Djatlow-Pass - Tod im Schnee

Told in flashbacks, the series unfolds an intriguing narrative that poses interesting existential questions and dissects such canonized Russian subjects as WWII very boldly. It's also an effective, albeit slow-burning horror story, gorgeously filmed, intelligenty written and well acted. If you like eerie mountains, Soviet nostalgia and Nazi mysticism (stupenduous Wewelsburg castle!) , go for it.

The most famous TV series in the world, based on a rather sorrowful page from the history of the USSR is without a doubt "Chernobyl". But now a new series has emerged - «Dead mountain. The Dyatlov Pass Incident» - that is also based on real and rather terrible events dated back to the USSR , and I'm wondering if it will become an international sensation?

The series is built around a widely known tragedy that happened in the Ural mountains in 1959. A group of tourists set off on a ski hike but at the appointed time hadn't reached its destination point. Several days later criminalists were sent out to look for the tourists and only by May all 9 bodies were found. The skiers died under mysterious circumstances. Tremendous amount of versions were built around this tragedy, but the incident still remains unsolved - even 60 years after the event. Can the series shed light on that ill-fated night?

The main protagonist is the KGB major Oleg Kostin. He is sent from Moscow to either establish the truth or to cover it up. Kostin is a former veteran of WWII, and in his military past there is a certain ominous encounter that the authors do not put on the table immediately.

The series was shot in the style of "Soviet Noir": an atmospheric retro vibe shot on film. Despite the rapidly changing events, the mood is quite unhurried. It doesn't give you a feeling of senseless action sequence, «Dead Mountain» gives a viewer an opportunity to think and get absorbed by the event. Camera work is truly outstanding - gloriously shot mountain scenery, remarkable camera angles, unusual jumps and moves.

«Dead mountain» is for those who love TV series based on real events, who like to time travel into the past in search for answers. It is both stylish and captivating.

Oh my God was this a beautiful surprise!

I honestly loved every minute of it & I'm still in a kind of haze.. and worn out.

Storytelling - pace.. just ace! And so beautifully executed.

The camera was insane. It had a graphic novel feel, some stills could be paintings... during a war flashback i thought i was in a flight simulator.. The set design was divine.

The music/sound department: the exact right amount of everything in the right color.

The actors: each character was perfectly casted. I don't know how they managed to make it so ...wholesome.

The whole composition was quite rich, never rushed though. Never been to russia - it really made me feel as if i was there at times.

You can just feel it. The horror of it all, war, humanity, this terrible incident... despair, the cold. I have to admit i was tearing up.

Also one has to note how they choose to include much of the "known evidence". The carvings in the trees along the way they hiked... the autopsies... I am not sure how much they deviated from the atmosphere depicted in their diaries though.

I could gush and gush - maybe because i was so deprived of good stuff the past 1,5 years... but check it out for yourself.

If you're not glued to the screen by the 2nd, 3rd episode, then there is probably really nothing for you to get out of.

I am wondering what the budget was?

To me, this was the best tv-present since The Terror.

Fantastic cinematography, great casting line-up, gorgeous creative direction, drama, and scenario. A breakthrough masterpiece for contemporary Russian cinema.

I suggest you watch it. Very different from what we have been fed for decades by the already declined Hollywood and most of European cinema. Nice, smooth plot, but the film direction is the masterpiece.