A Holy Place (1990) User Reviews

An atmospheric -and very adult- adaptation of Gogol's "The Viy"

[melvelvit-1 · 8/10 · 9 February 2015]

Three seminary students are walking home from a fair when one of them, Toma, is almost hit by a carriage containing a beautiful woman no one else sees. As evening draws near, the trio come upon an isolated farmhouse and ask the old woman who lives there if they can spend the night lest they be set upon by wolves. She agrees and later on, in the middle of the night, she comes to Toma and starts taking off her clothes. When Toma rebuffs her, the old hag attacks him and rides him through the fields like a stallion but by reciting the Lord's Prayer, he's able to throw her (the way a horse would) and beat her to death - whereupon she changes into the beautiful lady in the carriage. Toma doesn't tell his friends what happened and the next day, the head of the monastery orders him to go to their benefactor's feudal estate and read prayers over the man's dead daughter for three consecutive nights. When he gets there and looks in the coffin, it's the young woman (?) he'd killed the night before...

This one's got it all- misty moonlight, howling wolves, hanging cobwebs, church crypts, cackling crones, a beautiful witch who rides men in more ways than one, a black cat in attack mode, a young man's hair turning white overnight, an erotic painting, superstitious villagers telling scary little stories in sepia-like flashbacks -and don't ask how the village idiot got that way (oh, OK, he was boinked senseless). Surprisingly, none of it's cheap, cheesy, or over-the-top and there's also nudity, lesbianism, and incest but even so, it's a terrific blend of sex & horror with a real sense of dread by the time the third night approaches. It's a good, "grimm" Eastern European fairytale for grown-ups -catch it if you can! The director's LEPTIRICA (1973) is also very good.

Gogol would be proud of it!

[micic033 · 7/10 · 19 August 2010]

I was very surprised to see the quality and effectiveness of this 1990. horror movie from Serbia. This is a genuine showcase of how the horror movie should be made. It has a strong story and character development, solid and in some times lustrous acting, creepy atmosphere and music, through all the movie (thanks to brilliant music score of Serbian late keyboardist Laza Ristovski).

The greatest thing about this movie is that there is no innocent person in this story (probably, likewise in real life). Everyone has his own dark secret... evil inside, that needs to be revealed. The same case is with the main character, too... Who is a priest BTW.

The main horror scenes are incredibly creepy and give you shivers in a spine. There is no blood, no torturing (besides mind torturing), no dismemberment of bodies... but, believe me, for a true horror fan, it will make a lasting impression.

There are more very good Serbian horrors like this one to be seen. For curious worldwide horror fans I recommend - Leptirica, Variola Vera and Davitelj protiv davitelja. They are lucid and interesting... Well, at least on a Serbian way.

I do recommend another older Russian version of this movie, too. It's called Viy, like the Gogol's novel. It has its own qualities, on a different way from the Serbian version.

On the end, for Serbia, this is remarkable horror movie!

The finest Balkan horror movie

[superbmov · 8/10 · 21 January 2016]

There are not that many horror movies from Balkan(ex yu)so this one is little gem... From the creator of the movie ..she butterfly'' comes this horror... It's based of Gogol's short story ,,viy'' but just with the set on different place... The movie has a dark tone and soundtrack that could been a better, but hey imagery may draw you back from watching this... This is example of a horror that is done without blood and its scary it mixes a folklore witch,demon and dark stories in one move its just great... Every thing that you have to expect here is Dark and it combines everything fine! It works and it is interesting to watch! Great tone,fitting imagery and OK soundtrack makes this film good!!! High recommendation!

Excellent! Another great chiller from the maker of "Leptirica". .

[judex · 11 May 2002]

It took Mr. Kadijevic almost 20 years to bring to screen another masterwork. A great Gogol's story and a lot of style and skill. A scary stuff they (he) used to make and ,even then, so rarely. I shall see it again.

great Gothic movie!

[kvarnozubi · 10/10 · 18 September 2005]

It is one of the best Balkan horror movies , really scary . Story about young Serbian monk . He must singing ope-lo 3 nights in small village church , In church is a death young woman Katrine (she was dyed mystery).Young monk every day listen scary stories about Katrine , and at night he goes to church to singing ope-lo at night. Whats happenings in church i don't tell...

Its very hard to find this movie , in Serbian only in VHS format (videotape) but a have some Dix (VHS rip).This movie someone must work up to DVD format (i think at Croatian JADRANFILM) because movie is a fantastic!

