Viy (1967 film)
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''Viy'' (''Spirit of Evil'' or ''Vii'', russian: Вий) is a 1967 Soviet
horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...
directed by Konstantin Yershov and Georgi Kropachyov. Based on the story of the same name by
Nikolai Gogol Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol; uk, link=no, Мико́ла Васи́льович Го́голь, translit=Mykola Vasyliovych Hohol; (russian: Яновский; uk, Яновський, translit=Yanovskyi) ( – ) was a Russian novelist, ...
, the film's screenplay was written by Yershov, Kropachyov and
Aleksandr Ptushko Aleksandr Lukich Ptushko (russian: Александр Лукич Птушко, – 6 March 1973) was a Soviet animation and fantasy film director, and a People's Artist of the USSR (1969). Ptushko is frequently (and somewhat misleadingly) referred ...
. The film was distributed by
Mosfilm Mosfilm (russian: Мосфильм, ''Mosfil’m'' ) is a film studio which is among the largest and oldest in the Russian Federation and in Europe. Founded in 1924 in the USSR as a production unit of that nation's film monopoly, its output incl ...
, and was the first Soviet-era horror film to be officially released in the USSR.


Plot

As a class of seminary students are sent home for vacation, three of them get lost on the way in the middle of the night. One spots a farmhouse in the distance, and they ask the old woman at the gate to let them spend the night. She agrees, on the condition that they sleep in separate areas of the farm. As one of them, Khoma Brutus, lies down in the barn to sleep, the old woman comes to him and tries to seduce him, which he staunchly refuses. She puts him under a spell and makes him lie down so she can climb on his back. She then rides him around the countryside like a horse. Khoma suddenly finds that they are flying and realizes she is a
witch Witchcraft traditionally means the use of Magic (supernatural), magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In Middle Ages, medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually ...
. He demands that she put him back down and, as soon as they land, he grabs a stick and beats her violently. As she cries out that she's dying, he looks and sees she has turned into a beautiful young woman. Horrified, he runs back to his
seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...
, where he finds the
Rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...
has sent for him. Khoma is told that a rich merchant has a daughter who is dying and needs prayers for her soul, and that she specifically asked for Khoma by name. He refuses to go, but the Rector threatens him with a public beating, so he relents and finds he is returning to the farm where he met the witch. The girl dies before he gets there, and to his horror, he realizes she is the witch, and that he is the cause of her death (but he tells no one). The girl's father promises him great reward if he will stand vigil and pray for her soul for the next three nights. If he does not, grave punishment is implied. After the funeral rites, Khoma is told of a huntsman who fell in love with the young girl, and how when she came into the stable and asked his help to get on her horse, he said he would like it more if she rode on his back, then took her on his back and ran off with her, reminding Khoma of his encounter (the men telling the tale suspect the girl was a witch). He is taken to the chapel where the girl's body lies and is locked in for the night. As soon as Khoma walks in, several cats scurry across the floor at his feet. He lights every candle in the chapel for comfort, then begins to recite the prayers for the girl's soul. He pauses to sniff tobacco, and when he sneezes, the girl opens her eyes and climbs out of the coffin, blindly searching for him (apparently, she can hear but cannot see). He quickly draws a sacred circle of chalk around himself, and this acts as a barrier—the night passes with Khoma praying fervently and the girl trying to get to him. When the
rooster The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adult m ...
crows in the morning, the girl returns to her coffin and all the candles blow out. The men of the rich man's estate, who escort Khoma to and from the chapel, surround him and asked what happened that night, to which he replies, "Nothing much. Just some noises." Khoma gets drunk to strengthen himself for the second night. This time, a flurry of birds fly out from the coffin, startling him into running for the door, which is shut by one of the rich man's men. Khoma returns to the prayer
podium A podium (plural podiums or podia) is a platform used to raise something to a short distance above its surroundings. It derives from the Greek ''πόδι'' (foot). In architecture a building can rest on a large podium. Podiums can also be used ...
and is frightened by a bird flying out his prayer book. He draws the sacred circle again and begins the prayers. The whole covered coffin rises into the air and bangs against the protection of the sacred circle, causing a panicked Khoma to cry out to God to protect him. The cover falls off the coffin, and the girl sits up and again starts reaching blindly to him, but once more, she cannot see him or get to him. The coffin continues to fly around the room as the girl reaches blindly for Khoma and calls his name. As the rooster crows, the coffin returns to its place and the girl lies down, but her voice is heard placing a
curse A curse (also called an imprecation, malediction, execration, malison, anathema, or commination) is any expressed wish that some form of adversity or misfortune will befall or attach to one or more persons, a place, or an object. In particular, ...
on Khoma, to turn his hair white and render him blind—however, his hair actually turns grey and he retains his sight. The rich man's men have to help him off the floor and out of the chapel, placing a hat on his head. When they return to the farm, Khoma demands music and begins dancing as a young boy plays on his flute. He removes his hat, and all the servants can see his hair is grey. He asks to speak to their master, saying he will explain what happened and that he doesn't want to pray in the chapel any more. Khoma meets with the rich man, trying to explain what happened in the chapel and begging to be allowed to leave, but the rich man threatens him with a thousand lashes if he refuse—and a thousand pieces of gold if he succeeds. In spite of this, Khoma tries to escape, but makes a wrong turn and winds up in the hands of the rich man's men, and is returned to the farm. He returns to the chapel a third time, drunk, but still remembers to draw the sacred circle before beginning the prayers. The girl sits up on the coffin and begins to curse him, causing him to have visions of walking skeletons and grasping, ghostly hands. She summons various hideous, demonic figures to torment him, but they cannot get past the sacred circle either. She finally calls on Viy, a name which causes all the demons to tremble in fear. A large monster emerges, and orders his huge eyelids to be moved from his eyes. Khoma realizes he cannot look this demon in the eye or he is lost. Viy is able to see Khoma, which allows the other demons to pounce on him and beat him, but when the rooster crows once more, the demons all flee away, leaving Khoma motionless on the floor. The girl turns back into the old woman and lies down in the coffin, which instantly falls apart. The Rector enters the chapel to this scene, and races off to tell the others. The last scene shows Khoma's two friends from the start of the movie back at the seminary, painting some walls. One offers to drink to Khoma's memory, while the other doubts that Khoma is really dead. The movie follows the original tale in a somewhat loose fashion, but manages to retain the majority of the images and action.


