Reflection of Darkness

Reflection of Darkness (Russian: Отражение тьмы, romanized: Otrazhenie tmy) in 2024 Russian erotic horror film directed by Serik Beyseu.^[3]

Reflection of Darkness
Theatrical release poster
Russian: Отражение тьмы
Directed by	Serik Beiseu
Written by	Dmitry Zhigalov Oleg Kurochkin
Produced by	Irina Kalinina Aleksandr Kurinsky Nikolai Tabashnikov Vladimir Denisyuk Aleksandr Denisyuk Yevgeny Melentiev Viktor Denisyuk Dmitry Sushchenko Aleksandr Boguslavsky Paul Thompstone
Starring	Angelina Pakhomova Viktor Mikhailov Polina Davydova Anton Rival Polina Vorobyova Pierre Bourel Nino Ninidze Arthur Beschastny
Cinematography	Anton Zenkovich
Edited by	Artemy Shevchenko
Music by	Konstantin Poznekov Sergey Lebedev
Production companies	KD Studios Logistic Star Production
Distributed by	National Media Group Film Distribution
Release date	April 11, 2024 (2024-04-11)
Running time	96 minutes
Country	Russia
Languages	English, Russian
Budget	130 million rubles[1]
Box office	$182 149[2]

Plot

Four young couples go to a private island to participate in a training retreat that promises to strengthen their relationships. The main character, Stacey, goes there not only to improve her relationship with her boyfriend Andy, but also with a secret goal — to find her sister, who disappeared on this island.

During meditation practices during the retreat, the heroes encounter an ancient demon — a succubus, who feeds on the life energy of people, taking on someone else's appearance and provoking victims to show the worst qualities and base passions, to commit terrible acts.

The confrontation with the succubus becomes for the heroes not only a fight for survival, but also a test of the strength of beliefs and moral principles.

Cast

• Angelina Pakhomova as Stacey
• Viktor Mikhailov as Andy, Stacey's boyfriend
• Polina Davydova as Olivia
• Anton Rival as Michael, Olivia's boyfriend
• Polina Vorobyova as Kate
• Pierre Bourel as Nick, Kate's boyfriend
• Nino Ninidze [ru] as Jin
• Arthur Beschastny as Javier, Jin's boyfriend
• Ksenia Pikalova as Elishva
• Vasily Evseev as Succubus

Reception

Critical response

Dmitry Bortnikov (RussoRosso [ru]) noted that^[4]:

Reflection of Darkness is a fairy tale for adults, which has become a story of healing and self-discovery. The authors slowly and skillfully introduce viewers to the situation, scare them and rely not only on high-quality special effects. This is a real journey inside yourself, encounters with demons and thoughts that we usually try to hide not only from everyone, but also from ourselves.

.

Irish film critic James McDonald rated the film only 1.5 stars out of 5.^[5]

The film was shot under the working title "Succubus", which attracted attention and became the cause of a scandal — Metropolitan Pavel of Khanty-Mansiysk and Surgut [ru] accused the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug government of corrupting youth and ineffective use of budget funds, to which the administration stated that the filming was not financed from the budget, and the local television company was renting out the equipment for filming. The creators of the film issued an official statement that the film is not a glorification of the Succubus (the devil in female guise) and the plot is based on "domestic and world cultural and moral tradition", the origins of which originate in the Christian religion, but changed the name of the film to the neutral "Reflection of Darkness".^[6]