Baba Yaga: Terror of the Dark Forest Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.0

Baba Yaga: Terror of the Dark Forest Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf October 4, 2020

Baba Yaga is commonly identified as a Slavic witch determined to haunt those daring to cross its path. The creature has been utilized as a threat in numerous features and makes a return to levels of menace with the Russian production, “Baba Yaga: Terror of the Dark Forest.” Director Svyatoslav Podgaevskiy (“Mermaid: Lake of the Dead”) appears eager to provide a scary movie, keeping the endeavor stylish and loaded with shadowy encounters. However, it’s difficult to tell just what demographic he’s looking to horrify, as the film follows the adventures of pre-teens, making “Baba Yaga: Terror of the Dark Forest” perhaps too graphic for young audiences, while older viewers will likely be left completely underwhelmed by the formulaic effort.

Mourning the loss of his mother, Egor (Oleg Chugunov) resents his stepmother and baby half-sister, with his father, Alexey (Aleksey Rozin) downplaying his son’s concerns. At school, Egor makes a connection to classmate Dasha (Glafira Golubeva) and bully Anton (Artyom Zhigulin), with the three discovering an old cabin in the woods, home to a stranger who’s had personal contact with the horrors of Baba Yaga. Egor’s experience at home intensifies with the arrival of Tatyana (Svetlana Ustinova), a mysterious nanny with special powers of memory loss, planning to steal the baby.

“Baba Yaga: Terror of the Dark Forest” isn’t “The Goonies,” though it has the potential to be, especially with the mixing of young characters out on a rescue mission, coming into contact with dangerous adults and threatening locations. The production doesn’t aim for a lighthearted romp, striving to be an intimidating creation, pushing Egor and the gang into a nightmare realm where the power of Baba Yaga is more powerful. While parents endure a memory wipe, allowing evil to take control, the kids declare war, taking on Baba Yaga’s darkness, which involves them slipping in and out of different realities, permitting the helmer to stage scenes of shadowy stalking and dreamlike attacks, including an inspired moment where a personality in one of Dasha’s bedroom posters comes to life, attempting to kill her. It’s all a little too “Nightmare on Elm Street”-esque, but that seems to be the idea for “Baba Yaga: Terror of the Dark Forest,” with Podgaevskiy corralling his influences to keep his fright film alert.

Baba Yaga: Terror of the Dark Forest Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (2.39:1 aspect ratio) presentation provides a sharp view of the feature, offering excellent detail with facial particulars, which chart youth, wear and tear, and eventually CGI to bring some avian effects to life. Elements such as repeated use of red yarn is fibrous, along with costuming. Interiors provide a clear appreciation for decorative additions, moving from apartment living to a dingy cabin setting. Exteriors are equally dimensional. Colors are used purposefully by the production, showcasing vivid lighting choices, with pushes of green and blue. Red is dominant throughout. Delineation is acceptable, with dark spaces and evening activity common. Some banding is detected during the viewing experience.

Baba Yaga: Terror of the Dark Forest Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA sound mix (available in Russian, but the default is the English dub) supports the genre intent of "Baba Yaga: Terror of the Dark Forest," offering compelling surround activity and immersive atmospherics, while sound effects enjoy occasional separation and panning movement. Dialogue exchanges are precise, capturing emotionality and surges of fear without distortive extremes. Scoring is supportive with satisfactory instrumentation, ranging from stronger suspense themes to softer accompaniment for tender moments. Low-end offers some weight during attack sequences.

Baba Yaga: Terror of the Dark Forest Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• A Theatrical Trailer (1:57, HD) is included.

Baba Yaga: Terror of the Dark Forest Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There are a few interesting visuals in "Baba Yaga: Terror of the Dark Forest," including a rare chance to see suburban Russia in motion, and there's definitely effort when it comes to design elements, which offer half-bird monsters and a demon made out of red yarn. There's just not enough oomph to the endeavor, which is too reliant on familiar beats of suspense and genre storytelling, taking it easy on challenging ideas to successfully land a run-of- the-mill scary movie.