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The Science Fiction Horror and Fantasy Film Review

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Theme: Russian Cinema

This concerns films produced in Russia. During the time that Russia existed as part of the Soviet Union (1917-89), Russian film was fairly much synonymous with Soviet Cinema.

A modest cinematic output was produced during the Soviet Union. Most of the films that concern us here were works that dealt with Space Exploration and the great Communist experiment paving the way to the stars led by scientist and engineers. These are colourful and often have better effects than US counterparts. This period did produce the great Andrei Tarkovsky. There were also some works of fantasy, mostly fairytale adaptations, produced.

The next major wave of Russian genre cinema began in the 2000s with Timur Bekmambetov having considerable international success with Night Watch (2004). By the 2010s, this has resulted in a remarkable and often well made series of Gothic horror films and SF/horror hybrids.


13 Tzameti (2005)

24 July 200614 April 2025

Rating: ★★★½

Russian Roulette Gambling

Director: Gela Babluani
Actors: George Babluani, Aurelien Reconing, Fred Ulysse, Pascal Bongard, …
Category: Horror

Abigail (2019)

26 June 202028 November 2020

Rating: ★★

Alternate Reality/Steampunk and Magic

Director: Alexandr Boguslavskiy
Actors: Tinatin Dalakishvili, Eddie Marsan, Gleb Bochkov, Artem Tkachenko, …
Category: Fantasy

Aelita (1924)

21 December 201120 January 2025

Rating: ★★½

Soviet Science-Fiction/Expedition to Mars

Director: Yakov Protazanov
Category: Science Fiction

Andrey Tarkovsky. A Cinema Prayer (2019)

5 September 20235 September 2023

Rating: ★★★

Andrei Tarkovsky Documentary

Director: Andrey A. Tarkovsky
Category: Science Fiction

Andromeda Nebula (1967)

25 May 2022

Rating: ★★

Soviet SF Film/Space Exploration

Director: Yevgeny Sherstobitov
Category: Science Fiction

Baba Yaga, Terror of the Dark Forest (2020)

11 July 202113 February 2025

Rating: ★★

Modern Version of a Legendary Witch

Director: Svyatoslav Podgaevsky
Actors: Oleg Chugunov, Glafira Golubeva, Artem Zhigulin, Svetlana Ustinova, …
Category: Horror

Battle Beyond the Sun (1963)

21 October 200723 November 2024

Rating: ★★½

Space Expedition/Russian SF Film

Director: Francis Ford Coppola, M. Karzhukov, Aleksandr Kozyr
Category: Science Fiction

The Blackout (2019)

16 August 202130 June 2024

Rating: ★★★

Alien Invasion/Worldwide Powercut

Director: Egor Baranov
Actors: Aleksey Chadov, Pyotr Fyodorov, Sveltana Ivanova, Lukerya Ilyashenko, …
Category: Science Fiction

Branded (2012)

8 November 20165 March 2020

Rating: ★★

Brand Names Revealed as Parasitic Entities

Director: Jamie Bradshaw, Alexander Doulerain
Actors: Ed Stoppard, Leelee Sobieski, Jeffrey Tambor, Max Von Sydow
Category: Science Fiction

Coma (2019)

31 January 20219 November 2022

Rating: ★★★½

Alternate Reality Inside Shared Dreams

Director: Nikita Argunov
Actors: Rinal Mukhametov, Lyubov Aksyonova, Konstantin Lavronenko, Anton Pampushny, …
Category: Fantasy, Science Fiction

Cosmic Voyage (1936)

3 April 20243 April 2024

Rating: ★★★

Soviet Moon Launch

Director: Vasily Zhuravlyov
Category: Science Fiction

Cosmoball (2020)

4 June 20214 June 2021

Rating: ★★

Future Sports

Director: Dzhanik Fayziev
Actors: Evgeny Romantsov, Viktoriya Aglakova, Evgeniy Mironov, Mariya Lisovaya, …
Category: Science Fiction

Dark Spell (2021)

5 September 20224 August 2023

Rating: ★★★

Love Spell Horror

Director: Svyatoslav Podgaevsky
Actors: Yana Enzhaeva, Konstantin Beloshapka, Ilya Ermolov, Varvara Borodina, …
Category: Horror

The Darkest Hour (2011)

20 January 201229 October 2021

Rating: ★★

Alien Invasion

Director: Chris Gorak
Actors: Emile Hirsch, Max Minghella, Olivia Thirlby, Rachael Taylor, …
Category: Science Fiction

Day Watch (2006)

17 August 200710 July 2023

Rating: ★★★

Night Watch Sequel/Supernatural War

Director: Timur Bekmambetov
Actors: Konstantin Khabensky, Mariya Poroshina, Galina Tyunina, Viktor Verzhbitzky, …
Category: Horror

The Dyatlov Pass Incident (2013)

29 August 202312 June 2024

Rating: ★★

Unexplained Mystery/Found Footage

Director: Renny Harlin
Actors: Holly Goss, Matt Stokoe, Luke Albright, Ryan Hawley, …
Category: Horror, Science Fiction

Faust (2011)

