Original subtitles

According to legend, we live on the threshold of hell.

But in reality, it is much more than just legend.

It is said that man defied God.

And out of vanity, he longed to build temples so high

they touched the heavens and reached the angels,

with foundations so deep they split open a fissure

connecting our world to hell.

They say that when the tears of the repentant no longer flow

and the river beds run dry,

the demons roaming the underworld come out to feed.

It is said they rule over the darkness

and stretch it far enough to reach mortal souls.

They are said to be shadows.

They can be neither seen nor heard,

and their victims

leave no trace.

The gates to hell have opened.

Miss Pushkina. It's Owen, I'm Sergey's friend.

I need the keys to his house.

I don't know any Owen.

I brought you a little gift from America.

A little present. Here you go.

Thank you.

Hey, Polgar. Hey, Baby. Hey.

Hello.

Can I have the Anthropology Department?

Anthropology.

I need to speak to Alec Miller.

Alec Miller.

Hello, Alec?

24-hour CURRENCY EXCHANGE

It's Owen. I'm in Moscow.

So, just confirming our appointment for this afternoon?

Okay, I'll be there.

"The dark soul of the city."

This is the name the outcasts give their world.

For their hell, they have many names.

I've been compiling them since the start of our study.

Since Tolstoy first told me of its legends.

And I have begun my search.

Each time, I had to descend to deeper level.

Each time, I found fewer outcasts and more shadows.

Then I crossed the river, and the outcasts disappeared,

leaving me alone with these shadows.

They say that a man who is alone here is condemned,

but I refuse to accept that they are right.

I am less alone all the time.

The darkness and isolation are playing tricks on me.

I feel safer in the crypt, but can't get to sleep.

Strange. As a child, I was never afraid of the dark.

And now...

I can't stand the idea of being without light.

Hello. Hi, Alec. It's good to see you again.

Yes.

This is Yuri, this is Pavel, our guides.

Did you have a good trip? Yes, thanks.

Hi. Hi.

Yuri set up a meeting with Tolstoy. Sergey's favorite drunk.

And his advisor. And I think his friend, right?

Yeah.

So he should be able to help us out a lot with the maps.

Like to take a look at those myself.

Right, I will go first. Pavel goes last.

Please, do not get separated. These people are getting worse every day.

All right?

Rumor has it the Gates of Hell have opened up,

and they're swallowing the souls of those who live underground.

Not enough.

This is the base camp of the group we've been studying.

All these people actually go to the surface.

There are groups at the lower levels that don't ever come out.

We have to hurry up if you want to talk to Tolstoy.

He's waiting at the ticket office.

Now it's interesting, because both groups share the same legend

that places hell at a very precise location underground.

Of course, that got Sergey extremely excited.

Tolstoy.

Tolstoy. Alec, Sergey's assistant.

Brought you a little something.

Sergey.

Who are you?

I'm a very good friend of Sergey.

And I'm looking for him.

Have you seen him? A week ago.

He's a great conversationalist.

But sometimes a little too interested in things that

do not concern him.

Things like your legends?

Is this familiar?

We do not like to go to this area across the river.

It is cursed.

I'm not concerned with curses. You should be.

He's disappeared. You want to follow in his footsteps.

I want to find him.

Then you had better hurry.

Andrey's men are going to stop access to the river.

When?

A few days. Time is different down here. Okay.

Thank you.

Wait. Wait.

I will find you someone to show you the river.

But pay well. Okay.

It is worth it. You'll need help to find your way through Andrey's territory.

Take care.

Good luck, tourist.

You'll need it.

Vlad hasn't come back either. I know.

When the convent that these crypts belong to

functioned as more of a fortress than as a convent,

its inhabitants created a way to escape underground.

But to protect it from the outside, they built a labyrinth.

My only hope of getting out of here

is by deciphering it and finding the entrance to the church.

Uriel has disappeared, we are going to look for him.

You won't find him. They leave no trace.

All right. I'll see you guys in three hours.

Not so fast.

