Horror Crush: Marina Zudina

We are long overdue in inducting a new member into this site's Horror Crushes. So, let's do just that before we reach the end of this year. This time we are inducting the gorgeous Russian actress Marina Zudina!

Born Marina Vyacheslavovna Zudina in Moscow, Russia on September 3, 1965, her father was journalist and mother a music teacher. When she was a kid she took dancing, ballet, and signing lessons. After graduation she was admitted into the Theater studio of Oleg Tabakov, where she began to perform. As a student, she went on to act, getting her first roles around 1985. Most of her work is in Russian movies and TV. But, one of her only American roles , if not in fact her only one, is the reason for this induction.

That movie is 1995's awesome and somewhat underrated horror/ thriller Mute Witness. In it, a slasher movie is being shot in Russia. Billy (Marina Zudina) is the make-up artist on the flick, which is directed by her the boyfriend of her older sister. One night, Billy, who is also mute, gets stuck on the set accidently after they had stop shooting for the day and closed up shop. That night, she unwittingly witnesses a snuff movie being shot where a woman has sex on camera then is brutally stabbed to death. She tries to let the authorities and her sister know what happened, but the baddies play it off as if it all had been done via special FX. Meanwhile, we learn that the Russian mob is behind it all, headed by a man known as the Reaper (the original Obi Wan Kenobi himself, Sir Alec Guinness). And, he wants her dead and the reel containing said murder found. 

This stylish horror/ thriller has a mix of Hitchcock and Argento and is one of the most underrated genre flicks of the 90s. Wrier/ co-producer/ director Anthony Waller does superb job directing it. Further elevated by expert editing and shooting, this movie has a couple of scenes that are in and of themselves masterworks of suspense. This is particularly true of the snuff scene and the subsequent chase of our heroine. The first and second act are incredible, and when it seems to slightly dip on the third act, it pulls out some great twists. I've always loved this movie. But, after many years of not seeing it (I owned the laserdisc), I watched the superlative Arrow Video 4K release and love it even more now! 

Marina Zudina is very likable as Billy. Her character is smart, brave, and tough. Being mute means that she has to say it all with her eyes and face, which she does so perfectly. She is one of the best and most thoroughly underrated final girls of the era. Zudina's Billy is also that rarest of final girls, one that gets nude! And, she doesn't just get naked once or even twice, she bares skin thrice in the movie, showing butt and boobs. 

Needless to say she is absolutely, and naturally, gorgeous. Which is why I had a super crush on her back when I first saw this film. Rewatching it all these years later, I was reminded of just what a stunner she is.

It's a shame that this is her only horror flick, be it American or otherwise. But, to star in one as great as Mute Witness is, in of itself, and accomplishment, especially with this great of a performance and awesome of a character. And, so it is with great honor that we induct Marina Zudina into Horror Crushes!