The Chekist (1992) User Reviews

disturbing flick

[trashgang · 8/10 · 13 December 2012]

Chekist is one of those Russain flicks that is sought after by collectors but so far it was never available on DVD or VHS in Europe or the States. Of course you can get it in Russia but without English subs. Film Bizzaro has released it on DVD-R only for 50 copies and it was sold within minutes. Is it worth all that, yes it does.

But let me first of all say that this isn't an easy film to watch. It's disturbing in all manners and it's based on real events taking place early 1900 in Russia. The CHEKA were the secret police that Lenin established after the Bolshevik revolution. The reason was very simple, they arrested every body who was against them with a trial taking place in a few minutes. all were send to execution.

And this is exactly what it shows. A few executions in the beginning and then we start to know Srubov (Igor Sergeev) a Cheka having no problem with interviewing (only one minute) the victims and trial them death. He also witnesses the executions and once we see that it is going on for minutes. And it doesn't give the viewer an easy feeling. It surely isn't for the faint-hearted because the way they are executed and the bodies are thrown away gives you shivers. First of all they all had to strip naked before facing 5 doors and getting a bullet in the head. On the other hand one scene isn't also easy to take. A mother comes in the Cheka building searching for Srubov to ask to free her son. While asking she let her daughter strip before him so he can make love to her. You get the picture I guess.

One of those flicks you want to turn off because you can't take it anymore but still you watch it because how is it going to end?

There's a lot of nudity a thing i thought wasn't to be seen in such kind of flick. But be advised, men and women go full frontal but they are executed soon so another not comfortable thing.

If you can catch a copy then you surely must watch it to understand what went on in Russia almost 100 years ago.

Gore 1/5 Nudity 4/5 Effects 0/5 Story 5/5 Comedy 0/5

Gripping, dark and true

[troubledyouth66 · 8/10 · 20 January 2010]

I have seen this movie, and must say that it is what someone sees on the brink of madness. The only qualm i had was its portrayal of the officer as the hero. He was made out to look the part as a good guy, where in reality he made the decisions. Is not an officer above the law more responsible for his decisions then his brethren, only to fall short of some fictitious reality??? He shows release by death and this death is not real, a trophy for a killer giving path to a monolithic person above billions of disappeared. My personifage of this character is simply this, the fear of all fears is one's mind. Not to be the judgementor, but the movie screams terror far surpassing the characters in Jacob's ladder, or even apocalypse now in lunacy. This man is a destroyer of world's yet lives like a rat knawing for air. The headless horseman, the idle terror that lurks in the minds of others to have one struck down by this "idol." An idol who does this for a job does all that has come before it and has deserved his mother's supper. An elaborate decadence on part of the fugitive. This movie shows that fear IS the mind killer without one word. Signifying a gang. Much like Rumblefish yet the officer's character is in league with any I have not seen as of yet. This personality is generosity of a sick nature put to life. If murderers can move about their daily tasks, climb ahead spiritually, why not humble men? a better question, why not the telemarketing machine that is Hollywood? Hence the great purge prior to the Jewish holocaust of killing nearly 1 million semite aryan civilians by the jews, turks and dravidians of our modern age is indeed true. If you like this movie, try leo tolstoy, for russians have the uncanny ability of recreating history with unbelievable realistic incarnations of their own past.

Deeply Disturbing And Impossible To Forget Film

[bob wolf · 27 May 2000]

A small Russian town in the early 1900's is the backdrop for this deeply disturbing film about a group of communist revolutionaries called the cheka-men who spend their days rounding up their political rivals for execution.

The majority of the film takes place inside the basement of a charnel house. We are witnesses to execution after execution as people are killed with rapid expediency and professionalism. Men, women and children are forced to strip, stand against a wall, and then are shot. When the dead are removed, five more are brought in and the atrocity is committed again.

There is not a moments reprieve from the brutality as director Rogozhkin plants the camera and the story inside that basement. I found his examination of the assassin's mindset most interesting. Early on, the cheka-men seem indifferent to their jobs, but as the film winds down, we see that all the killing has slowly begun to erode their very souls.

Igor Sergeyev is amazing as the ambitious chekist who finds himself caught up in a machine of death that he helped to create and slowly losing his mind.

The film is like passing a car accident on a highway, it's horrible and you might not like what you see but you can't take your eyes off of it. A disturbing film that is hard to forget.

A disturbing film that stays with you

[jrd_73 · 9/10 · 9 July 2011]

The Chekist creates its power through repetition. Three men set in an office, one reads names, and the other two pronounce the sentence (almost invariably execution by firing squad). Then, the condemned (always in fives) are taken from their underground cell. They are led through the bunker until they get to a large room with doors at the far end. They are ordered to strip and face the doors. Then, they are shot. Afterwards, the bodies are hauled from the bunker via a pulley system and placed in truckbeds. After the trucks are full, they are driven from the compound. The victims cross all age barriers, old men or young women, all are treated the same. These images repeat over and over again. Nearly half of the film are these scenes. Some will find it hard to watch. They are even harder to forget.

