A major horror flop: Nevesta (The Bride)

I recently did a one minute film and its genre was horror. In the beginning, I was ready to say, “Wow, I think I‘ll learn a lot about making horror… horror. A proper horror.” Then a few minutes in… and it was pure disappointment.

Nevesta (The Bride), directed by Svyatoslav Podgayevskiy was supposed to be about a family’s daunting past: A resurrection ritual went wrong that then had serious consequences as they try to live with it later on. This initial premise was good right? I liked it too. As I said earlier, the beginning was great. The most important information was established nicely, the narration, the pacing, and editing were perfectly done, and the most consistent throughout the entire movie would be the sound design. I had high expectations.

But then came the rest of the film. Most of the actors were doing great. I had lots of problems with the main protagonist, though (Viktoriya Agalakova as Nastya). She just seemed more creepy to me than the actual “monster”, for lack of better words. Director Podgayevskiy, instead of setting up a protagonist I can attach myself with, gave me someone who annoyed the hell out of me and had no clear reasons as to why she does what she does. Additionally, the dialogue for a lot of the characters was more than horrible. There were lots of scenes where Nastya sneaks up and overhears the other characters conversing, and the dialogue does not match up to the later scenes. Again, bad directing. The plot as well had a fantasy-feel to it with tons of questionable flashbacks. Running at almost 96 minutes, Nevesta (The Bride) was dragged with a lot of confusing, other times useless, scenes.

I haven’t watched enough horror films for me to properly formulate an opinion about how they could have made it better. But I have watched tons of narrative films and this one goes right down the list. In memory of that good opening, it’s a 3 / 10 for me.

Zeraly Saromines is an aspiring filmmaker and film critic who, through her blogs, helps viewers decide whether to watch a certain movie or show or geek out with other passionate viewers. Her blogs provide her own perspective and opinions whether it be about your favorite superhero, International shows, and Filipino rom-com and the classics — anything that movies and tv shows have to offer. However, she is especially obsessed with finding stories that hint at the harsh realities of life, explore the realms of magic and science, and those that offer new perspectives from underrepresented groups. By challenging her thoughts constantly and striving to be set apart from other critics, she writes her blogs in a much personal way that enables her to engage with her readers. In addition to this, her past experience as an international student provides different outlooks and perspectives on culture and life that again reflect on the content of her blogs.