| Viy | |
|---|---|
DVD cover |
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| Directed by | Konstantin Yershov Georgi Kropachyov |
| Written by | Screen writers: Aleksandr Ptushko Konstantin Yershov Georgi Kropachyov Original story: Nikolai Gogol |
| Starring | Leonid Kuravlev Natalya Varley Alexei Glazyrin Vadim Zakharchenko Nikolai Kutuzov |
| Music by | Karen Khachaturyan |
| Cinematography | Viktor Pishchalnikov Fyodor Provorov |
| Editing by | R. Pesetskaya Tamara Zubova |
| Release date(s) | 1967 |
| Running time | 78 minutes |
| Country | Soviet Union |
| Language | Russian |
Viy (Spirit of Evil[1] or Vii, Russian: Вий) is a 1967 horror film produced by Mosfilm and based on the Nikolai Gogol story of the same name.
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The movie follows the original tale in a somewhat loose fashion, but manages to retain the majority of the images and action.
A seminary student must survive three nights in prayer guarding the deceased witch maiden while she, along with an army of hellish demons, try to lure him out of his Holy Ring of Chalk.
Some of the 'witch' 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'.
This was officially the first Soviet-era horror film released in the USSR.
A modern version starring Jason Flemyng has been in production for several years and has gone through several different deadlines, but is planned for release in 2012.[2] The 1990 Serbian version of the film, called "A Holy Place" will run on the Fantasia Festival 2010.[3]