III: The Ritual

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

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.

Saw this at the IMAGINE film festival 2015 in Amsterdam. Took its time to build up steam, yet not boring. "The ritual" as it was announced in the synopsis, was to be executed more than once, but I did not know that beforehand. After the first time, assuming it was the last and only, it felt as an anti-climax. Nothing nasty was revealed, and life seemed to go on as if nothing happened. I stood corrected when materializing more scary the second time, for me the real climax. But there was still more to come. Which dirty secret was revealed out of the third and last ritual, escaped me. Maybe executing the ritual three times was essential in itself, three (like seven) being a magical number in many such circumstances. Anyway, the film title III (Roman numerals, so not three capital I's) emphasizes implicitly that the number three is important. No other explanation for this film title springs to mind after having seen it from beginning to end.

The sound track supported the proceedings but was often too much on the foreground, to the extent that it took away my attention from what was happening. That may be a fault of my own, as I faintly recognized most of the music, and was distracted while trying to pinpoint what it was exactly. A professional film composer (I forgot his name) said once that a good sound track should be unobtrusive and hardly noticed, but I'm not sure his word is law under his colleagues.

All in all, I did not get what I anticipated, so a bit disappointed, but no compelling reason to ask my money back. I think there were ample ingredients left unused. One could have arrived at a more complex story and better execution, in addition to a few extra dramatic developments that were definitely needed. The semi-dark village, its people and its buildings bring in their twilight "horror" atmosphere almost by definition. I experienced most of the tension and creepiness while wandering through Mirra's subconsciousness, but not to its full potential. These scenes were visualized the same as dreams are usually shown, by enlarging external influences (e.g. banging on doors) and by slow-motion effects (e.g. dragging protagonist's walks, to never reach the intended destination). It usually works out on the viewer as artificial, and thus defeats its purpose altogether by setting the viewer on a distance rather than sucking him into the story. In a good Horror film such elements are presented in a subtle way, to involve us in the proceedings rather than distracting us. This movie fails halfway in this respect.

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.

Just got darker and darker. It might be difficult to find the movie under this title anywhere (the Germans just added a sub-title to it to make it easier), but if you find it, you might like its gritty, down and dirty style. The acting and the setup itself is pretty interesting, letting you in the dark for a long time, having to figure out what is going on and what's real and not.

Spiritual and different, this will either be a tease that tastes like something you like or will appall you. It won't be for the masses (obviously), but I do think that those who "get it" (even if it's repeated viewing that takes them there), will love it with all their heart