These executions are overseen (and seen) by Andrey Srubov, a bureaucratic official who shows little emotion as he carries out his job to make Russia better by eliminating those who could be a threat to the communist utopia. Srubov discharges his duties with emotionless efficiency. However, there are hints that even he is not immune to what he witnesses daily. His home life with his wife and mother is a cold, sterile atmosphere. People avoid Srubov because there are very few in this city that has not lost someone they love to his efficiency. As the film progresses, an occasional condemned man will be revealed as someone whom Srubov knows personally. These final meetings are horrifying. They, perhaps, even disturb Srubov.

The Chekist may not be a film for everyone but it is one that will produce a response. One cannot watch this film passively.

A great film, but hard to watch for the "average" movie-goer....

[scott88-4 · 9/10 · 14 April 2006]

The above reviews have captured "The Chekist" pretty well. It's all that! But above all, extremely sad. Absolutely pitiful that men like this actually existed and committed the same atrocities as depicted here. Some of the scenes are hair-raising, as these poor people meekly and silently accept their fate and are slaughtered without trial or mercy.

I have not seen the movie in a few years, but it one of the ONES that will always stick with me. I can still hear the echoes of the pistol shots that resound with a horrific "BANG". And of course, the bodies. The treatment these people received is beyond what I can say. This film is almost must see, but I can understand why someone would prefer not to watch it. To watch this classic is to understand that it probably will stay with you for a very long time. And it should.

Darkest past to remember and avoid

[bach-661-784192 · 9/10 · 16 April 2013]

This very heavy movie is based on a mostly documented book by a communist writer, who was observing this kind of events when he was working between real chekists in a real Russian town shortly after October 1917 revolution. At that time, before 1923, the young writer/journalist was thinking that the revolutionary books should show true life. Soon he has been explained about his mistake. Himself did not survive 1937, was executed when a much more extended murder of Soviet people was organized; but we have got a book, published 52 years after the author death, and, later, this movie, showing what he was observing in the very early years of Soviet Union. Due to the personal involvement of the author, practically participating in the events, psychological conflicts inside of a person (main "hero" of the movie) are shown. It is clearly seen, that not only those, killed by dozens in cellars cannot survive the "revolution", but also murderers will not be able to stay human and keep consciousness and reason, when are involved in such atrocities.

Hand of Terror

[Zhorzhik-Morzhik · 10/10 · 8 March 2020]

"The Chekist" - the gloomy drama of Aleksandr Rogozhkin. A very bold film of the director, who became famous mainly for comedies, about the most terrible period of red terror in the 20s of the 19th century, which claimed millions of lives who disagreed with the ideas of the Revolution. The color of the nation, the noble intellectuals and patriots of Russia were completely destroyed and turned into mountains of mutilated corpses.

Total garbage and waste of time

[balboniemanuele · 1/10 · 18 June 2023]

What kind movie is this?

Aside from the plot that doesn't really exist, the film is really badly done: bad acting, very slow pace, characters with little or no real psychological insight and everything else a sea of boredom.

What would be the message of the film? Prove how brutal the Russian Civil War was? So why not also show the White Terror, which was even more ruthless? Why not explain what led to the war? Why not explain how the war ended? No, the only thing that is shown are endless sequences of shootings and sorting of corpses that in the long run do nothing but pass out from boredom.

Not recommended. If you want to learn more about the Russian civil war read some books of Russian literature (such as those by Pavel Golub) but don't give credit to this crappy movie, whose only purpose is not to tell the story, but to show violence and gore worse than any horror movie.

Absolutely Awesome Realism

[gbakanov · 10/10 · 10 August 2006]

This movie is definitely one of the darkest views on the Red Terror genocide that took place in 1918-1921 in Russia. Totally gripping and shocking as it can be...My opinion is that this movie reveals more historic facts than any other such movies about genocide(Schindler List,Hotel Rwanda) and unlike Hollywood sappy crap,this has no sentimental characters,only the bloody and merciless face of Russian revolution. Actors play is absolutely realistic,execution scenes are deeply disturbing.Probably the most shocking Russian film in years(even more shocking than 4) If you want to have an unforgettable evening,see it...it will stick in your mind for a long time! Rogozhkin should have stick up with this kind of movies...not like he does now,about Russian hunting and vodka bar.