That area is the old part,

and our fee isn't going to be the same.

Or is it, Pavel?

You heard Tolstoy. There are lots of psychos down there.

Come on, Guys. We have a fixed price per descent.

The circumstances are not the same.

Oh, really? All right. How much more do you want?

Ten thousand dollars. What?

No way. See you.

$500 more. That's it.

Why are you negotiating with these guys?

For that, we'll take you to the zoo and drop you off there.

$1,000 is my best offer. That's it. Take it or leave it.

Agreed.

Great. Three hours.

We would have done it for $500.

Well, I would have gone $5,000.

This isn't either. No?

War, one of the Four Horsemen.

Sixteen archways with chapter six of the Revelations.

There is one verse missing, though.

And they are not in order.

"The Horsemen all jumped out of place."

"Only the Lord's faithful servants will find the way to heaven."

How odd. They've added this sentence...

I should rest.

That was enough for today.

Here.

Hey, Yuri. You have those smelling salts?

The ladies are about to faint.

Hey, Girls, you think you can go on?

Careful, tourist.

What do you want?

Tolstoy sent me. I am to take Owen as far as the river.

Fine. A girl! That's all we needed.

You must be Owen, then? Yeah.

And should I call you "Father"?

You can call me whatever you want.

All right. I'm Lyuba. Lyuba.

That's a nice name.

We're going to follow Sergey's route.

I know.

And so you are chasing after the demons as well?

I'm going to find Sergey. I don't believe in demons.

You should know. You're the priest.

Just be careful.

How about you talk to them? No need. They know we're coming.

You're afraid of the dark? How clever.

Now you know. Never get stuck in the dark.

I'll keep it in mind.

I definitely saw you at the bar the other day. I did.

SWIMMING IS PROHIBITED

"Don't go near the river."

They believe that demons are on the other side, don't they?

"We," Father. We believe that.

And light is the best defense. Along with faith, of course.

SWIMMING IS PROHIBITED

It works.

Those stupid subway workers are going to cave in the tunnels.

And they wonder why so many of them disappear when construction's going on.

The problem is not the construction.

Why?

The river used to dry out occasionally only in summer.

Now the subway workers have rerouted the river in order to work, and...

What?

They've destroyed the balance. The river is the border between their world and ours.

It's the only thing keeping the demons back.

Yeah, along with the vampires and the werewolves, Sweetheart.

We're here. Oh, my God. Sergey got a long way here.

It certainly wasn't thanks to any help on your part.

Why didn't you go on down there with him?

Hey. I'm not the bad guy, okay, Sweetie?

All right? He got obsessed with some book he found

in a 16th century convent. Right.

What's the name of that place you told me about?

Novodevichy. Right. Yeah.

Anyways, the place that corresponds to hell from the legends underground.

Its history's incredibly bloody. The history of this convent is unbelievable.

I mean, you wouldn't believe... Okay, why didn't you just

come down here? They wouldn't let us come down there.

So we actually had to go over to Tolstoy's camp and start from here.

Which is this over here. I'm studying the map, and look...

I mean, look what he's got. I've never seen this before.

So I don't actually know where the hell we're going.

All right. We'll just follow the marks, and we'll take it one mark at a time.

We can get out now if we cover our mouths with handkerchiefs.

It's safer that way.

Plague.

"Only the Lord's faithful servant..."

I'm not one of the Lord's faithful servants,

but I know how to read like them.

The few who could do so at the time.

This allows me to rule out 16 archways.

Look at this. I don't understand

the origin

of these marks.

They are everywhere! Look.

How gentlemanly, but you had best go first.

I don't want you to get lost.

It's no good to be alone down here.

More demons keep coming. I know.

We've got to get out of here.

You know we can't. We have to wait for her. Besides, we wouldn't survive out there.

And here, are we going to survive?

"I looked, and there was a pale green horse.

"lts rider was named Death, and hell followed with him."

My Horseman.

Very appropriate.

The entrance to the labyrinth.

