The film Black Rose is focused on a Russian Police Major Vladimir Kazatov (Alexander Nevsky) who has been enlisted by the Los Angeles Police Department to help solve a series of grisly and horrid murders executed against Russian women. The LAPD have no leads and hope the enlisting of Kazatov on the case will gain the trust of the Russian community. Kazatov also teams up with the beautiful Emily Smith, a rookie portrayed by Kristanna Loken (Terminator 3). The killing spree continues as this brutal, psychotic killer terrorizes the streets of Hollywood.

Many of you may ask where Black Rose sits in the horror genre. The perfect thing about this film is that it covers many genres. In a recent interview with iHorror Director & Star Alexander Nevsky explains, “For me, as a director, I know that it is dangerous to mix many genres into one film. You know I wanted to do it. And that is why we have all the torture and murder and all of that. Actually, we even had to cut them down a little.” Nevsky further explained, “Action, some Horror, and put some humor into that with some thriller and mystery.” Black Rose can sit firmly in a subgenre of horror with the premise built around a nasty serial killer and horror elements lumped in throughout and also a sprinkle of real world issues tackled in the film.

The film possessed a few monumental moments, the death scenes were bloody and elaborate, having a re-introduction to actress Kristanna Loken portraying Emily Smith was nothing short of amazing. However, one scene stuck with me, the bank robbery scene in the heart of Moscow. The bank robbery scene serves as the introduction point for Nevsky’s character Police Major Vladimir Kazatovm.  Immediately moviegoers know these bank robbers mean business as cops arrive on the scene and an innocent person is shot by one of the gun-wielding robbers. The whole world seems to freeze as Nevsky makes his way into the frame, In my mind, I was cheering and saying, “They got it, they did it!” They captured the moment of a bad ass superstar that is going to save the day, something I had not seen since I was a young boy, it was a joyous moment that I am sure some die hard fans of cinema will understand during the viewing of this film. For a brief moment, Black Rose allowed me to transform into a young man again. I felt like Austin O’Brien from The Last Action Hero! (BTW what happened to that guy)? Anyways, that was a noteworthy introduction and the tone for the remainder of the film was set. I also need to mention a line and question popularized during the movie: “So this is the way you do things in Russia?” an American will ask Nevsky’s character. “No, this is the way I do things.” This line will grow on you as it is mentioned a couple of times. I cannot help to wonder if we will see this lavish duo (Nevsky & Lokan) again.

As I had mentioned in a previous article I would not mind seeing Nevsky direct or star in a straight out horror film; I believe he has an eye for detail and would bring a solid creative story to life for fans. Black Rose has something to offer fans of all genres. Black Rose was originally released in Russia in 2014 and has now made its way to the United States, released in theaters on April 28th; Black Rose will be available on  VOD and DVD on May 2nd. 

Black Rose Trailer

 

 

 

 

 

 

-About The Author-

Ryan T. Cusick is a writer for ihorror.com and very much enjoys conversation and writing about anything within the horror genre. Horror first sparked his interest after watching the original, The Amityville Horror when he was the tender age of three. Ryan lives in California with his wife and Eleven-year-old daughter, who is also expressing interest in the horror genre. Ryan recently received his Master’s Degree in Psychology and has aspirations to write a novel. Ryan can be followed on Twitter @Nytmare112