It’s been a while since we’ve gotten a film as uncompromisingly nasty as NO TEARS IN HELL (2025). A stark dramatization of the crimes of the “Siberian Ripper” Alexander Spesivtsev, the film often feels like a callback to the torture porn era, despite a prestigious veneer that places it on an elevated, but still extremely horrific, plane.
NO TEARS IN HELL (2025) Trailer
The story has been relocated from Novokuznetsk, Siberia to Whittier, Alaska—specifically the Begich Towers, where Whittier’s entire population lives—while Spesivtsev has been Americanized, taking the form of Alex (Luke Baines), a young man residing in the Towers. His elderly mother (Gwen van Dam), who lives nearby, assists him in killing people from a nearby homeless encampment, with Alex using the flesh to make exotic meat-based delicacies while Mother takes pains to clean up the mess.
The film’s presentation of this twisted mother-son dynamic is quite blunt, and presented without any narrative trickery (PSYCHO it isn’t). Flashbacks fill us in on the origins of these characters’ dementia, which involved an abusive patriarch (Ilir Fiora) who a much younger Alex (John McDonald) stabbed to death at Mother’s behest.
Eventually Mother lures Vicky (Tatjana Marjanovi) and Trish (Audrey Neal) to the apartment and Alex does his thing, killing Trish and forcing Vicki to assist with the dismemberment, and even eat portions of the corpse. But it seems that Mother is losing her taste for killing, and when local police are alerted to the apartment by an inquisitive maintenance man (Wynn Reichert) she makes little effort to halt the inevitable.
Among NO TEARS IN HELL’s most striking elements are its atmospheric visuals: the chilly majesty of the snowbound Alaskan scenery is superbly captured, and adds immeasurably to the somber mood (anyone who’s seen INSOMNIA or THE LAST WINTER well knows that Alaska makes for a strong horror movie setting). Director Michael Caissie and cinematographer Gevorg Juguryan have followed the lead of John Carpenter by investing much of their limited budget in sumptuous widescreen photography, a choice that pays off quite handsomely.
Luke Baines
Luke Baines’ portrayal of Alex, a psychopath with no redeeming qualities, is, like most everything else in this film, blunt and unsparing. No effort is made by Caissie or Baines to soften the character (whose nature is represented by snarling wolf intercuts) or the brutality of his crimes, making for a mighty rough ride that not everyone will appreciate. But for those willing to ride it out the film is a powerful portrayal of absolute evil and its far reaching tendrils.
Vital Statistics
NO TEARS IN HELL
Bulldog Brothers Pictures/Tadross Media Group
Director/Screenplay: Michael Caissie
Producers: Bernard Salzman, Michael Caissie
Cinematography: Gevorg Juguryan
Editing: Brady Hallongren,
Cast: Luke Baines, Gwen Van Dam, Tatjana Marjanovi, Andrey Neal, Michelle Pokopac, Gabrielle Archambault, Lau’rie Roach, Jake Marlow, Jamil Khan, Mark Wilson, John M. Johnson, Wynn Reichert, Erik Fellows, Kathy Butler Sandvoss, John McDonald, Gary Kasper, Princess Elmore, Nate Bright, Ilir Fiora