Viy (or Spirit of Evil) Directed by Konstantin Ershov and Georgi Kropachyov (1967)- Evil Dead II by way of Russian folklore and 60′s cinema. That’s the easiest way to get across what a strange, original, and manic little film this is. Now it’s not quite as manic as any Raimi film but it’s influence can be felt in the Evil Dead films and even a bit of Drag Me to Hell. A young student priest gets in a scrape with a witch which leads to her dying and him having to do the last rites for her body. In those days that means spending three nights locked in with the body in the village church. He’s a coward and tries to worm his way out but it’s fruitless so he has to face three nights of being assaulted by everything this witch can muster. It’s not a perfect film but so endlessly imaginative and glaringly distinct for its time that it’s got enough going for it. Sometimes we’re shown the fantastical in a classical way, perfectly composed, but more often than not Ershov and Kropachyov try make the camerawork and effects as fantastical as the things they’re showing. Wonderful sense of scale too even though it’s ultimately a small story. Then by the end it throws everything they can imagine at the wall (sometimes literally) and it’s hits and misses but what a sight regardless. Some really funny moments too. It’s the 60s in Russia so I can get why not all the humour would translate but on the whole it’s a real intriguing oddity.
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