Decent and creepy Slavic period chiller

[Bloodwank · 6/10 · 6 November 2011]

Very interesting to me, to see a film like Sveto Mesto made in 1990. My first experience of Balkan cinema (Yugoslavian to be precise), but most notably to me coming out at such a time, best known for the demise of the classic slasher era and the descent of B horror into its decade odd length slumber. With its measured pace, traditional story and lack of gore or even any blood, Sveto Mesto could almost be a relic held in amber, golden view to the thoughts and fears of a whole different generation of cinema. It is this in a way, but fortunately more too, not just some quaint throwback but a surprisingly barbed affair and as such rather intriguing. Its based on a tale by Gogol of a priest (here named Toma) in training who is summoned by a local landowner to fulfil his daughter Katarina's dying wish. As is customary, he is to wait over her body for three nights prayer, and as one might expect things do not go according to plan. Reluctant from the outset, the hero's fears are increased by various strange tales and dark revelations, and things become very troublesome indeed. It all seems like pretty standard stuff and in many ways it is, there's demonstration of the power of the lords prayer, foggy night time chills, superstition, class division and the expected boos. But Katarina, the focus of the piece is treated in a far less coy, far more modern fashion than she might have been in a film from another generation. She is a strong, confident and beautiful woman who transgresses not just class divisions but sexual mores and does so for no higher purpose than pleasure, in short beyond the notion of her as a supernatural presence she embodies the misogynistic fears of the era and its notion of witches. An interesting character then, covering the spectrum from small minded fear to genuine menace and finely essayed by the striking Branka Pujic, disarmingly sensual, compelling like the caress of a blade. She doesn't have a great deal of screen time but does great with it and happily everyone else does well in framing her performance. Dragan Jonavic is decent as Toma, grappling with fear and duty as he is drawn beyond his limits, Aleksandar Bercek makes for a good creepy local elite and various rustic types give the right mixture of stoicism and unease. There's good atmosphere throughout and some interesting jolts, but the structure is a little too conventional and the fearful scenes often a little too low key in presentation for the film to really leap out, especially the slightly fudged finale, but nonetheless its decent viewing and well worth a watch for anyone interested in period spooky tales or Eastern European horror.

Great, but very confusing

[kikiboo_8 · 8/10 · 18 January 2020]

I like it, but it's pretty confusing too. From what I gather, the girl was sexually molested by her own father, so she hates all men and likes "playing" with them, when you watch the movie, you'll see what that means. She's very alluring, just has that special something which makes her really alluring on the surface. Scratch a little beneath that and it's just a narcissist or a psychopath, since I have a hard time telling the two apart. I didn't understand it properly though. What is she? A ghost? A demon? A witch? All that at once? Why does she turn into a dirty, ragged version of her mother and back at least twice? So many questions unanswered. All the same, I definitely like it and the music is pretty great too.

Tries hard to be scary, but ends up being naive

[ijovica · 4/10 · 3 April 2007]

Yugoslav cinema has produced number of great comedies and dramas, but horror movies have never been better than mediocre. It just doesn't suit mentality of Slavic people. Every movie looks and feels goofy and naive, suitable only for children and ones with that kind of sensibility. Sveto mesto, both visually and thematically, is anchored in time which has passed a long time ago. I just can't comprehend it was made in 1990.! It is bleak from every angle. Music by Lazar Ristovski is really dumb and spoils atmosphere every time it plays. There are some good/spooky moments though. Acting is nice, especially Danilo Lazovic in a supporting role. If Sveto mesto had been made in 70's, maybe it would struck a chord, but either way it feels kind of cheap. I can't recommend it, but it wouldn't hurt watching it.

more than just "spooky"

[dominus1642 · 5 November 2011]

I've not seen much of the Yugoslav cinema and I'm not such deep in to that. But this movie encourages me to try more, certainly in the horror genre. It belongs to the more defined and Gothic genre of horror which unfortunately isn't that much justified in the Hollywood.

Its always a good experience to watch the visual performance of some piece of literature, and its better when the general atmosphere of the movie retains the depth or at least the mood defined by the author.Though this isn't the literary adaptation, it definitely has some real creepy scary moments. There is definitely a dark side to erotics and its done good here. The character Katrina seems fitting in the Gothic erotic. A good pick for the fans of Gothic horror.