VIY: SPIRIT OF EVIL (Church of Film)

VIY—SPIRIT OF EVIL, legend holds, was the first horror film ever made in the Soviet Union, and for a long time the only one. Based on Nikolai Gogol’s Ukrainian folk tale, VIY recounts the story of a debauched novice priest who, one dark and spooky night, encounters an old witch whom he mortally wounds. But when the witch inhabits the body of a young and beautiful noblewoman, she dies with a curse on her lips: the priest must spend three nights alone in the church praying for her. And every night is filled with fresh horrors and crazy demons!

A brilliant interplay of special effects and folk motifs, VIY is a beautiful example of the insurgent national cinemas emerging in the USSR during the 60s, and also just plain creepy fun!