Viy (1967)
Day 5 of the 31 Days of horror movies for October!! This will be a brief drive by review today, things are hectic around here. Mucho apologies.
This is the story about Khoma, one of the 3 seminary students that get lost during their vacation. They seek a place to spend the night at a farmhouse in which the old woman there consents to on the condition that they sleep in separate locations. Khoma is sent to sleep in the barn where she later tries to seduce him in which he greatly refuses. The old woman casts a spell on him and rides him. Not in the sexy way either.
After their fly in the sky Khoma beats her until he sees that the old woman is now a beautiful young lady so he flees into the night. After trying to forget it all, it comes back to bite him in the ass. Turns out, she is the daughter of a rich merchant. Her dying wish is for Khoma at her side. He damn well knows nothing good will come of it. Nope, nope, nope.
I'm sorry for being so brief but that is practically what happens and I don't want to just recap everything which feels like I am always on the verge of doing. So the gist of this movie is basically a woman who haunts a man in life and in death. A very haunting tale.
I had to watch this movie in sections (they speak fast lol better be a speed reader) and I damn well nearly scrapped this movie post but boy oh boy I am glad I still stuck to it. For a 60's film, I was impressed with the direction of this movie. Khoma is not intended to be a likeable character but Leonid Kuravlyov portrays him rather well and it makes you want to see that comeuppance. I see the way the movie was set up, there was a dark undertone to it but I definitely underestimated it. Despite all the fluff and Khoma's feeble attempts to wiggle out of his responsibilities this movie does a great job to illustrate the moral to this story. If you feel the need to back out of this movie half way through then you sure as fuck will miss out on the climax when shit hits the fan. You see his descent into madness and the cinematography on that part is disturbingly beautiful.
This movie may not be what you're expecting when it comes to horror but I surprisingly won't knock it. Worth a watch to the end. Just hang in there.
If this movie had a message, what would it be? Don't be a dick.
Yeah this is a 60s movie so there's no disclaimers.
Movie for all ages....just about.
That being said, what is the verdict?
Forgivable lacking effects but great storytelling in the folklore.
If you are interested in watching Viy, then please CLICK HERE to see what streaming services you can watch it on via the free app JustWatch!!
