TV Review: Red Iron Road (2022)

Red Iron Road An Animated Horror Anthology (2022) created by Aljosha Klimov and Iouri Stepanov

This anthology of animated horror shorts is based on several short stories by European authors.

VRDLK: Family of Vurdulak--Based on a story by Tolstoy, a wealthy and arrogant traveler in 1777 Serbia decides not to wait out a snowstorm when some monks beg him to seek shelter in their monastery for the night. He continues on through the forest until he comes to a cabin in the woods. That family also begs him to stay and he is initially reluctant. Then he sees the father's sister, a very attractive woman. But the family is barring the house for the night since their grandfather has not returned from his trip to the mountain. He gave specific instructions not to be allowed in if he doesn't come before the monastery bells chime eight. They do chime eight and then Grandpa shows up at the door demanding entry. Of course the traveler thinks they are superstitious nutcases but the father is very serious about defending the family from what has become of their patriarch. The show does a fine job representing the modern skepticism of the traveler, who turns out to be wrong many times but does not learn from his mistakes.

The Forest King--Based on a poem by Zuhkovsky, the tale is set in a not-too-distant future where virtual reality games are all kids want to play. A man's son is stuck in one called "The Forest King," which is really malware designed to take the consciousness of users and upload them to use as NPCs. The dad is desperate to detach the VR visor and headset but the dystopian society requires credits for everything. He's a non-conformist and resists becoming another cog in the socialist machine. That means he cannot easily use the system to his advantage or his son's safety. The story is a bit depressing but interesting. 

The Ratcatcher's Daughter--Based on a story by Alexander Grin, 1920s Petrograd is a dangerous place. In addition to the revolutionaries in the area, the city has an infestation of rats. The rat-catcher's daughter is wandering the streets at dusk and runs into one of the revolutionaries, a charming young man. He spouts his rhetoric at and shares his cigarette with her. The local police show up, trying to force everyone off the streets. When they start beating a small child, she throws her bag of books at the brute. The daughter and the revolutionary flee to an abandoned building. The police follow, forcing them to go into the basement where they discover a rat cult that is planning to massacre her father. She naturally wants to warn him. The revolutionary, who does not have much fortitude, is reluctant but he soldiers on. The story is a bit gory (gorier than the previous) and follows the narrative beats of the VRDLK at little too much.

The Undertaker--Based on a story by A. S. Pushkin, the tale is narrated by a very sarcastic and foul-mouthed individual who claims to have passed the story on to a famous writer. An undertaker starts his career as a grave digger in a small town. He falls in love with the local undertaker's daughter. He becomes an apprentice and marries the girl, which the undertaker is happy for since he just wants to retire. It seems like a happy life is in store, but the undertaker dies immediately, forcing his son-in-law to take over the business. His wife has twins and then dies. The twins grow up learning the family business and they move to a fashionable Moscow district where they don't really fit in. The story moves very quickly. The sarcastic humor suits the cliche of Russian bleakness and did make me laugh a few times. Otherwise, this is just mildly amusing.

Lord--Based on a story by Dmitry Tikhonov, a near-future landscape has been ravaged by global disease, conflict, and pestilence. People are living the "Mad Max" lifestyle, especially a group of men who have captured a "witch" whom they are taking back to their base. The driver of one vehicle is more sympathetic to the woman, thereby drawing the wrath of the "Lord" of the group. After subduing the rebel, the Lord decides to take a short cut through an impassible tunnel which proves to be very difficult. The story goes by very quickly and gets to an odd and unsatisfying ending.

No.8 Reporting--Based on a story by Dmitry Bykov, a future city is surrounded by a security wall. The government only allows special trains to leave the city. Getting tickets is not easy. Some journalists, including a news show personality and a college newspaper reporter, go on the trip to discover the truth about life outside of the walls. The reality turns out to be more horrible than they could imagine, which isn't too surprising given the overall premise of the series. It's another bleak look at what big government can and can't control and how it deals with both.

The series is clearly a Russian production, with authors centered around the former Soviet Union and locations in eastern Europe. The styles are all different. The VR story is a combination of hand-drawn animation and computer-animated narrative; The Undertaker uses fabric cut-outs for visuals. The variety suits the level of grimness in the tales. A lot of them are very grim and gory. My favorites were The Undertaker (a nice sense of cynical whimsy) and VRDLK (a classic-style horror tale). Overall, I was entertained if not amazed by the series.

Mildly recommended--this is probably of more interest to horror fans or Russian fiction fans.