Evil is everywhere. In small acts and large, the human capacity for darkness and depravity is depthless as the sea. Every time we believe ourselves to have comprehended it, a new twist is revealed and we’re reminded that any one of us, at any time, regardless of appearance, is capable of acts the likes of which most others could never conceive.
Occasionally, such dark strokes are used as a defense mechanism to protect ourselves from others who wish us harm. Usually, though, it’s as simple as revenge. It almost doesn’t matter what for—just a means of getting even against a perceived wrong done to someone by someone else—whether they know it or not. Most serial killers are this way, for the pettiest reasons imaginable, and yet we remain fascinated with them to the point of having created multiple genres of information consumption and entertainment designed around understanding the minds of villains real and imagined who have extraordinary bloodlust.
While there is nothing wrong with enjoying either form of media—and in fact much to show for using it as therapeutic space for exorcising our fears and anxieties—it sometimes feels necessary that something should come along and remind us that this is still a very real matter worth taking seriously, that happens to real people every day. Some of our favorite horror films are based on or inspired by highly societally traumatic events. Done well, they can leave you feeling haunted despite your enjoyment.
Writer/director Lado Kvataniya’s THE EXECUTION, written with Olga Gorodetskaya, is one such attempt to examine the many layers of evil of which any level of humanity is capable, based on the case of one of Russia’s most wanted serial killers, who was active for a decade and, when caught, nearly impossible to prove responsible. As a result, the lead detective on the case, Issa Davydov (Niko Tavadze), and his partner Sevastyanov (Evgeniy Tkachuk) are driven to the brink of madness trying to deliver results to their higher ups and a very distraught court of public opinion. Consumed with the need to stop a monster at large, Issa’s personal relationships begin to suffer, and the lines between crime and punishment, violence and preventative action become so blurred we’re thrown into a deep well of psychological torture so all-encompassing that no character comes away unscathed. Other standout performances also come from Daniil Spivakovskiy as the near-tragic Miron, and Evgeny Muravich as the pathetically haunting Valita, and it all comes together in a twisted puzzle that, while at times can feel a bit overlong, is a stark image of how devastating the effects of human depravity can be for communities and individuals alike.
The murders are not the only twisted acts at play here, however. THE EXECUTION is just as much a look at darkness on an individual level as it is a condemnation of the forces that played a part in letting this particular killer thrive under the radar for so long. How far do you need to be pushed before letting your own darkness out, rationalized away or hidden under the guise of madness?
No one in THE EXECUTION is completely blameless. Everyone is capable, and culpable, when the right switch is flipped.
THE EXECUTION is now available on VOD.
Tags: Daniil Spivakovskiy, Evgeniy Tkachuk, Evgeny Muravich, Lado Kvataniya, Niko Tavadze, Olga Gorodetskaya, The Execution
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