I'm sure it wouldn't be very funny

if I, who never have believed in hell,

spent my final days in one.

Oh, no. It wouldn't be funny. Not at all.

What's this?

To ward off intruders?

Any volunteers? You go ahead.

No, no, you go first. Please. After all, you are getting paid.

I'll go first. All right, come on. Let's look in here.

I don't know. We couldn't get to the bottom of it. It's too deep.

Coming down.

Go ahead, Owen. Go ahead.

Hey. Hey! I see something.

Tourist is losing it. Come on! No.

To go any further, you'll have to wait for me to reach an agreement.

What are you talking about?

This area doesn't belong to Tolstoy's group.

We have to talk to the leader of the guys following us.

You're taking a hundred bucks.

I don't want it to get lost.

Tolstoy sent me. I want to speak to Andrey.

You, follow me.

They come with me.

The Sanctuary.

The origin of the legends.

The path that leads to heaven, I hope.

HELL

"Hell."

"Because the great day of their wrath has come, and who can withstand it?"

Verse 17. The only one left.

I was on the right track. The convent must be right above here.

"First day of our confinement.

"We have hidden the children here in the crypts where it's safer.

"I have been charged with the difficult task of watching over their safety.

"It is not easy to explain the situation to them.

"Savagery has taken hold of the city. But here we will be safe.

"Tenth day of our confinement."

"April 1, 1920."

"I am still waiting for the abbess.

"There are times when I am overwhelmed by doubts and fear.

"But obedience dictates my acts and faith lights my way. "

Do not come out under any circumstances. The children would be killed.

I will send a sister to come for you when the time is right.

Wait for her, she'll bring you back. God save you, Sister.

Who is there?

You used to be more discreet, we've been on to you for hours.

And you more ruthless, you never would have let us get this far.

These are strange times, you have to adapt.

What does Tolstoy want? We are going to look for his friend.

The one studying the legends. Have you seen him?

Yes. Was he alone?

Why don't you ask your friend?

Did Tolstoy tell you that we are going to close it up soon?

Yes. And you want to take these tourists?

Yes.

Okay. You can go.

Not even he will protect you if you cross the river.

As you can see, Father,

there is no crisis of faith down here.

All one has to do to believe is to see.

We've no need for intermediaries down here for the Devil, and for God.

Goodbye, Lyuba.

I've missed you. Goodbye, Andrey.

Now we can continue. I don't think they will bother us.

You don't think? Maybe you should make sure, Sweetie.

Not yet.

Damn batteries! I must have some more.

"When the riverbed is dry, we will come to feed."

Jesus. Who were those paranoid freaks? The guards.

What are they guarding? The gates to hell, Father.

The outcasts believe the guards protect them from them demons.

Idiots, there aren't any demons other than them.

Hey, I think it's this way.

The way out. About time.

So they missed you, Lyuba? That's what they say.

She's one of them. Hey, what the fuck?

Why do you think they let you through?

Hey, if you're setting us up on an ambush, I swear to God, I'm taking you with me.

Go on.

It's a good idea, but they don't cross the river.

Ivan hasn't returned either.

We can't go on like this, the entrance has to be closed.

I will give her more time.

But it's useless.

She's not gonna get out of there, you know that.

We need to close the entrance.

Do you think I don't know what we need to do?

We will close it soon, but not yet.

Check.

Incredible. It's true. They re-routed the river.

The tears of the penitent, right?

You've learned all your legends well.

Hey, guys, I'll catch up in a second, all right? All this water's making me...

Hey. Yuri doesn't want us to get separated. Hurry up.

I'll catch up in a second.

Let's hurry up. It's getting ugly.

More demons are coming.

We need to consult the map.

Hey! I will stick my foot up your ass,

so maybe you should calm down, Sweetie. Calm down?

You don't know what we've gotten ourselves into.

This is the place they call hell.

Wackos with the crosses, right? All right. All right.

Enough. The ones who know.

May the sign of the cross protect you from the demons.

That demons get out your way.

