QUEEN OF SPADES: The Dark Rite

A group of teenagers tell each other scary stories and folk tales, including the story of the Queen of Spades who, when summoned via the drawing of a door and a set of steps on a mirror, will come and cut the hair of the children in a creepy, floaty, up-to-no-good sort of way.Of course, they have a crack at it, and all manner of scary stuff ensues.What a cracker!I’ve never watched any Russian horror before but this was exceptional. A couple of really good jump-scares and the language (although completely unknown to me, I was watching with the subtitles on) was beautiful.Rather a lot of flashing lights, though. Could be tricky for epileptic viewers.

If you have watched all the US/UK horrors on Prime and are trolling through another list of bad, 'found footage' flicks then try this. Not loads of dialogue so even if you hate the sub's it will be fine. As horrors go this is a solid 4 star, (for me). Good acting and though slightly cleched 'bloody maryesque' its done well. If you are on prime and you can't find a horror because you have watched all the good ones and you now have watched the 'bad ben' trilogy, do yourself a favour and watch it. Not many cheap jump scares, good acting and narrative. I bet the UK/US version will be awful. Or was that bloody mary?

Although fairly derivative of Hollywood movies of this style, this Russian production is every bit as good. Tight story with plenty of suspense. Not really a horror, as it wasn't that scary, but intense. Subtitles were manageable as the dialogue is limited and fairly slow paced. Nice atmospherics due to the bleak scenery. Well worth the effort.

A great movie

The fact that this film is in Russian did not detract from my enjoyment of it. After all, I had previously enjoyed Under the Shadow, an Iranian film in Farsi, about a djinn. Characterization is good and the suspense builds nicely, with unnerving shots such as the suggestion of movement behind the curtain that has been placed over the mirror. The plot about a supernatural female entity who comes into this world through mirrors is evocative of the American game children's game Bloody Mary, but in fact has a long and distinguished lineage going back to Lilith. The title Queen of Spades draws on the original film of that name which in turn is based on a short story by Pushkin about a Russian aristocratic woman who makes a pact with the Devil to win at cards, but in this film the plot is reinvented to make her a child killer. So, for those tired of supernatural films with spoiled, whiny American teenagers, this is definitely a watch.

Don't be put off by the official write up which to me made it sound like typical teen horror nonsense. More atmospheric and better acted than I expected.

This is the movie that Veronica pretended to be.Possession, mirrors, exorcisms, tragedy and courage.Well-made and with high quality acting.

good