Amulet (found Nikolai Rasheev horror film; 1991)
This article has been tagged as NSFL due to its content that viewers might find disturbing.
Amulet (Russian: Оберег; Ukrainian: Оберіг) is a 1991 Soviet horror film directed by Nikolai Rasheev and produced by Dovzhenko Film Studio in association with Heta and TV Production Department Nerv. Based on the novel by Vladimir Drozd "The Lone Wolf". The film tells the story about two brothers from Poliske village who move to Kyiv for a better life. However, after the first mysterious death, his business continued by a second one. But along the way he turns into real vampire.
History
In 1990 Soviet and Ukrainian film director Nikolai Rasheev who's best known for the comedy musical film Bumbarash, adventure film Vertical and the comedy film Hare's Reserve takes over the production of Amulet. Unlike his previous films, Amulet wasn't a comedy film. It was a horror film with a socialist raid and absurd share. The film was not only last in Nikolai Rasheev's filmography but also a masterpiece that could get a cult classic film status. Amulet was shot for a long time and money for his production was sought even longer. The filming of opening scene was conducted in Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. A big part of the scenes was filmed in protests for Ukraine and Lithuania's independence and freedom from communism during the years of USSR's collapse. At the beginning of the film's production TV Production Department Nerv was the 1st sponsor. It was possible to film only part of duration and later Nerv stopped production. Then, another company Heta appeared with which the film's production was also stopped. When the film was fully finished it wasn't theatrically released. It was screened in several film clubs and at night in UT-1/First National Channel of Ukraine's TV broadcast.
Last Screenings
After the presentation of Nikolai Rasheev's book about his filmography, the film was shown on the 6th floor of the National Oleksandr Dovzhenko Film Centre on July 7th, 2021. On October 10th, 2021 the film was shown in the Ukrainian film club Oldschool as part of little known Ukrainian films' program Unknown 90s. After Nikolai Rasheev's death Ukrainian theatre Kino42 in association with Dovzhenko Film Centre showed the film as part of the rare Ukrainian films' cycle Strange, Bizarre, Fantastic on July 8th, 2022 and at International Short Film Festival "4:3" in Ivano-Frankivsk on September 16th, 2022. The last known screening of Amulet was on October 5th, 2022 at Worm in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Availability
On May 26th, 2023 the film was found by From Outer Space in association with Russian Lost Media Wiki's Discord server and uploaded to VK.
Gallery
Footage
Images
A still from the film.
Another still from the film.
Another still from the film.
Another still from the film.
Another still from the film.
Another still from the film.
Another still from the film.