Cast

*
Leonid Kuravlyov Leonid Vyacheslavovich Kuravlyov (russian: Леонид Вячеславович Куравлёв; 8 October 1936 – 30 January 2022) was a Soviet and Russian film actor. He became a People's Artist of the RSFSR in 1976. Early life Kuravlyov w ...
as Khoma Brutus *
Natalya Varley Natalya Varley (russian: Наталья Владимировна Варлей, born 22 June 1947) is a Soviet and Russian film and theater actress, who became famous in 1966 for her part in the comedy ''Kidnapping, Caucasian Style''. In 1989 she ...
as Pannochka (voiced by
Klara Rumyanova Klara Mikhailovna Rumyanova (russian: link=no, Кла́ра Миха́йловна Румя́нова; 8 December 1929 – 18 September 2004) was a Soviet and Russian actress, voice actress and singer. She was active from 1951 to 1999. Her child ...
) * Alexei Glazyrin *
Vadim Zakharchenko Vadim Viktorovich Zakharchenko (russian: Вадим Викторович Захарченко; 19 February 1929 — 2 January 2007) was a Soviet and Russian actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films from 1954 to 2002. Honored Artist of t ...
* Nikolai Kutuzov * Pyotr Vesklyarov * Dmitri Kapka * Stepan Shkurat * Georgy Sochevko * Nikolai Yakovchenko * Nikolai Panasyev


Production

Some of the "
witch Witchcraft traditionally means the use of Magic (supernatural), magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In Middle Ages, medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually ...
" scenes and the ending where Viy appears were toned down due to technological limitations as well as then current restrictions on Soviet film production. The directors were able to avoid the previous restrictions by using what was considered a "folk tale".


Reception

Richard Gilliam of
AllMovie AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne. History AllMovie was founded by popular-cult ...
gave the film four out of five stars, commending production design, pacing, and Kuravlyov's performance. In his book '' 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die'', Steven Jay Schneider refers to the film as "a colorful, entertaining, and genuinely frightening film of demons and witchcraft that boasts some remarkable special-effects work by Russia's master of cinematic fantasy, Aleksandr Ptushko." Anne Billson wrote in ''
Sight & Sound ''Sight and Sound'' (also spelled ''Sight & Sound'') is a British monthly film magazine published by the British Film Institute (BFI). It conducts the well-known, once-a-decade ''Sight and Sound'' Poll of the Greatest Films of All Time, ongoing ...
'' declared that "Thanks to effects that transcend the limitations of their time, the uncanny occurrences of 'Viy' can still generate a frisson" and that "this exquisite presentation is a must-see for every aficionado of folk-horror and dark fairytales." Martin Unsworth of '' Starburst'' gave the film a five star rating, declaring that what "makes Viy so special isn’t so much the direction of Konstantin Ershov and Georgiy Kropachyov but the effects created by Aleksandr Ptushko alongside the cinematography of Viktor Pishchalnikov and Fyodor Provorov. There are terrifying moments early on that stand out, especially the transgressive scene involving the old witch (played by male actor Nikolai Kutuzov), which is the stuff of nightmares alone. The film gains its classic status, however, thanks to a bombardment of in-camera effects, jaunty camera angles, and a building sense of dread that explodes with an assault of strange, nightmarish characters."


Home media

The film was released on
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
on 21 August 2001 by
Image Entertainment RLJ Entertainment (formerly Image Entertainment) is an American film production company and home video distributor, distributing film and television productions in North America, with approximately 3,200 exclusive DVD titles and approximately 340 ...
. It was re-released on DVD by Hanzibar Films on 28 March 2005. Severin Films released the film on
Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
in 2019.


Remake

A modern version starring
Jason Flemyng Jason Iain Flemyng''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.''; at ancestry.com (born 25 September 1966) is an English actor. He is known for roles in British films such as ''Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels'' (1998) ...
was in production for several years and went through several different deadlines, but was released in 2014. The 1990
Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
n version of the film, called ''A Holy Place'', ran on the
Fantasia Festival Fantasia International Film Festival (also known as Fantasia-fest, FanTasia, and Fant-Asia) is a film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996. Regularly held in July of each year, it is valued by both hardcore ...
2010.


References


Sources

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External links

* * * {{Viy 1967 films Soviet horror films Russian fantasy films 1960s Russian-language films 1967 horror films Mosfilm films Russian supernatural horror films Films based on Viy (story) Films set in Ukraine Films shot in Ukraine Russian horror films Folk horror films Films based on Russian folklore Films based on Slavic mythology Films about witchcraft Gothic horror films Russian dark fantasy films