Gogol. The beginning

Year of release : 2017

 

Language : Russian

 

Run time : 1h47min

 

Genre : Mystery / Adventure / Horror

 

Cast : Aleksandr Petrov

 

 

Gogol The beginning is the first installment in a series of 8 movies based loosely on the collection of works "Evenings on a farm in Dikanka",of the Russian writer Gogol.

 

This movie sets the stage and gets us familiar with the world setup,a world with witches serving a dark knight with horns growing at his back and without a face, who kills young girls.

 

Gogol is working for the police and is a great asset as he has visions of the murders and how they happened.

A lake nymph falls for him(they are ghosts and reveal themselves only to who they wish) but his heart is set on a married woman.

 

Although, a horror movie, it had its funny moments, most of them deriving from Gogol's awkwardness and the ones around him,like for example,towards the beginning of the movie,he's in a carriage with his superior,and he seems to be sleeping the whole ride to this village.Whenever he wakes up,in a funny way, he sees his superior eating something.Later on,his superior says something along the lines of 'there's nothing to eat here,I didn't eat anything all day' although most of the time we see him,he's  eating.

 

Gogol seems to always be fainting,having visions,and when he doesn't,he has these scary dreams which also seem visions.

 

I loved the world they created, the places they filmed in, the village they built,the palaces they filmed in with great architecture,the costumes...the make-up is good,although most of the actors seem so pale,like vampires. The world they live in seems haunted,it has this eerie vibe just like in Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow.

 

The visual effects are amazing!

 

The actors are all great, they all give 100%. Sasha Petrov is a chameleon,I've seen him in quite a few movies,and he's one of my favorites ,he is such a talented actor,I love how he completely becomes the character with its quirks and all ! In this movie although he was made to look like Gogol,he reminded me of Edgar A.Poe,and also of Ichabod Crane in Sleepy Hollow,the Tim Burton version !

 

The soundtrack was also good.

 

The movie is a feast for eyes,it has beautiful actors ( especially the two leading ladies),beautiful settings,and a great story which pulls you in.

The movie is  unsuitable for kids,as it has scenes of violence and gore,and nude scenes,it is rated 18+.

 

The movie is streaming on Apple iTunes, Amazon Video, Orange VOD, Microsoft Store,YouTube.

 

Rating : It's so money !