Serial Killers and their mothers, right? It always seems to be about their mother in some way. If not because they were completely abandoned by them, or because they were suffocatingly controlled by their mothers. Much like the fictitious serial killers Jason Voorhees in “Friday the 13th” film franchise, or Frank Zito in “Maniac”, or then real life killers like Ed Gein, and H.H. Holmes. “No Tears in Hell” is based on the real life murders committed by Alexander Nikolayevich Spesitvsev. The SIberian Ripper who killed four and suspected of eighty or more between 1991-1996. This film comes after nine years of Sergey Zhiznenny’s 2016  film “Siberian Ripper” which primarily focused on a single, ( fictitious) event of three girls trapped in Alexander’s apartment. “No Tears in Hell” instead changes the location to Alaska, and keeps its focus on its serial killer main character Alex.  Alex is played by Luke Baines, who clearly has the face of an ice-cold killer. Calm, Alex carries out his murders while he chronicles in his diary. The film smartly keeps about ninety percent of time solely on him, much like other serial killer films Henry: A portrait of a serial killer. There are detectives on the case, there is an investigation of the story, but much later in the film. It’s not what the film wishes to concentrate on.  It is really all about Alex’s deranged compulsion to murder, to dismember and eat his victims. His disturbing relationship with his, surprise! , an enabling and overly controlling mother, who much like the real Spesitvsev’s mother, assisted in his killing. The film with its patient pace shows full well that Alex already had mental health problems before his disturbness was corrugated,  cultivated by her, and even encouraged. His mother had access because of her job to bring home violent crime scene photos to show him as a young child. An obvious catalyst to what Alex would be as an adult. 

If you are expecting a slashing, jump scare filled, high octane roller coaster this film will gladly disappoint you, although it doesn’t shy from blood and gore to the point of maybe be queasy to some to see. The film is a quiet, slow hum of the gruesome annals of socially awkward, murderous Alex. The film set production is simple, and plain but effective. Alex in this notoriously wears a white shirt to demonstrate his philosophy that he  is purifying the world by ridding it of what he perceives as its filth, as well as, delighted to wear  the result of his murder by having the blood splash it on.  Alex trying to  project a  the sense that he is angelic messenger, carrying out these horrific killings and torture. In this movie he states that he has many motivations to do these killings but it doesn’t go past anyone that he is doing to either please his mother, or basically just lashing out being trapped by her. 

The soft lullaby music score melody provides the notion that Alex will not stop, and a great contradiction to the cruelty and horror that Alex inflicts. There is also a low-note string piece that perfectly balances the lullaby to bring a sense of harsh reality to the journey. “No Tears in Hell” is overall a disturbing horror. The film doesn’t go into much of the psychology of Alex, it really doesn’t need to. Alex is deeply troubled; nothing will change that. He doesn’t want to be isolated but also does want to be alone from everyone. “No Tears in Hell” is presenting the angle that Alex was probably going to be a serial killer anyway, even without the disturbing enabling of his mother. 5.5/10