Viy (1967)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Directors:

Georgi Kropachyov
Konstantin Yershov

Writers:

Nikolai Gogol (story)
Georgi Kropachyov (writer)

Release Date:

27 November 1967 (Soviet Union)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Horror

Plot:

A young priest is ordered to preside over the wake of witch in a small old wooden church of a remote village. This means spending three nights alone with the corpse with only his faith to protect him. |

Plot Keywords:

Witch | Theology Student | Cossack | Vigil | Demon

Cast

Leonid Kuravlyov	...	Khoma Brutus
Natalya Varley	...	Pannochka
Aleksei Glazyrin	...	Sotnik
Nikolai Kutuzov	...	Witch (as N. Kutuzov)
Vadim Zakharchenko	...	Khaliava
Pyotr Vesklyarov	...	Rector / Dorosh (as P. Vesklyarov)
Vladimir Salnikov	...	Gorobetz (as V. Salnikov)
Dmitri Kapka	...	Overko (as D. Kapka)
Stepan Shkurat	...	Yavtukh (as S. Shkurat)
G. Sochevko	...	Stepan
Nikolai Yakovchenko	...	Spirid (as N. Yakovchenko)
Nikolai Panasyev	...	Comforter

Also Known As:

Вий (Soviet Union: Russian title)
Viy or Spirit of Evil (USA) (DVD title)

Runtime:

77 min

Country:

Soviet Union

Language:

Russian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:16 | Finland:K-16 | UK:12

Filming Locations:

Mosfilm Studios, Moscow, Russia

Company:

Mosfilm

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Khoma draws a chalk circle on the church floor for the first time, traces of previous circles are still visible on the floorboards.

Movie Connections:

Version of La maschera del demonio (1960)

very strange and very good

I've gotten several old Russian films recently and have been pleasantly surprised how good and how interesting they are. This one is no exception and is a horror/fantasy type film from the mid-60's. A seminary student on break (in the 1800's?) with several others stops at a farmhouse in the middle of the night for shelter and is approached by the old woman that lives there, who is apparently a witch. He ends up gravely wounding her and since things are not what they seem she turns into a young woman who happens to be the daughter of a wealthy man. The young seminary student is sent for when the girl dies to read prayers over her for 3 nights and when he shows up to take care of business he finds that her vengeful spirit is out to get him. This begins a bit slowly but when it gets going it's full of creepy oddities that will delight anyone who likes horror or fantasy films. When the summoning of critters from beyond takes place the tomb is flooded with all manner of vampires, werewolves, etc., and NOT the American version so therefore they're a bit creepier and weird. All in all a very interesting little film (it's short, about 70 minutes or so) but well worth seeing. 9 out of 10.