May the sign of the cross protect you from the demons.

Be very careful.

Don't worry.

That demons get out your way.

May the sign of the cross protect you from the demons.

May the sign of the cross protect you from the demons.

So what should we do about them? Let them go.

And Lyuba?

She has already made her decision.

Now where?

I don't know. I've never been here and I'm not about to stick around.

Thank you.

Those guys are obsessed, wherever they see an opening, they put up a cross.

These crosses are different. He's right. They're not ours.

Yes.

Here we are.

"Thirtieth day of our confinement.

"Against my orders, two of older ones went up to the convent

"and witnessed the inferno the demons leave in their path."

"Now they believe me and our situation, and will never again go back up.

"No one will leave until The Sister comes for us."

Let's go the way that's the most obvious. Everything leads to this big circle here.

That's where we need to be.

All right, Lyuba, what did you do with my Thermos?

I left it over there.

Well, it's not there. So what did you do, throw it down the hole?

No. It was there against the wall.

Well, who took it, then? Pavel? Did you take it?

I stick to vodka when I'm on the job.

Hey, forget about the Thermos. We've got other problems.

More than you think. I'm getting out of here.

You going for a swim, then?

The water current has gone down. You can't hear it anymore.

We can leave here now.

We have to wait for The Sister. Don't you remember?

She's here, now is the time.

Hey, what you said, being alone wasn't good?

Come with me.

I can't. I have to find my friend.

Where is she?

The demons have her. How do you know it's her?

She's different. She sees, and the demons neither see nor hear...

It is just as the stories tell us:

she will come to us and show us the way when the time is right.

The time has come.

Lyuba!

You take care of yourself, okay?

You, too, tourist.

Come out soon. Don't get lost.

Damn, Father! Does kissing with tongue count in that celibacy thing? 'Cause I...

Whoa, Baby!

My Thermos!

What's wrong?

Fuck it, I got attacked. Attacked? By whom?

I don't know! I put my hand in to get my Thermos, and it fucking tried to rip it off.

God damn it.

That's deep.

Relax. Well, it hurts!

Must have scratched it on something. Are you blind?

It tried to rip it off.

Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Just kidding.

Okay. Got to be careful.

Yeah.

Did you look? There's nothing there.

You see? Nothing. Yeah, nothing? What's this, then?

Dickhead.

Thanks, Man. Come on.

Who's there?

It's me.

Who's there?

Do you have any idea which one of these we should take?

I'm not sure. It's not really marked on the map.

What's going on? Great. Great.

I'm going to go down this hole...

Well, be careful. And see what's down there.

Hey!

Father?

Jesus, it's pitch black down there.

Yuri, the tunnel down here is much larger.

We're going to try another way down. Wait for us there.

"Then the sky disappeared like a torn scroll curling up."

We almost have no food, but little ones adapt themselves to this world of shadows.

They found water and hunt bigger prey.

We're already too far away.

Hey, Yuri?

Yeah? I think I can go down here.

You sure?

Whatever it takes to keep from losing the one who's paying us.

Hold it.

Damn it.

Damn. Come on!

Are you all right? No.

Flashlight's broke. I can't see a damn thing.

We'll go out the next one. Wait for us here.

I wasn't planning on going anywhere.

What if we went back for help? We are the help.

In any case, if you want to go back on your own, you know the way already.

Relax, it was just an idea.

Wait.

There's a rope.

This must have been the way Sergey went down.

Yeah, we should go that way.

Let's go.

Okay, let's do it.

Let's go.

You all right? Yes.

Pavel can't be very far. No, he's right here.

Owen.

Yuri? Yes.

Where's Pavel? He's dead.

Heck, we all will be if we don't get out of here.

What happened? A blow to the head.

We couldn't even hear him scream.

From now on, we don't get separated, okay?

Come on, let's go.

He's not here.

What are you talking about? He is not fucking here!

Shit.

Are you sure this is the right tunnel? Positive.

I don't understand who could have taken him.

Yeah, well, I don't really want to know.

