Abigail is a 2024 American horror comedy film directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett. The film follows a group of kidnappers who capture the daughter of a powerful underworld figure and demand $50 million for her release, unaware the young girl is actually a vampire. It stars Alisha Weir as Abigail, alongside Melissa Barrera, Dan Stevens, Kathryn Newton, Will Catlett, Kevin Durand, Angus Cloud, and Giancarlo Esposito. This was the last film that Cloud worked on as he died on July 31, 2023, shortly after wrapping his scenes; the film is dedicated to him. (wiki)
“During the Great Patriotic War (World War II), two Soviet partisans, Sotnikov (Boris Plotnikov) and Rybak (Vladimir Gostyukhin) go to a Belarusian village in search of food. After taking a farm animal from the collaborationist headman (Sergei Yakovlev), they head back to their unit, but are spotted by a German patrol. After a protracted gunfight in the snow in which one of the Germans is killed, the two men get away, but Sotnikov is shot in the leg. Rybak has to take him to the nearest shelter, the home of Demchikha (Lyudmila Polyakova), the mother of three young children. However, they are discovered and captured.” (wiki)
“Larisa Shepitko’s emotionally overwhelming final film [completed two years before her untimely death at 41 in a car crash] won the Golden Bear at the 1977 Berlin Film Festival and has been hailed around the world as the finest Soviet film of its decade. Set during World War II’s darkest days, The Ascent follows the path of two peasant soldiers, cut off from their troop, who trudge through the snowy backwoods of Belarus seeking refuge among villagers. Their harrowing trek leads them on a journey of betrayal, heroism, and ultimate transcendence.” —Janus Films
Eric Ortiz Garcia of Screen Anarchy wrote that the film “finds its power reflecting the brutal level of stress inherent in this profession… Sauvaire makes his mission explicit: to raise awareness about those paramedics who are completely overwhelmed. That’s something the filmmaker achieves.” Tori Brazier of Metro wrote, “Black Flies is a grim tale, and not a recommended watch for the more delicate cinema fan, but its message and lack of subtlety certainly hit home.” (wiki)