Rating: C
Dir: Dmitriy Dyachenko
Star: Aleksey Serebryakov, Vsevolod Volodin, Evgeniy Tkachuk, Aleksandr Ustyugov
a.k.a. Beshenstvo
The trailer makes this look as if it’s a non-stop barrage of animal attacks, deep in the Russian wilderness. It really isn’t. This is more of a family drama about addiction, occasionally interrupted by wolves and bears. Given I chose to watch this on a Saturday night, I can probably be forgiven for having Saturday night expectations. [I skipped over Merry Christmas, Mr. Laurence for a reason, y’know] The drama stuff isn’t terrible. However, it’s not helped by the film only being available in a dubbed version. When the performances are flailing and screaming, the dubbing doesn’t matter too much. The quieter moments are more of a problem: something is lost in translation.
The central characters are a father and son. Igor (Serebryakov) has taken his son Vovka (Volodin) out into the countryside, hoping to cure Vovka of his drug addiction. The young man isn’t exactly a willing participant, but his father has had enough. Besides, Igor has a looming legal situation of his own, so time is of the essence. Unfortunately, the area chosen for this impromptu rehab clinic, is suffering from an outbreak of rabies in the animal population. First, the local wolves, and then a bear, lose their natural fear of humans, and of course, the merest nibble from them now becomes potentially lethal. Is mauling an effective form of therapy for addiction? Let’s find out! It certainly redefines “tough love”.
I suspect the movie is attempting to draw parallels between rabies and drug abuse. I kinda see where this is coming from, in that both will inexorably strip away all traces of the victim’s humanity. But the key difference is, one is something people voluntarily inflict on themselves. Nobody thinks, “Let’s get rabies! It’ll be fun!” At one point, Vovka tells a rather rambling story about a researcher, which seems to blame addiction on environmental causes. Typical druggie: no personal responsibility, and it doesn’t help the dubbing could have been replaced by a vacuum cleaner, such is the level of loud whining emitted. I preferred Serebryakov’s performance, or at least, it seemed less hampered by the dubbing. Igor clearly cares about his son, but isn’t taking Voyka’s shit.
If the quantity of animal attack action is less than whelming, the quality is decent. There’s a fair amount of CGI, but the assaults are brutal and lengthy. I was particularly amused by the bear that launches an aerial assault, crashing through the roof of a cabin to reach its prey. However, in this department, you might as well watch the trailer, since it has most of the best moments. This was supposedly inspired by an actual rabies outbreak in Russia, although I’ve not found any specifics. In reality, foxes are the most likely animal to have rabies in Russia. Though bears can catch it, so the film isn’t making that up. Chuck another reason on the large pile marked, “Why we do not go camping.”