WHISPER OF THE WITCH movie poster | ©2025 Well Go USA

Rating: Not Rated
Stars: Artur Beschastnyy, Maryana Spivak, Sofya Shidlovskaya, Igor Grabuzov, Sergey Safronov, Valeria Kot, Ilya Vinogorsky, Kirill Rusin
Writers: Dmitriy Zhigalov, Uliana Zakrevskya, Sergey Kaluzhanov
Director: Serik Beyseu
Distributor: Well Go USA
Release Date: August 19, 2025 (digital, Blu-ray, DVD)

WHISPER OF THE WITCH (ZAKLYATE. SHYOPOT VEDM) is an unusual item, even before we get to its intricate storyline. The film was made in Russia. In addition to being dubbed into American-accented English, writing on refrigerator magnets and on police morgue documents is also in English.

Without knowing if two different versions of WHISPER OF THE WITCH were shot, one with on-set Cyrillic writing and one with English-language writing, or if this is a feat of CGI replacement, it’s unclear which departments deserve the kudos for such careful Americanization. Either way, this attention to detail should command the respect of every aspiring filmmaker who sees it.

Because of this, plus the slightly flat vocal performances and the occasional inexact translation (no one would describe a jewelry box-sized container of audio equipment as a “casket” and American police detectives don’t report to colonels, at least not yet), there’s an inescapable meta element here.

WHISPER OF THE WITCH begins with teen Yana (Sofya Shidlovskaya) running through a dark fairytale forest. She takes refuge in an enormous, dilapidated mansion. Whispers from no evident source are heard. Before the night is out, an unseen entity grabs another teen.

By morning, Yana, her stepsister Julie (Valeria Kot) and Julie’s boyfriend Ron (Ilya Vinogorskiy) have called the police. Two detectives show up to investigate. Nick (Igor Grabuzov) is local. Paul (Artur Beschastnyy) used to live here, too. He’s been gone for about twenty years, but news of a death at the abandoned building has brought him back.

Via flashback, we see that Paul (played in adolescence by Artyom Fadeev) and Nick (played in adolescence by Ravil Batyrov) have their own history as teens with the mansion. They visited the place with their aspiring historian friend Arthur (Ivan Reysin as a teen, Sergey Safronov as an adult) and Paul’s then-girlfriend Sofia (Marina Grishakova as a teen, Maryana Spivak as an adult).

This incident turns out to have a lot to do with current events, well beyond Arthur’s explanation of the building’s spooky past and the origins and purpose of a mini-record player.

The screenplay by Dmitriy Zhigalov, Uliana Zakrevskya, and Sergey Kaluzhanov is unexpectedly well-constructed, with big moral dilemmas and family issues propelling characters while they try to figure out what to do about the growing supernatural menace.

It’s also gratifying that the script takes pains to explain why certain things are happening here and now, as opposed to somewhere else/earlier/later.

Director Serik Beyseu creates a look that encompasses folklore while still being contemporary. He’s good at jump scares and sharing the characters’ experience of being a little dislocated throughout.

Overall, WHISPER OF THE WITCH is enjoyable witchy horror with a few lapses in vocabulary.

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