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Film Review: Cursed Land (2020) by Stepan Burnashev

A chilling Russian slow-burn folk-horror effort

An overlooked aspect of the Russian film community for years, the Yakutia region of the country has been churning out a steady stream of films for both local and international markets for several years now. One of the leading figures in the scene, , has provided several highly acclaimed films in the past and now turns his attention to the horror genre with his latest effort, “”.

Heading out from the city, Alyona arrives to check on her mother only to find her missing from her apartment. After checking around with the authorities about what happened to her, Alyona finds her mother left the city to a small remote section of the area close-by and decides to go find her. After arriving at the village, she manages to find her mother alive and well but fearful of a local custom regarded by the locals as a highly important ritual trying to hold back an advancing evil from invading the world. With no other option but to stay with her mother, Alyona soon finds the truth about the village which puts her and her mother in danger from what the locals fear most.

Overall, “Cursed Land” has a lot to like about it. Among the more enjoyable aspects found here is a chilling setup that brings the viewer into the film rather well. As we follow Alyona's struggle to find her mother's disappearance and what happened to her, it generates an eerie and ominous atmosphere early on. The experience of not finding her mother and being alone in the apartment where numerous memories of the past are there to affect Alyona personally with several dream scenes that are pretty impressive and chilling.

After reaching the village where her mother is, this picks up considerably as the action shifts into a fun, steady stream of eclectic slow-burn folk-horror sequences. Featuring the local stories about evil spirits roaming the land, Alyona's nightmares become more vivid and intense as well as the incidents afflicting the locals she encounters, the fear of the wilderness present here is palpable and quite impressive. Likewise, with the use of the local rituals and beliefs coming into play for an effective downbeat finale, this manages to have some likable elements.

There are some issues to be had with “Cursed Land.” The main problem is a decided lack of an alternative genre focus in the second half where it focuses on the drama of Alyona looking for mom and not concentrating on much else to enhance the genre tone. Far too much of this section comprises of Alyona going around the city trying to find out what happened or journeying to the remote village where the majority of the action takes place. Neither of these provide much in the way of expected scares or even action. Director Burnashev focuses on Alyona's search and the franticness to find her mother as a drama which leaves this sluggish and low-key as a result.

The other slight issue is a rather disheartening lack of urgency with regards to why Alyona is being forced to leave the village. Her mother alternates so frequently between being happy to see her and determined to get her daughter out of danger, oftentimes within the same scene, that the situation comes off rather confusing and jarring. Since director Burnashev takes so long to get to the danger in the area and what's going on, holding back the reveal of the threat towards the village such as this makes the turn more obvious by demonstrating the various switches in her personality, as we don't know why she's acting as such. It isn't nearly as detrimental as the other issue but does hold it back.

Graced with a solid mystery and some creepy imagery thrown in, “Cursed Land” maintains enough positive points to be worthwhile and enjoyable although some might find fault with some of the issues present. This will mostly be appealing to fans of slow-burn folk-horror genre efforts or curious about the regions' output, while viewers wanting more kinetic fare won't have a lot to enjoy with this one.

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