I especially don't want to know why they took him.

Look, the rope Sergey came down isn't very far off.

Why don't we go find it and get out of here? Okay?

Can we go?

I don't know how many times we have been here,

but I know that I'm at death's door and I can rest in peace.

I did my mission. They will wait for The Sister.

The little ones will not get out.

They know that outside there are only demons.

We are the guardians of the faith.

We are the light that burns in the darkness.

Our history shall never be lost.

Long ago, demons took over the Earth and the angels had to descend into hell.

Long ago, they came to our temple, burned what was there

and killed the faithful.

Who's there?

Wretched crosses, all the way exactly the same.

They are not exactly the same.

The crosses are no longer painted, they're carved.

There's no more quotes on the walls,

just some engravings here on the arches, and they're very old.

And we haven't seen this before.

The outcasts call them the sign of the demons.

They say once you've seen them, it won't be long before you die.

We rescued her.

Why is she tied up? She was kicking and biting.

Looks like a demon.

She is The Sister, the one who will show us the way.

The elder will decide.

Hey, boys. Sergey's rope. Let's go.

Sergey's shelter. Okay, come on.

Look, we have the maps. Why don't we just take them and go?

Look at this.

The tunnel forms a complete circle.

All we have to do is follow it around, and we are gonna find him.

Yeah, like we did Pavel.

Alec's right.

One time around.

One time.

It won't take long. Owen.

We've done enough sightseeing already, okay?

I'm not saying we abandon him, but we've got the maps,

let's come back when we are better equipped, like with weapons.

He can't be far. All right? Today's date is on his final entry.

No. Forget it.

Come on, Yuri.

Once around. Alec?

You don't need me to answer that. You leave me no choice.

I'll leave you the same choice as you left him.

What? No, no, no, no, no. Okay? Let's get this right.

Your friend went off on his own

because he cared more about some absurd legend than the actual archeology.

And the only reason you're here is because I called you.

You know what he wanted to do with the treasure?

Hand it out to Tolstoy's people!

Like he's some reincarnation of Mother Teresa.

I mean, what the fuck is that?

Three years of research, and he cuts me out!

That doesn't surprise me.

Fuck.

We have to let her go, and follow her. She looks like a demon.

It doesn't matter. If she is a demon we'll kill her.

But before, she has to show us the way.

It's been a long time.

How are things going up there?

Oh, better than down here, from what they tell me.

Well, don't believe everything they tell you.

The entrance to hell has been sealed off. Finally.

The ones who went down?

They were dead already.

Lyuba went with them.

I know.

She decided to break the rules when she crossed the river.

She knew the risks.

In any case, we weren't the ones who closed the tunnel.

When we arrived at the place to close it, it was already sealed.

Someone was there before us.

We are not the only ones who are afraid.

Okay, he's not here. Can we go now?

Hey, what was that?

Let's see it. Move it, Alec. Hey, by all means. Please.

Hey, Owen.

You've done everything you could. Let's go.

Hey, let's go. Come on.

Get the fuck up out of here.

Oh, shit.

I can't believe it! What? What?

Oh, shit. Oh, fuck. They buried us.

Fuck! Oh, shit. Fuck! Fuck! Shit! Shit! Wait!

Shit.

Why don't you do it to the flashlight, too? You don't need it.

You know, I really love doing laps. Maybe we should do a few more of those.

What did you say?

I said, I really love doing laps. Maybe we should do a few more of those.

Or perhaps we should just pray. Maybe we should do both.

You don't have to come with us if you don't want to.

I don't see any way out.

Look. Look. Look.

According to the map,

the only way out is here, in the center of the labyrinth,

a place called the Sanctuary.

All right, what's this?

It's a chalice, I think. I don't know. But it won't lead us anywhere out.

Okay, let's go. Ready?

If she is The Sister, she will show us the way.

She's tied up. She can't show us anything.

Where are we? You got the map? Where do we go?

I think it's right here. This is the entrance to the labyrinth.

Hey, look.

