The Savage Hunt of King Stakh, on OVID.tv

Marsh Firs is sort of like a Belarusian Baskerville Manor. About 200 years ago, Nadzieja Janowska’s ancestor killed the so-called King Stakh, a powerful, but ironically reformist landowner. Ever since then, King Stakh has cursed the Janowska family line, somehow causing a steady stream of unnatural deaths and haunting the grounds with his spectral hunting party. A modern thinking folklorist like Bielarecki does not believe in ghosts, but he cannot deny something evil plagues the estate in Valeri Rubinchik’s restored The Savage Hunt of King Stakh, which premieres today on OVID.tv.

Marsh Firs has quite a history. In addition to King Stakh’s hunt, there is also the “Little Man,” whose appearance foretells death to those who see him, and the Woman in Blue, the ghost of a witch killed something like 800 years ago. Janowska believes in them all, but her estate manager Gacievic only gives credence to the wild hunt, but that is more than enough.

Janowska’s uncle and executor Dubotowk is less than thrilled she is hosting Bielarecki, after he took shelter there one proverbial dark and stormy night. Dubotowk’s ward Vardna is even less so. Perhaps not so coincidentally, they are also the ones who stand to inherit Marsh Firs should anything happen to her—and fatal misfortune has a habit of befalling the Janowskas.

Savage Hunt has been billed as folk horror, which is not unreasonable, since it revolves around a ghostly “wild hunt” motif. The look and atmosphere also harken back to the original Russian folky horror film, Viy. Yet, despite the dreamy tone, Rubinchik maintains a lot of ambiguity as to just how supernatural it really is. Regardless, he leans heavily into the gothic trappings.

This is the sort of film in which cast-members must either be excessively overheated or coldly reserved. However, Boris Plotnikov manages to appear simultaneously cerebral and freaked out as Bielarecki. Albert Filozov plays Gacievic with a slipperiness that is hard to pin down, while Vladimir Fyodorov is surprisingly poignant as the surprise character revealed in the third act.

Watching Savage Hunt while suffering from a high fever would be a freaky experience. However, when seen with perfect clarity of mind, the pacing issues and narrative inconsistencies inevitably stand out. This is certainly a fascinating film that displays a great deal of dark gothic style, but it does not quite rank as a masterpiece of world cinema. Nevertheless, the way it plants its flag at the intersection of gothic and folk horror will grab many genre fans—for whom it is recommended. It starts streaming today (12/10) on OVID.tv.