Viy

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TOMATOMETER

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80%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 1,023

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Movie Info

A group of seminary students from the city go on summer break, drunkenly wandering the countryside. They end up lost, and spend a night in the company of a haggard witch. A scuffle breaks out, and one of the students, Khoma (Leonid Kuravlyov), murders the witch. Only it turns out he really killed a beautiful landowner's daughter (Natalya Varley), and now he must sit with her body in a church for three days, protecting it from evil spirits. This horror movie was based on a story by Nikolai Gogol.

Genre:

horror, fantasy
Original Language:

Russian
Director:

Georgiy Kropachyov
Release Date (Streaming):

Apr 6, 2020
Runtime:

1h 18m
Production Co:

Mosfilm
Sound Mix:

Mono

Cast & Crew

Natalya Varley
Pannochka

Vadim Zakharchenko
Khalyava

G. Sochevko
Stepan

Leonid Kuravlev
Khoma

Aleksey Glazyrin
Sotnik

Nikolai Kutuzov
Vedma

Show all Cast & Crew

Critic Reviews for Viy

All Critics (4) | Top Critics (1) | Fresh (3) | Rotten (1)

Russian director Alexander Ptushko is known for his special effects, which have an appropriately low-tech charm in this 1967 folktale.

October 17, 2016 | Full Review…

Fred Camper
Chicago Reader
Top Critic
The Viy itself is a disappointment, a lumbering, silly looking thing that would be right at home in The Neverending Story.

October 17, 2016 | Rating: 2.5/5 | Full Review…

Maitland McDonagh
TV Guide
Viy serves as the prototypical horror film of the 1960s, one whose special effects and lowbrow exterior disguise its own considerably more nuanced agenda.

October 17, 2016 | Full Review…

Matthew Monagle
Brooklyn Magazine
Typical of Ptushko's work, it mixes gothic horror, from a short story by Nikolai Gogol, and grotesque animated effects in a proletarian automatic blender.

May 4, 2010 | Full Review…

Kelly Vance
East Bay Express

View All Critic Reviews (4)

Audience Reviews for Viy

Nov 07, 2011

If you combine Bergman and some of Bresson's metaphysical elements with the subsequent fantasy touches of Pasolini in 1974 and the random horror/fantasy insanity you're already familiar with in this era, you get <i>Viy</i>, a groundbreaking glimpse into the collision between the impossible magic of celluloid and a "Tarkovskian" struggle of faith against demons. Unique and influential masterpiece that opened new boundaries for camp fun in the most artistic way possible. 99/100

Edgar C Super Reviewer
May 22, 2010

A philosopher monk must spend 3 nights vigil over the body of a witch he possibly murdered. I?ve heard that this is Russia?s first horror film, made in 1967, and boy, is it a doozy. Though most of the characters are fairly unlikable and the story slows down in spots, this is a visually astounding film. And the payoff, with the monk spending the third night with the corpse, has to be seen to be believed. Great stuff.

Christopher B Super Reviewer
Apr 30, 2009

A seminarian in Czarist Ukraine must say prayers for three nights over the corpse of a deceased witch who had a vendetta against him. This Soviet era film, now available in the West, is one of the true classic horror movies, with no blood, sex or CGI but a brilliantly chilling story, amazingly elegant effects, and a final reel of full of horrifyingly conceived monsters . Faithfully adapted from the Nikolai Gogol short story.

Greg S Super Reviewer
Jul 26, 2008

the russian horror classic can now be seen in it's entirety w/english subs on youtube here: http://youtu.be/zyg0WUsY9HI . legendary russian movie studio mosfilm has a youtube channel where they are posting their most famous films, most with english subs. they'll be adding 5 new features a week for a total of 200 by year's end. tarkovskys, eisensteins and plenty of lesser known gems can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/user/mosfilm

Stella D Super Reviewer