Viy 1967 Based on Viy by Nikolai Gogol, screenplay by Konstantin Yershov, Georgi Kropachyov and Aleksandr Ptushko, directed by Konstantin Yershov and Georgi Kropachyov. Ptushko is the director of Sampo and Ilya Muromets. Viy is the first horror film under Soviet Russia. The story has been made into several films including the 2014 film Viy, shown in the US as Forbidden Empire. The US version is shorter than the Russian version. You can get Blu-rays or DVDs of bother versions.
Three seminary students travel home for a vacation. They stop at a farm and ask an old woman if they can sleep in the barn. Later that night the old woman tries to seduce Khoma but he refuses her advances. She turns out to be a witch, putting him under a spell she rides him around the countryside. Khoma realizes she's a witch and beats her. The old woman turns into a beautiful young woman and he runs off, returning to the seminary.
The Rector of the seminary sends him to preform prayers for the dying daughter of a local farmer. Guess what, it's the same young woman that Khoma beat. She dies before Khoma gets to the farm and he doesn't tell anyone he did the beating. Khoma has to read prayers at night for 3 nights and all manor of weird things happen. The dead woman rises and attacks him, the only thing saving him is the chalk circle around the podium. The nights events get worse and worse until poor Khoma collapses.
That's the viy, he's as ugly as the movie is entertaining. There's plenty going on and the production is fairly good. The special effects and make up are fairly good. It's got a nice level of grotesqueness and a bit of humor. There's a Severin DVD/Blu-ray out but I watched in on YouTube at Mosfilm. Link in title.
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