27 December 201312 November 2020

Rating: ★★★★

Pact with the Devil

Director: Alexander Sokurov
Actors: Johannes Zeiler, Anton Adasinsky, Isolda Dychauk, Georg Friedrich, …
Category: Fantasy

First on the Moon (2005)

21 March 201315 December 2020

Rating: ★★½

Soviet Moon Landing Mockumentary

Director: Aleksey Fedorchenko
Category: Science Fiction

Gogol: The Beginning (2017)

25 January 202310 July 2023

Rating: ★★½

Occult Investigator

Director: Egor Baranov
Actors: Alexander Petrov, Oleg Menshikov, Yevgeny Stychkin, Taisiya Vilkova, …
Category: Horror

Guardians (2017)

9 November 20229 November 2022

Rating: ★★★

Russian Superhero Film

Director: Sarik Andreasayan
Actors: Anton Pampushnyy, Sanjar Madi, Sebastien Sisak Grigoryan, Alina Lanina, …
Category: Science Fiction

Hard to Be a God (1989)

4 March 201530 June 2021

Rating: ★★★

Human Observers on a Barbarous Alien World

Director: Peter Fleischmann
Actors: Edward Zentara, Werner Herzog
Category: Science Fiction

Hard to Be a God (2013)

5 April 20157 October 2024

Rating: ★★

Human Observers on a Barbarous Alien World

Director: Alexei German
Actors: Leonid Yarmolnik, Aleksandr Chutko, Evgeny Gerchakov, Aleksandr Ilin, …
Category: Science Fiction

Hardcore Henry (2015)

16 April 201610 July 2023

Rating: ★★★½

Cyborg/First Person Action Film

Director: Ilya Naishuller
Actors: Sharlto Copley, Danila Kozlovsky, Haley Bennett, Tim Roth
Category: Science Fiction

The Hyperboloid of Engineer Garin (1965)

10 July 201420 January 2025

Rating: ★★★

Soviet Science-Fiction/Death Ray Invention

Director: Alexander Gintsburg
Category: Science Fiction

The Ice Demon (2021)

19 December 202219 December 2022

Rating: ★★★

Possessed Coma Patient

Director: Ivan Kapitonov
Actors: Alina Babak, Olga Lomonosova, Aleksey Rozin, Gleb Kalyuzhnyy, …
Category: Horror

Inhabited Island (2008)

21 September 201119 December 2023

Rating: ★★

Russian Science Fiction/Dystopian Planet

Director: Fyodor Bondarchuk
Actors: Vasiliy Stepanov, Yuliya Snigir, Pyotor Fyodorov, Aleksey Serebryakov, …
Category: Science Fiction

Iron Mask (2019)

19 December 202021 January 2021

Rating: ★★

Historical Fantasy

Director: Oleg Stepchenko
Actors: Jason Flemyng, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jackie Chan, Yao Xingtong, …
Category: Fantasy

The Kingdom of Crooked Mirrors (1963)

17 May 2023

Rating: ★★

Soviet Cinema/Fantasy World Through the Mirror

Director: Alexander Rou
Category: Fantasy

Letters from a Dead Man (1986)

7 August 200314 August 2024

Rating: ★★★★

The Nuclear Holocaust – The Russian Perspective

Director: Konstantin Lopuchansky
Category: Science Fiction

Moon Rainbow (1983)

19 May 201610 January 2025

Rating: ★

Soviet SF/Mysterious Alien Zone

Director: Andrei Yermash
Category: Science Fiction

Moscow-Cassiopeia (1973)

24 July 201916 June 2021

Rating: ★★½

Soviet Science-Fiction/Space Expedition

Director: Richard Viktorov
Category: Science Fiction

Night Watch (2004)

27 January 200615 December 2021

Rating: ★★★★

Supernatural War

Director: Timur Bekmambetov
Actors: Konstantin Khabensky, Vladimir Menshov, Mariya Poroshina, Galina Tyunina, …
Category: Horror

The Ninth (2019)

18 April 20215 September 2022

Rating: ★★★

Occult Murders in 19th Century St Petersburg

Director: Nikolay Khomeriki
Actors: Evgeniy Tsyganov, Daisy Head, Dmitriy Lysenkov, Yuri Kolokolnikov, …
Category: Horror

Per Aspera Ad Astra (1981)

17 March 201316 June 2021

Rating: ★★

Soviet Science-Fiction/Female Alien Visitor

Director: Richard Viktorov
Category: Science Fiction

Project Gemini (2022)

22 November 20223 June 2025

Rating: ★★

Space Expedition Gets Lost

Director: Serik Beyseu
Actors: Egor Koreshkov, Alyona Konstantinova, Konstantin Samoukov, Nikita Dubanov, …
Category: Science Fiction

The Red Tent (1969)

23 April 201526 December 2022

Rating: ★★★½

Ill-Fated Expedition to the North Pole/Ghosts of the Dead

Director: Mickail K. Kalotozov
Actors: Sean Connery, Peter Finch, Claudia Cardinale, Hardy Kruger, …
Category: Fantasy

Resurrected (2023)

