Baba Yaga

7.5/10

Once upon a time there was a witch who lived at the border of our world and the world of the dead. She used to abduct children by sending her faithful servants the Navs, merciless half-birds, half-humans. The Navs lured the children to the witch's den where she devoured their souls. Parents forgot their children as if they had never existed. But one boy with a pure and bright soul managed to defeat the witch and imprisoned her in the world of the dead. However, the witch didn't give up. She began to look for someone who could help her get back. Someone whose pure soul would become darker than night, who can cross the borders of the worlds. Someone who has already been dead once. Time passed, and the memories of that witch remained only in fairy tales. People call her... Baba Yaga.

This is the story of a boy named Egor who is not too happy with his stepmom and dearly misses his deceased mother. He has an infant little step sister Varya. To look after Varya the family hires a nanny. Strange things starts to occur with the arrival of the new nanny. Soon Varya is abducted and everyone except Egor forgets about her existence. Now Egor with his new friends must find out what is happening and bring his little sister home.

I saw this in English dubbing. I am sure if I could have watched it in its original language, the experience would have been even better. That said the acting of all the cast involved was above average, especially from the lead actors and actresses. Marta Timofeeva stands out in her small screen time. Almost all the cast were really good looking. And the film itself looks really pretty. The cinematography is well done. The set design was really cool too.

The film takes a lot from Stephen King's film adaptions (IT, The Shining). I could spot at least four of Stephen King's works. It almost felt like a homage to the author. Even though the scenes were not original they were really well done. The film sort of plays with the idea of holding onto our memories even when forgetting is easier. I liked this aspect very much.

Horror fans please do not miss out on this one on account of low rating. The film has strong beginning and end. Though in the middle it drags a bit, the ending makes up for it. There were some effective jump scares. Both the witch and the Navs looked good and unique. Baba Yaga Terror of the Dark Forest is a mixed bag with mostly good parts.

This adaptation of the traditional Baba Yaga folk story from Russia on first inspection looks like a winner but, well, its not.

Rather than taking the obvious route of a classic, scare filled tale, of a cannibalistic witch, it goes off on what feels like a psychedelic acid trip. There's lots of far out fantasy sequences, with groovy coloured lighting effects, string (yes I did say string) and way out memory lapses.

It's as if the story was re-written as a 60's style hippy horror fest, for reasons I really can't even begin to appreciate.

As a result, its not only not terribly scary, its at times downright silly and feels largely pointless. Which is crying shame, as the acting is solid and the core premise is loaded with horror potential.

4/10.

My expectations weren't high for this film, but I still left unsatisfied with the story. There are definitely more entertaining and better films portraying this classic folktale.

What can I say? It's just another horror movies among thousands of similar ones. It's not especially interesting but it could work better for a younger audience (like teens, I guess).

Ok so this is really simple:

Visually this film is stunning. I mean it's a true stylistic achievement. However, on a narrative level this film is as dumb as a box of hair. Or maybe this what's up with Russia, what do I know I'm from New Jersey.