The Admirer 2023

As 13-year-old Lena (Marina Cherepukhina) grapples with the shifting dynamics of her family following her father’s departure from her stepmother Alexandra (Yelena Safonova), she discovers a sense of reassurance in her own cleverness and charm. Seeking to assert her independence and showcase a stable living environment, Lena embarks on a part-time job as a postal worker, quickly making an impression on her colleagues with her sharp wit and sparkling personality.

However, the city is engulfed in fear due to a lurking serial killer targeting young girls. The chilling methods of this perpetrator—suffocation and horrific mutilation—cast a dark shadow over the community. On her inaugural evening on the job, a mysterious stranger, clad in a trenchcoat and hat (Andrey Andreyev), unexpectedly comes to her rescue from a group of hooligans, leaving behind a piece of chewing gum as a curious token of his intervention. As discussions swirl around the ideal man, Lena finds herself mentally cataloging the traits of this captivating figure—his attire, the gum, his cigarette—all of which roil in her thoughts.

With each passing day, an unnerving chain of events begins to unfold. One night, as she’s making her deliveries, Lena is assaulted and her bag filled with newspapers is stolen. Convinced that she has crossed paths with the dreaded killer, she is rattled yet inexplicably drawn to the encounter. Oddly, the very next evening, her stolen bag is returned, stacked with a fresh supply of chewing gum. This curious occurrence unravels a realization for Lena: perhaps this shadowy stranger is somehow intertwined with the sinister killer.

Despite the terror linked to this revelation, Lena’s fascination with her anonymous admirer grows stronger. When her friend Ira (Kate Nichols) suggests testing the stranger’s loyalty by making him buy roller skates, Lena seizes the chance to assess his genuine interest. Shortly after, she receives a silent phone call from someone she believes to be her mysterious suitor; she delicately asks him not to frighten her further while inquiring about the cost of the skates.

The next day, to her astonishment, Lena finds the skates waiting for her inside her mailbox, a clear sign of the stranger’s devotion and a precursor to the twisting path ahead. As her enigmatic suitor continues to indulge her whims, Lena perceives their strange exchanges as a thrilling game of cat-and-mouse, thick with suspense. Upon her return home, Marina (Roxanne McKee) implores Lena not to resent her father, who is vexed by worries for her safety. Yet, Lena’s emotions explode like a tempest when she discovers his financial difficulties prevent him from providing child support. The charged atmosphere lightens as Marina exits, leaving Lena to simmer in her frustration. Unbeknownst to her, the mysterious admirer has been lurking in the darkness, silently witnessing their volatile interaction.

The following day, Lena’s life takes a harrowing turn when she learns that Marina has been hospitalized, an unfortunate victim of an undisclosed assailant. This devastating news sends shockwaves through Lena, as clarity dawns on her regarding the identity of her tormentor—the very manipulator she had been intrigued by. In spite of her initial intent to confront this admirer, he remains shrouded in silence, intentionally keeping his true self obscured. The precarious tightrope between their puzzling game and stark reality grows increasingly unstable as Lena’s frustration erupts in a phone call, where she candidly reveals her contempt for this shadowy figure. In that moment, Lena unwittingly sets off a catastrophic chain of events that threatens those she holds dear; those she believed she could trust, including Marina, now find themselves at risk of the admirer’s vengeful grip, landing Lena directly in the chaos of this unfolding nightmare.