10 December 202310 December 2023

Rating: ★★½

Resurrection Process

Director: Egor Baranov
Actors: Dave Davis, Karli Hall, Erika Chase, Kristen Ariza, …
Category: Horror

Row 19 (2021)

8 August 20238 August 2023

Rating: ★★★

Haunted Plane Flight

Director: Alexander Babaev
Actors: Svetlana Ivanova, Wolfgang Cerny, Marta Timofeeva, Irina Egorova, …
Category: Horror

Russian Ark (2002)

9 October 20038 November 2024

Rating: ★★★★

Walk Through Russian History/Temporal Disjunctions

Director: Alexander Sokurov
Actors: Sergei Dreiden
Category: Fantasy

Side Effect (2020)

8 August 2023

Rating: ★★

Witch’s Spell

Director: Alexey Kazakov
Actors: Semyon Serzin, Marina Vasileva, Aleksandra Revenko, Anatoliy Zhuravlyov, …
Category: Horror

Solaris (1972)

14 June 200225 May 2023

Rating: ★★★★★

Enigmatic Alien Planet/Ghosts of Memory

Director: Andrei Tarkovsky
Actors: Donatas Banionis, Natalya Bondarchuk
Category: Science Fiction

Sputnik (2020)

22 August 202022 August 2020

Rating: ★★★½

Cosmonaut Returns Infected by a Parasitic Alien Organism

Director: Egor Abramenko
Actors: Oksana Akinshina, Fyodor Bondarchuk, Pyotr Fyodorov, Anton Vasilev, …
Category: Science Fiction

Stalker (1979)

7 October 202424 June 2025

Rating: ★★★★★

Alien Affected Zone

Director: Andrei Tarkovsky
Actors: Aleksandr Kaydanovskiy, Anatoliy Solonitsyn, Nikolay Grinko, Alisa Freyndlikh, …
Category: Science Fiction

Storm Planet (1962)

5 October 20215 October 2021

Rating: ★★★

Soviet SF Film/Expedition to Venus

Director: Pavel Klushantsev
Category: Science Fiction

The Superdeep (2020)

13 February 202216 July 2022

Rating: ★★★½

Monster in the Depths

Director: Arseny Sukhin
Actors: Milena Radulovic, Sergey Ivanyuk, Nikolay Kovbas, Vadim Demchog, …
Category: Science Fiction, Horror

Target (2011)

15 October 201128 September 2020

Rating: ★★½

Russian Science Fiction Film/Rejuvenation Process

Director: Alexandr Zeldovich
Actors: Maksim Sukhanov, Vitaly Kishchenko, Justine Waddell, Danila Koslovskiy, …
Category: Science Fiction

The Ugly Duckling (2010)

14 July 201527 April 2023

Rating: ★★★

Claymation/Fairytale

Director: Garri Bardin
Category: Fantasy

Viy (1967)

28 January 201322 May 2023

Rating: ★★★

Soviet Horror Film/Monk Fights the Forces of Hell

Director: G. Kropachyov, K. Yershov
Category: Horror

Viy (2014)

24 January 201819 December 2020

Rating: ★★

Russian Gothic

Director: Oleg Stepchenko
Actors: Jason Flemyng, Yuriy Tsurilo, Andrey Smolyakov, Aleksey Chadov, …
Category: Horror

Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women (1968)

20 March 20094 June 2025

Rating: ★★

Expedition to Venus/Russian SF Film

Director: Derek Thomas, Peter Bogdanovich
Actors: Mamie Van Doren, Peter Bogdanovich
Category: Science Fiction

Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet (1965)

21 April 200816 June 2021

Rating: ★★½

Expedition to Venus/Russian SF Film

Director: Curtis Harrington
Actors: Faith Domergue, Basil Rathbone
Category: Science Fiction

The Widow (2020)

13 December 202119 December 2022

Rating: ★★★

Woods Haunted by a Witch

Director: Ivan Minin
Actors: Viktoria Potemina, Anastasiya Gribova, Margarita Bychkova, Ilya Agapov, …
Category: Horror

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Contact Moria

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Theme Essays

  • Films About Atlantis
  • Werewolf Films
  • Virtual Reality
  • Imprisonment Thrillers
  • Films Depicting NASA and the Space Program
  • Human Bloodsports and Death Games
  • Animals Attack Films
  • Films About Plague and Pandemic
  • Disaster Movies
  • Steampunk Films
  • Documentaries
  • Films About Halloween
  • Films About Prophecy
  • Magicians and Sorcerers
  • Secret Societies
  • Real-Life People in Fiction
  • Techno-Thrillers
  • Twins in Fantastic Cinema
  • Asylums
  • Possession Films
  • Films About Imaginary and Magical Lands
  • Religion in Fantastic Cinema
  • Romantic Comedies
  • Film Noir
  • Spy Films
  • Jekyll and Hyde Films
  • Films That Make Dubious Claims to Being True Stories
  • Coming of Age Stories in Fantastic Cinema
  • Films About Cryogenics and Suspended Animation
  • Alternate History Films
  • Disturbed Psychology as Portrayed on Film
  • Law Enforcement in Fantastic Cinema
  • Weird Westerns
∧

Copyright Richard Scheib 1999-2025

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