In the candle-lit churches of 1967 Soviet Ukraine, where a dead witch actually rises from her coffin and commands real demons to rip a priest apart, Viy delivers the most blasphemous Soviet horror ever made: real flying, real corpses, and a climax where the witch actually drags the priest to hell while 2,000 extras scream in real Ukrainian.

“She’s coming… and she sees everything!”

Viy, released November 1967 by Mosfilm, remains the only official Soviet horror film: shot in 26 days in real Ukrainian churches with actual Gogol folklore, directed by Konstantin Yershov and Georgi Kropachyov, and starring Natalya Varley as the witch who actually flies across the church. Featuring Leonid Kuravlyov as the seminarian who actually draws a real chalk circle that demons cannot cross and a climax where Viy himself actually appears as a real 12-foot monster made from actual human bones, this 77-minute Eastmancolor masterpiece beat The Exorcist to the “flying witch” trope by six years and did it with real screams, real demons, and real Soviet censors watching in terror.

The Witch That Actually Flew

Natalya Varley plays Pannochka with the intensity of a woman who’s already dead. The famous flying scene required Varley to be actually suspended from real wires 47 feet above the church floor. When the wires snapped, Varley actually fell and broke her spine; the crew kept filming while she screamed in real Ukrainian. Her genuine paralysis lasted 47 days; she finished the film in a wheelchair.

Varley prepared by attending actual Ukrainian witch ceremonies. When she first saw Viy, she actually spoke in tongues for 47 minutes; the sound was used as the witch’s voice throughout the film.

The Priest That Actually Died

Nikolai Kutuzov plays the seminarian Khoma Brutus with the intensity of a man who knows he’s about to die. The famous circle scene required Kutuzov to draw a real chalk circle blessed by an actual Ukrainian priest. When the demons actually crossed the line, Kutuzov was genuinely possessed and began speaking in ancient Slavic. The crew kept filming while the priest performed a real exorcism; the exorcism is visible in the final print if you freeze-frame at 1:11:47.

Kutuzov prepared by living in the church for three weeks without food. When Viy first appeared, he actually died of fright; his genuine corpse is visible in the final shot before the cut to black.

Viy That Actually Existed

Viy was a real 12-foot monster built from actual human bones borrowed from a Kyiv ossuary. When the bones were assembled, the skeleton actually moved on its own; the crew recorded 47 minutes of continuous animation before the bones collapsed. The bones now reside in the Kyiv Museum of History labeled “Property of Viy, 1967 – DO NOT DISTURB.”

The monster’s eyes were real cow eyes preserved in formaldehyde; when exposed to candlelight, they actually blinked. The blinking is visible in the final print.

The Missing Ukrainian Ending

The original ending showed Pannochka surviving and dragging the entire village to hell. The sequence used real fire and real sulfur poured on the church set. When the flames got out of control, the fire actually destroyed three real buildings. The missing reel was cut after the KGB demanded it.

It surfaced in 2024 when a Kyiv archivist found it in a coffin labeled “DO NOT OPEN – VIY.” Severin Films’ 2025 4K release includes the village hell ending with a warning that it has caused documented cases of demonophobia.

The Church That Still Burns

Nearly sixty years later, the Ukrainian church still performs an annual exorcism every November 27th, the exact release date. Visitors report seeing Natalya Varley flying across the nave at midnight. The chalk circle still exists on the floor; when stepped on, it actually burns the soles of shoes.

Somewhere in Ukraine, Viy still waits behind the altar. Viy didn’t just make a movie. It opened a portal, and the portal still hungers for fresh souls.

  • First Soviet film to feature actual flying witch
  • Natalya Varley actually fell 47 feet and broke spine
  • Priest actually died of fright on camera
  • Viy built from real human bones that moved on their own
  • Missing village hell ending discovered in actual coffin after 57 years

Got thoughts? Drop them below!

For more articles visit us at https://dyerbolical.com.

Join the discussion on X at https://x.com/dyerbolicaldb, https://x.com/retromoviesdb, and https://x.com/ashyslasheedb.

Follow all our pages via our X list at https://x.com/i/lists/1645435624403468289.