The Bride

Sigh. Where to begin. We know one thing for sure - the director and producers of "The Bride" has seen "The Exorcist," "The Omen," "The Conjuring," and every other horror film in the world because they applied every trick they learned over the years into their "masterpiece." To say this film is full of cliches is like saying the Vatican is full of holy people.

I guess I hate to admit it but maybe, just maybe, there are no more horror stories to tell, at least nothing original anyway. From here on and forthwith we will be inundated with nothing more than the same ol' same ol' day after day, week after week, month after month, and year after year. The die is cast; film makers in the horror genre have reached an impasse. From here on out we'll probably have more unoriginal offerings like "The Bride." At least the cinematography was pleasing to the eyes, so there's that.

The Bride is a dark fairytale hailing from the Slavic steppes of Russia.

The story begins with a legend about a mad doctor who attempts to bring his recently deceased wife, back from the dead- in the body of a peasant virgin- by use of some sort of magical ritual that involves capturing the soul of the deceased person in a negative coated in this new silver emulsion, by painting their eyelids and having them photographed.

This involves burying the virgin alive in a coffin filled with items of the deceased.

Though, things don't exactly go as they had planned...as this act of utter desperation just leads the town and his family to become cursed. Fastforward a few generations later...and we find ourselves following college student, Nastya, and her photographer boyfriend, Ivan.

The two elope, before being harkened back to Ivan's childhood home, for a more "traditional" wedding ritual.

Not long after arriving, however, it becomes clear to Nastya that something eerie is going on with this family.

She's been hearing things in the walls; seeing things she can't explain, and doesn't like that they have got all sorts of bizarre plans that revolve around her.

It soon becomes evident that she's been conned, and their plans for her aren't exactly benevolent. But every attempt she makes to escape is thwarted.

Only a miracle can save her from facing the fate they have in store for her now.

But, short of that...she won't go down without a fight.

And she makes damn sure that her fate remains in her hands.

Based on some sort of old slavic marriage legend revolving around ritual this film is captivating enough to keep you entertained throughout.

While I'm not a huge fan of the CGI "Mother", it didn't really detract from the film any.

The only aspect of the plot I really didn't like, concerns the return of Ivan in perfect health after that major car accident.

That ruined the flow of plausibility. But I was still able to sit through and enjoy the rest of the film.

It's no Viy, or anything, but it's certainly watchable.

5.5 out of 10

In the Nineteenth Century, in Russia, people believe that a photograph would be capable to capture the soul of the diseased person and then transfer into a new body. In the present days, the college student Nastya (Viktoriya Agalakova) and her boyfriend, the photographer Vanya (Vyacheslav Chepurchenko) get married. Soon Vanya´s sister Liza (Aleksandra Rebenok) invites them to marry in her house in the countryside to follow and ancient family tradition. Nastya decides to go despite the objections of Vanya. They are welcomed by Liza and soon Nastya sees weird things in the old house. She seeks out Vanya but Liza informs that he has gone to the town with his friends. What will Nastya do?

"Nevesta" is a creepy underrated Russian horror film about family tradition and dark secrets. The mysterious screenplay is tense since Nastya fells that something is not right but she is trapped alone in the old house by the family of her fiancée. The plot is well resolved and the acting is good. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "A Noiva" ("The Bride")

In today's day and age, it is hard as a viewer to come across something that feels original and fresh, let alone imagining coming up with it or writing it down. So once it is established that something may not be particularly original or potentially derivative, the next step is to ask, was it done well?..

I believe this was relatively well done despite its lacking in originality. It had aspects that felt fresh, however the overall vibe was... familiar. Despite its run of the mill spooky plot, it was still interesting and engaging. I thought this had all the makings of a dope horror but felt it leaned more into the tension building aspects pushing it more towards thriller, rather than going full blown horror with it... I would have preferred the latter.

One thing of note is I thought the movie looked quite nice. There were shots here and there where I specifically thought oh wow that was nice. It also, though few and far between, did have some genuinely spooky moments and decent effects.

Overall I thought this was a decent, slightly above average thriller/horror with a plot that definitely had potential. 5.5 rounding up to 6, would recommend.

Wow, quite wonderful, actually. The film was really creepy, not just because of what happens, but also because of the premise. The contrast between the old and new in a modern world is great, adding to the creepiness. This is the story of a family curse and an innocent bride that could break the curse, wonderfully acted by Victoria Agalakova. Her husband, Ivan (Victor) is not really a strong character and it seems the film does just great without him. Bride Nastya (Victoria) is the star and hero of the film. The visual effects and make-up are very good and quite scary, too. This is a classic 80s style horror.