III - Il rituale

I must pinch myself, just to make sure I'm awake. *Pinch*. Talk about arrestingly hypnotic and abstract. And that's the contrasting imagery inside (dreams) and out (landscapes) of the subconscious. Watching "III" is like being caught in a trance. It's visually sublime captured by its elegant cinematography and otherworldly score, but frail storytelling does keep this grim, surrealistic Russian horror-fantasy from reaching great heights.

The style is in the same mould of such psychophysiology films ("The Cell" & "Horsehead") dealing with a journey into the subconscious mind. What transpires is rather sobering and haunting, but how the journey plays out is uniquely puzzling. The natural performances of Piling Davidova and Luibov Ignatushko do share a touching bond as the two sisters caught up in a sickness infecting their small village.

I came across this film with very little info beforehand, not even having watched the trailer. There is so much to love about this movie, I don't even know where to begin. The creators are obvious fans of the work of Yamaoka Akira (who did the soundtracks to Silent Hill), the franchise itself, Fatal Frame and the work of director Tarsem. One of the most visually stunning films I have seen all year, III combines art-house aesthetics with stylized horror to great effect. Anyone who has played Silent hill will automatically see the inspiration, as the creature and effects designs would be right at home in the game. The story of one sister attempting to save the other echoes that of Fatal Frame, withe similar eerie undertones. Lastly, having the girl enter her sisters subconscious takes me back to Tarsem's The Cell, also a visually stunning film. The topping on an already delicious cake is the incredible soundtrack; Yamaoka-san himself would be proud to hear music that is clearly inspired by his work, and it flowed so beautifully with the visuals of the film, that it was an almost flawless culmination. Aside from some gaps in the storytelling, and a bit if confusion towards the end, there really hasn't been a movie like this is a very long time. If you love art-house films that are actually interesting to watch, I highly recommend III. Fans of Silent Hill, this is a no brainer.

In a village ravaged by an epidemic, a girl turns to the local priest for a cure for her dying sister, but the priest has a spooky suggestion.

Wow - this looks damn fine! I spent the entire film trying to figure out where it was shot: Russian language, but turns out the urban scenes are in Marburg, and the camera work takes full advantage. Also the Russian landscapes are droolishly good.

Anyway, a mysterious story and I'm not sure it's a horror. Certainly light on gore, with the emphasis on mild del Toro style grotesques, and the story is stuffed to the gills with oblique hints that didn't completely help me figure out whether or not I was in an allegorical world. At one stage I thought it was really about cancer or depression, but by the end something more literal was going on. The subtitles often seemed over-egged, and I guess I missed many points of significance. But it's beautiful to watch - as another reviewer noted, this feels like a low budget, grimy version of The Cell. And maybe the title can be explained by the three trips into ... not sure what you'd call it, purgatory? I could be totally wrong, but the scene with Mirra's half-buried dopplegangers reminded me of my sole viewing of the brilliant Russian war film Come And See.

Acting is good, effects are good, but way too much dialogue as characters give us exposition on their own motives - odd flaw in a highly visual production. There's a cartoon montage in the middle, as Ayia flicks through the shaman book - imaginative, but a strangely hammy effect.

Apart from the camera work, the outstanding element is the score by some entity called Moonbeam, with everything thrown in to create an eerie and ethereal atmosphere, with sharp elevations in tension.

Overall, I dunno. One of those movies that on a second viewing might reveal more, or confirm the suspicion of style over substance. As for horror, 'tis a mild one.

Russian horror flick but be aware that it isn't going to be a gory ride or a flick full of action going on. This is a slow moving flick but made with excellent cinematography.

It's all about possession in a small town were everybody is getting sick and two sisters are being involved in the sickness. One of them is getting sick up to the other to cure her with the help of a priest.

In fact, that is the story but the flick is full of creepy and weird shots. As said earlier the editing and the use of the camera was well done. But of course not everybody is into arty flicks. If you are into possession horror then this is a must see, if you are into gory flicks and can't stand slow moving flicks full of blah blah then leave it.

Gore 0/5 Nudity 0,5/5 Effects 2/5 Story 2,5/5 Comedy 0/5

Two sisters, who have just lost their mother to an illness that has plagued their village, only have each other to lean on. When one of them becomes gravely ill and the villagers decide that those who are sick must be quarantined, the other turns to their priest for a place to hide. While caring for her sister, she comes across a strange book in the priest's home and learns there is a ritual that may help save her sister. She approaches the priest, who agrees to help, and they begin the ritual in which the healthy sister must enter her ill sister's subconscious. There she must find her sister's biggest fear and eliminate it to break the grip of the illness. The illness has taken over and made the ill sister's subconscious a dangerous and horrific place but the healthy sister is willing to brave it to save her sister. Will it work? This is your plot.

Let's start with the good things about this film. It is a visually appealing film. Some of the scenery is beautifully portrayed with nice reddish hues. Even the horror aspects of the film have been nicely done. The acting is quite well too and the story, while not a new idea, has a few changes from the norm. There's a twist.

The bad things. The pace is really slow but it does draw you into it. There's not a lot of character development and that takes away from your ability to become invested in the characters. The story needed some work. By that I mean not everything was explained to my liking and there were some situations that were sorta vital that lacked detail.

My take away from this is that it isn't an awful film. It had some problems but it held my interest. I'd like to give it 6.5 stars but we don't have that option here so I rounded up to a 7. I'm glad I checked it out.