Nikolai Gogol was a Ukrainian-Russian author. His works included "The Government Inspector" (filmed as "The Inspector General" starring Danny Kaye). But one of his most famous works is "Viy", whose title refers to a demonic entity. A notable movie adaptation of this story was Mario Bava's "Black Sunday", starring Barbara Steele. This was a loose adaptation; while watching it I suspected that the main purpose was to show off Barbara Steele.
But here we have a more faithful adaptation. And believe me, it has some intense scenes! Parts of the movie reminded me of Vincent Price movies, but once the main character has to face the body, things really get going. I guess that the point is that a well done horror flick is bound to be fun no matter which country it comes from. The Soviet Union's first horror movie isn't, say, "The Shining", but it delivers what it promises. I enjoyed it.
But here we have a more faithful adaptation. And believe me, it has some intense scenes! Parts of the movie reminded me of Vincent Price movies, but once the main character has to face the body, things really get going. I guess that the point is that a well done horror flick is bound to be fun no matter which country it comes from. The Soviet Union's first horror movie isn't, say, "The Shining", but it delivers what it promises. I enjoyed it.