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 | Fantasy | 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:

Village | Witch | Priest | Church | Corpse

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

Trivia:

The first horror film to be made in Russia.

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:

Remade as Viy (2009)

Holy minimalist masterpieces, Batman!

I'm not particularly a fan of horror flicks. I watched this movie simply because I wanted to see something Russian. But as I found out, this is much more than a typical horror flick. It has a lyrical quality to it almost like a Greek play. True, it has ghosts & goblins & creepy things in it. But so do Greek plays.

I consider this to be a fantasy or an allegory with some nice subtle insights about rustic life and the human condition in general. Some of the witty dialogue is absolutely priceless. I'm not familiar with the writings of Gogol who wrote the original story of "Viy", but if you're a fan of Tolstoy's short stories ("The Imp and the Crust") or Guy de Maupassant ("The Devil") or maybe the lighter side of Poe ("Never Bet the Devil Your Head"), then this'll be right up your alley.

And of course it'll scare the socks off your arse.

The camera illusions in this movie are absolutely 1st class. Don't be put off by the fact that it had a "low budget" by Hollywood standards. The minimalist approach really brought out the director's creativity in this case. Like an old 1940s Jean Cocteau film, the special effects are timeless in their simplicity, and they will hold up for the next 50 years, long after CGI has gone the way of the dodo (and not a moment too soon).