How does the man behind Russia’s most soothing cartoon dog end up with an 18+ horror hit? Leonid Shmelkov’s ‘Restlessness’ strands two travelers in a roadside hotel they can’t escape.

Leonid Shmelkov, the animator behind Russia's therapeutic cartoon dog named Andrei, has just seen his feature film become an unlikely phenomenon, per Meduza. The film, called Nepokoy, or 'Restlessness,' is an eighteen-plus animated feature that's become the highest-grossing Russian animated film for adults. The story follows two travelers stranded in a mysterious roadside hotel run by an eccentric character called Madam. Shmelkov drew inspiration from sources including Groundhog Day, David Lynch, and Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away, though his version is significantly darker. The animator spent three and a half years creating the film, which uses a rotoscoping technique—tracing live actors—to give characters cartoon faces and startlingly natural human movements. Animation legend Yuri Norstein has praised the work, which is now playing in Russian theaters.

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