After receiving an anonymous call, Inspector Glebsky (Uldis Pūcītis) travels to look into a murder at the secluded valley hotel the ‘Dead Mountaineer’s’ – earning its name from the fate of an alpinist whose dog still lingers at the lodge. Getting acquainted with its bizarre inhabitants, Glebsky is suddenly trapped at the hotel by an avalanche. Despite the heavy snowfall, a fresh, mysterious body appears and a murder investigation commences, even as things get stranger and stranger.

Based on the novel by Stalker / Roadside Picnic writers Arkady and Boris Strugatsky – who also adapted it for the screen – this Estonian science-fiction noir is full of purgatorial atmospheres, eerie intrigue and uncanny horror. Through all its surreal twists and turns, dazzling designs and breathtaking landscapes, we can't recommend this rarely screened Eastern Bloc gem enough.