Viy
Directed by Konstantin Ershov, Georgiy Kropachyov
Based on the classic novella by Nikolai Gogol – and previously adapted by Mario Bava as BLACK SUNDAY – the first horror film ever produced in the Soviet Union remains genuinely frightening. In 19th century Russia, a seminary student is forced to spend three nights with the corpse of a beautiful young witch. But when she rises from the dead to seduce him, it will summon a nightmare of fear, desire and the ultimate demonic mayhem.
In 19th century Russia, a seminary student is forced to spend three nights with the corpse of a beautiful young witch.
Cast: Leonid Kuravlyov, Natalya Varley, Aleksey Glazyrin
Member Reviews
Interesting for historical reasons, but also fairly creep.
Eibon's really good too.
I really wanted to like this, having heard so much about it and seen snippets and stills, and being an aficionado of not only witch films and dark folk tales, but also cinema of this era. But this was a letdown. Just too much whimsy and goofiness, and not enough character development and good storytelling. I wasn't expecting it to be scary at all, but it comes off more like a halfway decent family film. I'm glad I finally got to see it, and the cinematography, visuals and effects were quite good. But I can't give it more than 3 skulls.
One of the few Soviet horror films, but a nice spooky folk horror selection. I highly recommend!
A fun and an interesting little movie! Definitely worth a watch!