- by Graham Holton
- The Guardian
- Issue #2201
Fear Before the Fall: Horror Films in the Late Soviet Union by Alexander Herbert (2023) is a fascinating study of how Soviet filmmakers channelled societal anxieties through horror before the collapse of the Soviet Union. Each chapter covers a film breaking down narrative, context, and impact.
There are few English-language books devoted exclusively to Soviet horror cinema, making this a valuable introduction to a neglected area of international film history.
The four films analysed are placed within the late Soviet’s political and cultural atmosphere showing why supernatural and horrific themes emerged when they did. Herbert discusses the symbolism and social meanings embedded within each film.
The era leading up to 1991 has a surprising number of horror movies. The common assumption has been that the Soviet Union only began producing horror films in 1967 with Viy, which is based on a short story by Nikolai Gogol.
Soviet horror draw upon Slavic folklore and mythology as well as themes of alienation, nationalism, ecological disasters, scientific experimentation, nuclear fears, bureaucracy, folklore, generational tensions, and the uncertainty surrounding the final years of the USSR. Soviet horror reflects psychological unease.
Fear Before the Fall challenges the common Cold War assumption that socialist societies either suppressed horror or produced only propaganda. Herbert shows that horror was a vehicle through which filmmakers explored the contradictions within late Soviet society. His analysis invites questions about how genre cinema reflects periods of social and political transition, including the tensions associated with the reforms of the 1980s and the decline of the Soviet system.
Drawing on substantial research, Herbert avoids the curly theoretical writing style of much film academia, making the book accessible for film buffs of all sorts. Fear Before the Fall is highly rewarding, introducing the reader to some great film.
Fear Before the Fall is an engaging, informative, and a pioneering study that opens an overlooked area of film history. Its greatest achievement is showing that Soviet horror possessed its own distinctive identity and did not imitate Hollywood horror films. It fills a significant gap in English-language books on Soviet popular culture. Well worth reading and highly recommended.
5 out of 5 (red) stars
Soviet horror, including the classic Viy can be found on YouTube by searching for ‘Mosfilms’ J
