Stray

As I sat down to watch the 2019 Russian horror movie "Tvar" (aka "Stray") here late in 2022, I had never heard about the movie, so I didn't know what I was in for here. But being a horror aficionado, of course I opted to sit down and watch what director Olga Gorodetskaya had to offer. The storyline, as written by Olga Gorodetskaya, Maria Kabanova and Anna Starobinets, definitely had a good foundation and concept idea. However, the transition from script to screen made for a somewhat mediocre and bland horror experience. There was so much potential for something grand here. But when the movie came to the end, I have to admit that I was left with a sense of 'was that really it?' and also of somewhat having wasted 90 minutes on something mediocre. The acting performances in "Tvar" were good. Needless to say that I wasn't familiar with the cast ensemble in the movie, as I have only watched so many Russian movies. But the actors and actresses carried the movie quite well. Child actor Sevastian Bugaev (playing the Stray) was definitely nicely cast as he was able to put on some genuinely disturbing performances when needed. Visually then "Tvar" is somewhat of a mixed bag of nuts. Some of the special effects look good and definitely added a layer to the movie that helped carry the movie, and then there were effects that were questionable and dubious, such as the CGI animated kid. For a horror movie then director Olga Gorodetskaya didn't bring anything new or overly thrilling or scary to the genre. "Tvar" is a watchable enough movie, at least for a single viewing, but that is also about what there is to it. My rating of "Tvar" lands on a five out of ten stars.

Directing and cinematography were on point. Acting was fine. Screenplay could have used a bit of work. Not sure why the little boy had the wig on for most of the film. Kid is creepy. The CGI of the boy was really unnecessary and actually took away from the film.

Stray is about a beautiful young orphan who in a sad Russian orphanage who gets adopted by a lovely couple, Polina and Igor, who recently lost their birth son. The adopted son is named Vanya and also known as Stray. As the story unfolds, and his scars heal, Vanya brings much joy and love to the lives of his newly adopted parents. His dad brings him to the park to play with local children and, even though Vanya is still adjusting, he does a fabulous job integrating with the group and shows his natural leadership instincts. Vanya is very kind and talented and everyone wants to be his friend. He is able to help others overcome their troubles because he has learned how to overcome his own. This is an important movie about being open to new beginnings and learning to love the imperfect. In the end Vanya teaches his new parents important lessons in good decision making, while he also learns important life lessons in becoming a social butterfly. Everyone needs a boy like Vanya in their life! He brings so much joy and love to everyone around him and is a gift from God.

This type if horror is sensible, and a resolution is presented at the end of the film. A welcome entry, as opposed to a killer/spirit killing for no specific reason. The only knock was the film didn't have English audio. Cool concept.