Being Film #11 for Hooptober 2025
Straddling the line between folktale and vibrant Hammer-style gothic horror, I was shocked and surprised at how much I enjoyed the lean, vibrant Viy. My knowledge of Russian cinema, let alone Russian horror, is pretty limited, but I shouldn’t be surprised considering the rich history Russia has from a literature standpoint. Adapted from a short story by Nikolai Gogol, Viy is a wonder of practical effects, concise storytelling, and – weirdly – a sense of joy despite its grim plot.
THE QUICK SUMMARY: Apparently even seminary students need to get a little wilding in from time to time. When Khoma Brutus and his friends enjoy a weekend furlough from their divinity studies, they try to spend the night in an old villager’s barn. The old woman gleefully torments Khoma, hypnotizing him and riding him like a horse through the sky. A witch! Khoma eventually overpowers her, beating her with a club until she suddenly turns into a beautiful woman. He runs away, terrified until he later learns a young girl has died, and her dying wish was to have Khoma come and stand vigil over her for three nights. It’s an offer Khoma cannot refuse, and so begins three nights of prayer, witchcraft, and monsters…will Khoma survive?
At only 70 minutes, there’s not a whole lot of meat on the bones of Viy. But in a way that slightness makes the film that much more enjoyable as a visual experience. It allowed me to focus on how beautifully the camera glides in the beginning as the students run rampant over the town, grabbing food and women in short order. The limitations of budget (during this scene they’re clearly running against a project backscreen) comes off as charming rather than shoddy, and helps add to the dreamy folktale vibe the film gives off.
The acting feels about par for the course for a European 1960s film, and it’s one of the reasons I keep coming back to the Hammer comparisons. Same with the music: composer Karen Khachaturian keeps everything jaunty and fun when it’s needed, and gets the mood exactly right when nighttime comes and the wackiness of the witch and Khoma being.
It’s those sequences that really give Viy its joy and exuberance. Each night bathed in a blue hue the witch comes back to life to try and take her revenge on Khoma for his abuse. Each sequence is fantastic; you get in the words of our friend and contributor Dan a “coffin surfing witch”, circles of salt (always a hit with this Supernatural fan), and some incredible in-camera visual effects. The climax is an all-timer, and if you’re wondering where the image in both the header and the poster comes from, it’s there.
Beyond the incredible makeup and costumes of the demons, there are these gorgeous tricks of demons coming out of the walls and fading back into them, with the camera doing an impressive ballet to capture everything. For a 70-minute film, I absolutely adored Viy, and can’t wait to visit it again.
Cinema Dual 
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