Better Horror: The New "Silent Hill" and Mel Gibson with a Gun

20 years after the premiere of the first part, Silent Hill returns to the screens. The sequel to the horror based on one of the scariest video games was again shot by Christophe Gan. The thriller "Hunting Season" starring Oscar-winner Mel Gibson and the adventure detective "Lefty" starring Yuri Kolokolnikov and Fyodor Fedotov are also being widely released. In addition, the audience will find a story about the unknown pages of the life of the great bard Vladimir Vysotsky in the documentary by Anatoly Balchev and the animated film "The Blockade Diary", which will remind of the feat of the Leningraders on the eve of the anniversary of the complete liberation of the city in 1944. Izvestia — about what to watch in the cinema next weekend.

"Return to Silent Hill", 18+

Directed by Christophe Gan. Starring: Jeremy Irvine, Hannah Emily Anderson, Robert Nairn, Evie Templeton, Pierce Egan, Eve McLean, Emily Carding, Martin Richards, Howard Saddler, Matteo Pasquini

A thriller based on one of the scariest and most popular Silent Hill video games in the genre of psychological horror. 20 years ago, fans already appreciated the first film adaptation of Christophe Gan's "Silent Hill," which grossed about $100 million. The second part in Russia is being released simultaneously with the rest of the world.

The plot of the new picture repeats the plot of the second part of the game. One day, in a drunken stupor, the artist James Sunderland, who is experiencing a difficult separation from his beloved Mary Crane, finds a letter from her under his door. A mysterious message leads a guy to Silent Hill, where he is not waiting for a happy reunion with a girl, but a real hell. The once familiar city is now shrouded in thick fog, flakes of ash are falling from the sky, and you can meet a mummy there, not a living person. To save Mary, James must try not to go crazy and survive on his own.

Lefty, 12+

Directed by Vladimir Besedin. Starring: Yuri Kolokolnikov, Fedor Fedotov, Leonela Manturova, Jan Tsapnik, Alexey Guskov, Artur Ivanov, Alexander Chevychelov, Nikolai Evstafyev, Alexander Ivanov, Semyon Nefedov

Russia, the end of the 19th century. Nikolai Semyonovich Surin lives near Tula, he is a Lefty who once became famous for shoeing a flea. Now the hero is forgotten by everyone, and among the neighbors he became known as a drunkard and a parasite.

But Lefty's knowledge is needed by the tsarist secret police. So he goes to St. Petersburg straight to Emperor Alexander III. With the help of his extraordinary inventions, Lefty can help catch a dangerous spy from the inner circle of power, who has bred fleas in the palace equipped with listening devices. And a young officer, Peter Ogarev, is assigned to investigate the incident, who dreams of earning the emperor's trust.

"Hunting season", 18+

Directed by Raja Collins. Starring: Mel Gibson, Scarlet Rose Stallone, Jordi Moglia, Sofia Hublitz, Shelly Hennig

In recent years, Mel Gibson has been starring in low-budget independent projects more often than in big commercial blockbusters. Therefore, the thriller "Hunting Season" is a rare opportunity for fans of the Oscar—winning actor to see him on a wide screen.

In the story, Gibson's single father lives in the wilderness with his teenage daughter. One day, on the riverbank, they discover a barely alive young stranger and decide not only to help the victim, but to understand the strange story and find those who tortured the woman. That's how the family gets on the trail of a violent drug lord. Now the father and daughter themselves become his targets.

"Blockade fates", 12+

Directors: Konstantin Biryukov, Mikhail Safronov, Irina Evteeva, Alexandra Agrinskaya, Andrey Bakhurin, Maria Dubrovina, Vasily Vasiliev

January 27 is a holy date for Leningrad and the whole country. On this day in 1944, the city was completely liberated from the Nazi blockade. The animated almanac included eight short stories about the great feat of the Leningraders.

The script was written by Vadim Mikhailov, one of the oldest directors and screenwriters of the Lenfilm studio. As a child, even before the evacuation from Leningrad, he himself came face to face with the cold and hunger of the besieged city, and as an adult, for several years he collected the true stories of the same witnesses of the blockade. Fragments of the diaries are played in voiceover by Elizaveta Boyarskaya and Mikhail Porechenkov.

"Vysotsky. Unknown pages...", 18+

Director: Anatoly Balchev. The film stars Vladimir Vysotsky, Marina Vladi, Lyudmila Abramova, Mikhail Shemyakin, Vasily Mishchenko, Evgeny Tkachuk, Sergey Losev, Maxim Sevrinovsky.

January 25, 2026 will mark the 88th anniversary of Vladimir Vysotsky's birth. Anatoly Balchev's documentary tells about unknown stories from the life of the great poet-rebel, bard and artist. The work has already been seen by the audience in London. "Vysotsky. Unknown Pages..." was shown at the closing of the SIFFA Film Festival. This is a research film that invites you to travel through the pages of Vysotsky's biography in Russia, France, USA, Canada, Italy, Mexico.