Strong and Moving!

best movie i've ever seen.

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

The story-telling is good with flashbacks.The film is both funny and heartbreaking. You smile in a scene and get a soulcrushing revelation in the next.

This seems often to get pegged a horror film, and the first Soviet example of one. It certainly takes the imagery of that genre in certain sequences, but is thoroughly too an adaptation of the Nikolai Gogol story of the same name. It's a somewhat eccentric adaptation, but in a sense it needed to be. The story is someone short, and not really especially visual. In the transition to feature film, this means that events get spread out quite a bit (even as events that happen to the other seminary students than our main hero are streamlined out), and therefore the film, especially in its first half, is rather slow moving. Though the visuals that are filled in end up including some very nice outdoor cinematography, and interesting scenes of the nineteenth-century Orthodox Church. Gogol's story was also characterized by a sort of ambiguity of tone that was part of his effectiveness as a writer, and that is not really completely maintained. Things become broader -- the old lady in the farmhouse at the start is obviously decrepit and witch like, for instance, and, yes, the ghostly scenes at the end are more horror-like. These sequences where the dead body in the church rises and summons demons are really very effective and thrilling (though sometimes showing budget limitations) and its no surprise they end up among the most memorable elements. Leonid Kuravlyov plays the lead as so hapless and dim that he's often not easy to believe in scenes that are not supposed to be funny -- except these ones. In all, an imperfect but worth-seeing adaptation of a Gogol story that would be very difficult to adapt in any circumstances -- and the better for the "horror film" influence that several appropriate scenes show.

I'm not particularly a fan of horror flicks. I watched this movie simply because I wanted to see something Russian. But as I found out, this is much more than a typical horror flick. It has a lyrical quality to it almost like a Greek play. True, it has ghosts & goblins & creepy things in it. But so do Greek plays.I consider this to be a fantasy or an allegory with some nice subtle insights about rustic life and the human condition in general. Some of the witty dialogue is absolutely priceless. I'm not familiar with the writings of Gogol who wrote the original story of "Viy", but if you're a fan of Tolstoy's short stories ("The Imp and the Crust") or Guy de Maupassant ("The Devil") or maybe the lighter side of Poe ("Never Bet the Devil Your Head"), then this'll be right up your alley.And of course it'll scare the socks off your arse.The camera illusions in this movie are absolutely 1st class. Don't be put off by the fact that it had a "low budget" by Hollywood standards. The minimalist approach really brought out the director's creativity in this case. Like an old 1940s Jean Cocteau film, the special effects are timeless in their simplicity, and they will hold up for the next 50 years, long after CGI has gone the way of the dodo (and not a moment too soon).

Good fairy-tale that can show what potential existed in Russian cinema decades ago. What makes it so special is not special effects but special rich national atmosphere: costumes, huts, talks, dancing, music, etc. It all has Russian flavour (Ukrainian, if you like). This film was very popular among Soviet kids and truly it remains the highest achievement of Russian cinema in horror/comedy genre. Years have passed but time only points out that it is an example of professional and artistic cinema.9 out of 10 (have a feeling that its makers were restrained and were not allowed to dish all the horrors out). Thank you for attention.

Viy is based on the same story, written by Nikolai Gogol, that inspired Mario Bava's masterpiece, Black Sunday. While the films have some similarities; for example, a witch and a fairytale atmosphere; the two really aren't much alike. Black Sunday went more for the straight horror, and was a better film for it. Viy is more of a religious themed film, and the witch plot line offers more in the way of the faith of the lead character than actual horror. The film has a massive amount of cult value, mostly due to the fact that it's not much like any other movie in terms of its style. The music and atmosphere combine to give it an other-worldly feel, and this helps massively where the plot is concerned. The basis of the film follows a man of God who must spend three days and three nights presiding over the corpse of a young girl, who also happens to be the local witch. Being dead isn't much of a hindrance to the witch, as she bombards our hero with black magic. With only his faith to protect him; will he be able to last three nights with her corpse? The first half of the movie is really rather dull, as not a lot happens and it seems to mostly be a set-up for the latter section. The plot does pick up as the film goes on; but the film is never massively engaging, and that is its main downfall. However, the cinematography is great; and Viy has a very vibrant feel throughout. Black Sunday had a similar vibrant feel; and this film gives the viewer an idea of what Bava's film might have looked like in colour. The scenes that take place inside the church are the movie's main strongpoint, thus making it a shame that there aren't more of them. These scenes look great and brilliantly offset the gentle tone of the rest of the film. The climax delivers the best part of the movie, and the special effects there, while obviously cheap, look stunning and brilliantly suit the style of the film. Russia isn't very well known for its film industry, and this was one of the first horror films produced in the Soviet Union. Modern flick Night Watch has given the Russian film industry a new lease of life recently; and this film, like most other classics, is set for a remake. Oh well...I recommend Viy mainly to fans of art-house cinema.