mmerova Review of Devil's Pass

Devil's Pass (2013)

In Soviet Russia KGB drink vodka, do bad experiment and shoot many people

[1/10 · 9 November 2013]

I'm a big fan of the "found footage" subgenre, and what can be more important in a presumably "real" footage, than believable and natural reactions of the actors? It's a very important factor that makes us immersed into the action on screen. I remember I read that while filming Blair Witch they actually left actors roam in the woods on their own in order to get the most authentic reactions. However, actors in this flick have probably never heard about such thing. Their reactions were fake and unrealistic. Not for one second I was taking this movie seriously. At some moments I was even laughing my head off! Especially when American kids started to shout at unfriendly Russians in a faraway Russian town: "Cold War is over, we're friends now!" How can you take such line seriously? Do the filmmakers seriously consider that an average dweller of a faraway Russian town is concerned about Cold War and being friends with Americans? So, the acting in "Dee-yatlov's Pass" was horrendous. What about the story? It's based on a famous incident that really took place, where a group of Soviet students went hiking to the snow-covered mountains never to be seen alive again. It's one of the greatest mysteries of the XX century, and according to this movie the group didn't return because of... secret experiment. Of course! What else? From the point when American kids discover a secret base in the mountains I couldn't stop laughing. It got to a B movie level and below with mutants in the dark, and evil KGB trying to get rid of survivors. The twist ending was so shockingly obvious that I saw it coming a mile ahead. The only redeeming factor of this movie was probably how funny it was. If you want to gather friends to watch a "so bad it's good" movie, then "Dee-yatlov's Pass" is a way to go. For everyone else - stay away!