"The Dyatlov Pass Incident" Review | Movie Monday

On February 2, 1959, nine hikers died under mysterious circumstances, in what has come to be known as the Dyatlov Pass Incident. The group, led by Igor Dyatlov, died on the east shoulder of the so-called "Dead Mountain".

Russian officials determined the hikers' tent had been cut open from the inside, and they left their camp barefoot; their bodies were found at varying distances from the tent. No one knows what really happened that night because there were no survivors, but there has been much speculation.

The events of that night have even sparked a recent horror film, The Dyatlov Pass Incident, also known as Devil's Pass. In the movie, five American college students venture to the Dyatlov Pass to film a documentary and see if they can uncover the mystery behind the incident.

This is a found footage film, a medium I've become quite fond of over the past few months, though I know some people can't stand it. I think it really suits the telling of this story.

I liked most of the characters - Holly King (Holly Goss) and Jensen Day (Matt Stokoe from Misfits, yay!) were particularly interesting to me, and I found that I could empathize with them. Holly is an ambitious filmmaker leading her own documentary crew to the Dyatlov Pass to retrace the steps of the hikers from over fifty years earlier. It's pretty obvious that it's a bad idea to make the exact same journey that killed nine people, but you've got to admire her bravery and determination. Jensen is one of her camera men, and he provides a lot of the sensible commentary about their discoveries, as well as some much-needed comic relief.

This film is so suspenseful - as the story unfolds, there are more and more mysteries revealed and it was so interesting to see this take on the unknown events of that night. I enjoyed the whole film, but the last half hour in particular kept me on the edge of my seat, quite literally.

The Dyatlov Pass Incident was a very sad event that has resulted in fascinating theories. This film is an interesting, suspenseful, and terrifying interpretation of what happened that ill-fated night.

Had you heard of the Dyatlov Pass Incident before reading this review?

Photo by Simon via Pixabay in accordance with the Creative Commons Deed CC0.