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Viy (Spirit of Evil) | 
 enlarge | Directors: Konstantin Yershov, Georgi Kropachyov
Actors: Leonid Kuravlyov, Natalya Varley, Aleksei Glazyrin, Vadim Zakharchenko, Nikolai Kutuzov
Studio: Image Entertainment
Category: DVD
List Price: $29.99
Buy New: $21.98
You Save: $8.01 (27%)
New (2) Used (3) from $21.98
Rating:  9 reviews
Sales Rank: 77159
Format: Color, Dolby, Dvd-video, Subtitled, Ntsc
Languages: English (Subtitled), Russian (Original Language)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 78 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.1 x 0.6
UPC: 014381025729
EAN: 0014381025729
ASIN: B00005M20C
Theatrical Release Date: 1967
Release Date: August 21, 2001
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Description
An eerie, foreboding, rarely-seen classic horror film from Russia, "Viy" is based on 19th century writer Nikolai Gogol's original story of Thomas Brutus, a theology student who is forced to read scripture for a young woman who has died. What he doesn't know is, she is the devil's emissary on earth. Over the three nights of his mission, Thomas is tempted and tormented by all the minions of hell as the young man's faith and courage are tested in a trial by fire.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 4 more reviews...
 Psychedelic Russian horror. December 8, 2008
Robert P. Beveridge (Cleveland, OH)
Viy (Konstantin Yershov, 1967)
Some movies are just too weird to explain, and yet it is the lot of the hapless reviewer that we must try. Such a film is Viy, a Russian film from the sixties (currently being remade by Oleg Stepchenko, by the by, not that we'll ever get a chance to see it in America) that looks for all the world like a Roger Corman monster flick directed by Eisenstein, with someone very, very drunk in charge of the special effects. (Come to think of it, most of Corman's films... oh, forgot I said anything.)
Viy, based on a Nikolai Gogol short story, tells the tale of a bunch of seminary school students out on spring break. (Yes, really.) Seminary school students, it turns out, aren't much different than the rest of us when it comes to spring break; they party it up, with a great deal of alcohol and the requisite number of wenches. (Unfortunately, wet T-shirt contests are not the order of the day in Russia in April.) One of these seminary students is Khoma Brutus (Leonid Kuravlyov, one of Russian cinema's bigwigs, in an early role). As his friends get to their homes, only Khoma Brutus and his two friends Khaliava (the late Vadim Zakharchenko, another chap with a long history in Russian film) and Gorobetz (Vladimir Salnikov, someone American audiences might actually recognize from Mute Witness). The three find lodging, but things are not at all as they seem, senging Khoma Brutus fleeing back to the monastery--where the rector tells him that the mayor of a small town near Kiev desperately needs help; his daughter may be dying. They need prayers to be said over her body for three days, though no one will tell the poor boy why...
I have heard it said that Viy was the first Russian horror film; I have no idea whether that's accurate (and, of course, it depends on how far one wants to stretch one's definition of horror). I do know that it was the first of only four films that Konstantin Yershov would direct in his career (and if IMDB voting is to be counted on as a measure of popularity, it's his most popular by a factor of 75 or so), and for the sheer fun factor, I haven't seen much in Russian cinema, before or since, that compares with it. It's low budget by necessity--even a world-famous director like Tarkovsky couldn't get the budgets he needed in Soviet Russia--but while that leads by definition to cheesy special effects, the acting is superb, the pacing is pitch-perfect, and, as I've said previously in this review, it's a whole lot of fun. If you're looking for a movie to have on in the background at a party, and you want a really good one instead of the Z-grade junk I usually recommend for that purpose, Viy fits the bill to a T (or a V), especially since it's finally available on DVD. Good stuff all around. ***
 "One great, thrilling fantacy" August 12, 2008
Richard Ranta (Grand Rapids, MI United States)
I first heard about Viy from our local newspaper film reviewer. His son while at college, bought this title while standing in line at the college book store. This is one great film! I watched it first, with English sub-titles while hearing the audio in Russian. "What a kick!' This may be an old title but it has a freshness that will surprize you. The special effects are way head of anything else from that time.
This is a great film to watch while its snowing outside. a film to keep you warm.
"Sacred Circle, Save Me! ~ A Cossack Doesn't Fear Anything In This World" February 27, 2008
Brian E. Erland (Brea, CA - USA)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
Note: Russian with English subtitles.
Synopsis: Brother Khoma, a young, Ukrainian Orthodox seminarian unintentionally beats an ugly, old witch to death after casting a spell on the surprised clergyman and mounting him as though he were a horse to soar in tandem through the night air in unholy flight. As she lies dying in the grass she transforms into a beautiful young girl as the confused Khoma runs from the scene.
Unfortunately the good Brother is assigned to perform a solitary three night prayer vigil over the same dead girl's body a few days later. For three successive evenings he must enter alone into an old wooden church and pray from dusk until dawn for the soul of the "dearly departed" As soon as he begins to pray the witch returns to life and attacks the frightened penitent. If not for the sacred circle he so wisely traced around him before beginning all would be lost.
The sound of the cock crowing to announce daybreak brings the demonic attacks to an end, giving Khoma a respite to eat, sleep, reflect and prepare for the next assault. As you might have guessed the attacks increase in intensity each night until the witch finally decides to call upon powerful demonic forces to assist her. In one final attempt to overcome the hated seminarian she summons forth VIY, the Spirit of Evil and the Devil's Emissary on Earth.
Critique: The '67 film of the supernatural, `VIY - Spirit of Evil' is superbly translated from Ukrainian folklore to the screen by N. Gogal. It is a surreal, macabre and mesmerizing journey into the darker corners of the spirit world done in unique and unforgettable fashion. The imagery is highly imaginative, evocative and disturbing with a noticeable Bermanesque feel. The sequence of the re-animated witch circling the sacred ring attempting to penetrate and attack the young seminarian is superbly done and absolutely unnerving.
My Rating: `VIY - The Spirit of Evil' is a classic, -5 Stars-.
Seldom-seen scary treat. November 6, 2006
A. Goodell (Los Angeles)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
If you can figure out the command buttons you will have your choice of languages and subtitles for this fun and scary Russian movie about an inexperienced young priest who is ordered to a country estate to perform exorcism on the corpse of a witch. She proceeds to call down her supernatural wrath on him. If you like the old Roger Corman pictures inspired by Poe you will probably love this.
tomb fright September 22, 2005
A. Grossman (Florence, Oregon USA)
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
An enjoyable and different horror film. Only the overproduced conclusion mars it. The first of the three nights the "hero" must spend in a tomb with a dead witch is one of the most frightening scenes ever. Viy is worth a view just for that and the second night. But that third one!!! Definitely worth the price.
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