Not "Western Propaganda", it was made by Russians you idiots

[sopweston · 10/10 · 17 December 2023]

It's funny to see Russians/pro-Russians on here getting triggered by a film that makes good ol' mother Russia look bad, claiming that it's somehow 'evil Western propaganda'. The film is A RUSSIAN FILM. Created by Russians, based on a book written by a Russian, and about a Russian tragedy that they themselves created. The reason you're so upset with this, the reason you're so angry, is because a film like this somehow managed to slip through the cracks of the Russian terror machine and expose to the world what the Soviet experiment was all about - the accusing and murder of anyone they didn't like. That's a theme that continues to this day in Russia, if you don't like the government you're either shot or never seen again. Boris Nemtsov, Alexander Litvenenko, Alexei Navalny, anyone. Frankly you should be happy you're reading this outside Russia and being able to comment here freely.

Better than Schindler's List

[mrmichaeltroper · 10/10 · 2 April 2021]

This is a really well made and honest movie, not some spielberg rubbish to deliberately create guilt by as part of the greater cash cow for a bunch of religeous and racial exceptionalists.

cheap "anti-communist" porn

[mlinchits · 1/10 · 29 July 2011]

I can understand why this sort of film might impress some Western audiences, but it is really just one example of the sort of preachy trash that passed for political and historical commentary in the Russia during the nineties.

What does this movie consist of? Scene after scene of "to the firing squad" followed by executions in the dungeons. Moral of the story: commies bad, innocent victims good/not bad. 0 stars for plot, character development, conflict, resolution and 1 star for showing lots of dead bodies. Positively Dostoyevskian ... or is it Chekhovian? If you've never seen dead bodies, evil commies or innocent victims on screen, maybe this movie is for you. But then you are probably a child and have no business watching this stuff.

As for the film's message, it's even less interesting than the story. The Russian Revolution and the rest of Soviet history were multifaceted phenomena, surprising though it may be. Showing clichéd Chekists working the meat-grinder is not a serious comment on a complex era. Contrary to some of the reviews, the movie does not portray terror in a realistic way. The film might seem "brutally realistic" in style, but it is heavy-handedly sentimental in substance. The repeated bloodletting is simply there for dramatic effect, to pummel the audience into fogetting to look into the actual history and mood of those times.

The Chekists, along with millions of other people, were participating in a very real and vicious civil war. That war would shape the course of world history. But according to this "realistic" movie, the Chekists simply popped out of nowhere and decided to set up an extermination camp. One would do well to remember that all that seems "realistic" is not necessarily real.

Is a little context too much to ask for here? In WWII films, even the Gestapo is portrayed as fighting actual military threats.

In short, the movie has neither style nor substance. To call it anticommunist propaganda would be too charitable, as that would imply at least some attempt at a historical or political analysis of Communism. Fortunately, Rogozhkin has since moved on to suitably shallower topics such as hunting, fishing and vodka with his newer work.

Seethe Commies! You did this !!!

[mattheaf-24536 · 10/10 · 15 March 2022]

Unfortunately the true brutality of the bolshevik Cheka cannot be put on film as their activities were so repugnant it would be NC 17 at least.

They must never be allowed to get this level of power again. This is the future, if the far left ever get control.

Read Solzhenitsyn. Research The Holodomor. If your son or daughter talks up communism, show them this.

I Guess, This Is The Worst Of The Possble Worst

[denis888 · 1/10 · 12 January 2018]

Oh, what can I say here? Do you want to watch sikly green-yellow-gray movie with tons of gore, unnecessary nudity, with a total lack of any decent plot, with awful actors' performance, with terrible message, with inbearable thiving on brutality, with all the possible Russian 1990's cliches and twists? You got it - Chekist is probably one of The Worst and Unnecessary Movies ever made. Shallow, sick, awfully executed mess. I cannot even say more - serious filmmakers maybe have to watch this as an example of how Not to make films.

Outdated, primitive and stupid movie that doesn't reflect real life

[deva_maria-22077 · 1/10 · 12 May 2020]

If you think you'll learn the history of a Russia from this film, you're wrong. Nothing to do with real life and real people.

After the fall of the Iron Curtain, pro-Western sentiment was very strong in Russia, and Europe and America were expected to help it develop and prosper. Therefore, the anti-Soviet campaign was launched, and many films, books or TV shows appeared that represented the USSR in a grotesque, distorted form. The USSR was portrayed (in Reagan's words) as an "evil empire".

The director of the film "Chekist" Aleksandr Rogozhkin is one of such opportunistic directors, he depicted specially distorted Russia to be on a wave of fashion and popularity. He tried to stand out from the crowd with particularly violent, shocking scenes.

But now things have changed. Russia has seen that the Western world does not want to be her friend. Therefore, the fashion for vilification of the Soviet past is no longer popular. On the contrary, Russians hate such films and such directors like Rogozhkin. Russian historians took out many documents of the Soviet period from archives and proved that the USSR was not an "evil empire", and many horrors about the Soviet goverment, KGB and bolsheviki were fiction.

I don't recommend watching this movie.