Why watch "Execution" - a gloomy detective against the backdrop of the collapsing USSR

On April 21, the debut film of Lado Kvatania, the author of the clips of Dolphin, Husky and Oxxxymiron, is released. The same production team worked on "Execution" that gave the audience "Farsi lessons" and "Petrovs in the flu”, and the production designer Dmitry Onishchenko previously staged the incredibly successful Russian film comic book“Major Grom: Plague Doctor».

In one of his interviews, Kvatania toldHow Lado Kvatania became one of the most sought-after Russian clip makers / Afisha Daily about his love for classic horror films like The Silence of the Lambs. This explains where the director of "The Execution" borrowed gloomy imagery and atmosphere from. But no less than Lado appreciates the work of Tarkovsky.

Their influence can be seen in the static shots, the smooth camera effect and the constant use of symbolism. At the same time, Tarkovsky, as you know, is still

horror maker - who has not seen sceneFragment of Tarkovsky's film / YouTube from the "Mirror", where Margarita Terekhova washes her hair, he, consider, did not watch real horror films. Therefore, homages to his work in "Execution" look very appropriate.

Similarity to True Detective and American Gothic in the USSR

In 1981, Issa Davydov, a brutal investigator for especially important cases, investigates a case about a maniac who brutally kills girls. Behind the hero is one successfully solved series of crimes, but now the task is much more difficult. The investigation falls apart, and the authorities insistently demand to find the culprit, which Issa does.

Ten years later, a new victim is suddenly announced in an already closed case. For these atrocities, two brothers have already been convicted and sentenced to death, but the testimony given by the girl completely destroys the previous version of the investigation. Now Davydov must fix everything as soon as possible and find a real maniac.

Viewers have seen similar stories many times. But the most distinct association that comes to mind is the first season of True Detective. There, two detectives many years later also returned to the old investigation, in parallel trying to deal with their difficult past. Moreover, the action, like that of Kvatania, took place in different time layers.

By the way, "True Detective" is considered one of the best examples of southern gothic on the screen. Parallels again suggest themselves: a dilapidated house as the center of history, an atmosphere of hopelessness and desolation, an appeal to social problems.

And here's what's interesting. The authors, consciously or not, transferred the truly American genre to the realities of the Soviet Union. But "Execution" at the same time does not look like tracing paper or plagiarism. On the contrary, the film is perceived as an interesting genre experiment.

A celebration for fans of true crime stories

An obvious parallel can be drawn with another Western series - “mind hunter». The production project by David Fincher tells about the formation of the science of the behavior of serial killers in the United States. Only in America, the method of constructing the psychological profiles of criminals - profiling - appeared back in the 70s, and in the 80s it was already actively used. But in the USSR everything was different.

The ideology said that maniacs do not exist. They were considered ordinary criminals, although there were no less serial killers in the Union than in the West. And the images of some of them formed the basis of the film.

In the guise of Andrei Valita, Chikatilo, one of the most famous and terrible Soviet serials, is unmistakably guessed. But with the nameless "chess player" everything is a little more complicated. Most of all, he resembles Anatoly Slivko, the famous pioneer strangler. He bore the title of honored teacher, but at the same time killed at least seven children.

The fact that the authors were inspired by the image of this particular criminal is hinted at by the fixation of the "chess player" on children's shoes and the fact that he considers himself a monster. Slivko, for all the enormity of his deeds, was also a rather reflective person and throughout his life was tormented by his conscience, talking in detail about this in his diaries.

"Execution" should not be confused with a real chronicle of crimes, it is primarily a feature film. But fans of forensic science will definitely like it, who will find a lot of intersections with reality and pleasant Easter eggs in the plot.

Viscous atmosphere of decay and horror

In Russia, there have already been attempts to stage a high-quality noir detective story. For example, not so long ago series about the capture of Andrei Chikatilo, based on real events. Surprisingly, not a thriller, but a farce came out of such promising material.

On the other hand, how could it have turned out differently if Sarik Andreasyan was behind the creation of Chikatilo - a regular guest of BadComedian reviews, the director of The Defenders, as well as the comedies Pregnant and The Other Carloson!

Lado Kvatania, in a sense, corrected the mistakes of the authors of Chikatilo, showing that you can shoot really frightening and exciting stories about Soviet maniacs. And for this, the director combined a detective story with social horror.

Law enforcement officers who are difficult to distinguish from bandits, an investigator who is psychologically traumatized no less than the murderer he is looking for — these images create on the screen a dense, sticky, hallucinogenic atmosphere of an endless nightmare. The film is directly permeated with a sense of hopelessness and anxiety.

Execution isn't perfect and is a little sloppy in places. Sometimes Kvatania gets too carried away with symbolism: for example, first they show a flashback in which Issa's mother dies, dressed in a red dress. After some time, the scene of the protagonist's acquaintance with his beloved begins. And it takes place against the backdrop of a stained-glass window depicting a woman in scarlet clothes, so that the audience will definitely understand the author’s idea: the mistress embodies the maternal figure for Issa.

But these are all trifles. If possible, watch The Execution on the big screen, it's worth it. After all, the film by Kvatania - a visionary who got his hand on clips - really turned out to be stunningly beautiful.