceremony. The ritual, however, will trigger a series of ominous consequences.
The cast of The Bride is composed of Viktoriya Agalakova, Vyacheslav Chepurchenko, Aleksandra Rebenok, Igor Khripunov, Vladimir Seleznyov, Valeriya Dmitrieva, Miroslava Karpovich, Vera Biryukova and Marina Alhamdan.
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The Bride is available on DVD and Blu-ray limited edition (with booklet) from July 12, 2018 with Midnight Factory. The carefully edited Blu-ray edition features exclusively the Italian audio track with Italian subtitles. Special contents include the trailer and behind-the-scenes footage.
The release comes with the ever-present booklet in which there is a review of the film, some info on the director and postmortem photographs.
