Leptirica
| Leptirica | |
|---|---|
 The DVD release cover | |
| Genre | Horror |
| Directed by | Đorđe Kadijević |
| Written by |
Đorđe Kadijević (screenplay) Milovan Glišić (story) |
| Starring |
Mirjana Nikolić Petar Božović Slobodan Perović Vasja Stanković |
| Country | Yugoslavia |
| Language | Serbo-Croatian |
| Original channel | TV Belgrade |
| Release date | 1973 |
| Running time | 63 min |
Leptirica (Serbian Cyrillic: Лептирица, translation The She-Butterfly) is a 1973 former Yugoslav horror TV movie based on the story After Ninety Years (1880) written by Serbian writer Milovan Glišić. Leptirica was the first Serbian horror movie[1] and is considered one of the top Serbian and former Yugoslav horror films.[2][3] The movie was filmed in a village Zelinje, near the river Drina, close to the city Zvornik.
Plot
An old miller hears strange sounds coming from the woods. While he sleeps, a millstone suddenly stops working and a strange human-like creature with black hands and long teeth and nails bites his neck.
After the opening scene, the film turns to a romance between a poor young man Strahinja (Petar Božović) and a beautiful girl Radojka (Mirjana Nikolić). Radojka, the daughter of landowner Živan (Slobodan Perović), refuses to allow her to marry Strahinja. Disappointed, Strahinja leaves his village and goes to Zarožje. He meets peasants discussing the cursed mill and accepts their offer to become the new miller. He spends the night in the mill and survives the attack of the creature, finding out its name - Sava Savanović. The villagers visit the oldest woman in a neighboring village and ask her if there is a grave of somemone called Sava Savanović somewhere nearby. After finding the place where his body is buried, they nail a stake through the coffin and a butterfly flies out.
The peasants help Strahinja take Radojka from her home and bring her to Zarožje. During the night, while the villagers are preparing the wedding, Strahinja sneaks into his future wife's room while she is asleep. As he undresses her, he discovers a bloody hole under her breasts. Radojka opens her eyes and transforms into a disgusting hairy creature which climbs onto Strahinja's neck while he is trying to run away. She leads him to Sava's grave where he manages to take the stake out of the coffin and impale her.
The film ends with Strahija lying motionlessly on the ground and a butterfly in his hair moving its wings.
Cast
- Mirjana Nikolić as Radojka
- Petar Božović as Strahinja
- Slobodan Petrović as Živan
- Vasja Stanković as Kmet
- Aleksandar Stojković as a peasant
- Tanasaije Uzunović as The priest
- Ivan Đurđević as a peasant
- Branko Petković as a peasant
- Toma Kuruzović as Vule
See also
References
- ↑ "Kadijević i srpski horor" (in Serbian). May 3, 2010. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
- ↑ Ognjanović, Dejan (January 19, 2010). "Leptirica (1973)". Retrieved 2 December 2012.
- ↑ "Dnevnik.hr" (in Croatian). February 21, 2007. Retrieved 2 December 2012.