There's a string.

What was that?

What the...

What's this about?

Probably to ward off intruders.

Maybe the occupants. No.

That's ridiculous. All you have to do is duck.

Not if you're blind.

Duck.

That's it. Now what?

Oh, shit, just what we needed.

Over here! Over here!

Careful.

The elder has decided she is another demon.

She isn't The Sister.

Where are my maps?

Oh, shit! Shit!

God!

Now we just need to find a way out.

Holy shit.

There's no way out of here, only more entrances.

Any one of these can get us out of here.

Hey, pass me the map. I want to check something out.

I'll be right back.

Alec!

Let's get out of here!

Shit. They're coming for us.

This way! This way!

Careful! I don't like it.

Which way?

There's light coming from Sergey's crypt.

Owen?

I really must be losing it. I've got to pull myself together.

Sergey!

Sergey! Owen!

Owen! My God! I thought I would never see you again.

My friend!

The beings from the legends are real. We have to leave this place.

Okay. You said it. Let's go. Which way?

We'll go back by the river.

No. Why?

The river's closed. They blocked all the entrances.

No. Yes.

Do you know another way?

Wait a second.

There must be another way out of here.

Ever since I lost the maps, I've been looking for the Sanctuary,

where I think there's a way to access the church.

No. We looked already. There are only more archways.

Precisely. There are four. The old escape tunnels from the convent.

The river is blocked.

The connection with the Convent of the Don has been closed off for a long time.

And I never found anything at the cemetery, either.

We should rule out those three.

What about the fourth one?

I think this is the one we are looking for.

The one marked with "Hell." Yeah.

Written above the image of Jesus Christ breaking bread.

The entrance to the church.

The one protected by the remains of the nun.

You mean the one marked in the prayer book.

Do you have it?

We took your things when we found the shelter.

I thought they'd been stolen.

Whoever you are, you will show us the way.

Your plan is perfect,

except all the entrances were blocked when we tried to leave the Sanctuary.

I'm sure they haven't touched that one.

It's been like that since 1920.

1920? Yeah.

When Sister Natalia decided to protect children so well

she doomed them to living underground.

Lyuba!

Hey. Hey.

Where were you?

They captured me crossing the river.

What's wrong? Who did it?

Don't know. I didn't see anyone.

I couldn't see a thing. I thought I'd gone blind.

Sergey!

You survived!

You were in the dark. They were your demons.

They've adapted to living in the dark.

I was so worried about you.

Are you okay?

No. Someone let me go.

From the voice, I think it was a girl, from her breath, a monster.

And she wasn't alone. We've got to get out of here quick.

Let's go back to the river.

It's been blocked, but there's another way out.

They pulled out the string. It doesn't matter.

I marked the way on the map of the labyrinth.

Owen, give it to me.

Alec has the maps.

Alec? Yes.

So he got the maps after all.

They didn't do him any good. He got killed.

Is there any way out of here without the maps? Any way at all?

It will take us a long time.

We don't have any left.

Then what the hell can we do?

Hold it. Hold it.

Our time has come. Follow The Sister.

Here's the Sanctuary, the center of the Sanctuary, with four exits on the outside.

This one, Death, marks the entrance to the river.

Right here, we know this passageway, where the remains of the nuns are.

If we can get here, we can find an exit from here.

This is what we need to look for.

The girl told me lead to hell.

Yes. Yes, for them, this exit to the hell.

Because Sister Natalia engraved the word on the wall

so they would be sure not to take this exit.

Hunger is what we're looking for.

I hope you're not wrong, or we might end up diving straight into their nest.

This is it. Give me the flare.

My, God. Oh, my God.

Which way? I don't know.

There are no marks! Owen! Look, there are no marks here!

You're right.

This is the only possibility. Okay.

Hurry up!

Come on.

Sister Natalia.

The Sanctuary!

What about the damn way out?

Hurry up! They're here.

This is the way out. The Sanctuary is the way to heaven.

I don't want you to get lost again.

Yes.

My God!