"Shooting standing in a coffin did not frighten her": how the only Soviet horror film "Viy" was filmed

The idea of the film adaptation of the mystical story by Nikolai Gogol belongs to the director and director of the Mosfilm film studio Ivan Pyriev. He commissioned two students of Higher directing courses to shoot — Konstantin Ershov and Georgy Kropachev.

However, at the very beginning of the work, the material they shot disappointed the management of the film studio, and the famous film storyteller, director Alexander Ptushko, was urgently called to help. He set to work vigorously, inventing decorations, remaking the appearance of the main character and assembling a team of masters of plastic makeup. The work on the first Soviet "horror movie" was very large-scale, painstaking and in many ways innovative.

Directed by Alexander Ptushko.

At first, the actress Alexandra Zavyalova starred in the role of Pannochka. When about half of the film was shot, the director of the studio decided to replace the actress. Elena Sanko, Ada Rogovtseva, Zhanna Bolotova and Svetlana Korkoshko passed the tests, but Natalia Varley was approved.

She was invited to shoot after the high—profile premiere of The Caucasian Captive, especially since the actress was athletic and not superstitious - flying standing in a coffin did not frighten her. During breaks, she was illuminated, and she read notes and textbooks in the same coffin.

Three coffins were made for filming. In one Panel just lay, the second one was very small and closed for general plans, but for the flying one we had to make a whole system. The coffin was suspended on movable metal strings, a pin was mounted in the base, to which Natalia Varley was fastened with an assembly belt.

Under the hoodie, the actress had an additional support hidden, and the coffin was twisted on the boom of the crane. Before sending Varley "into flight", almost the entire film crew tried the system. But during work, the insurance failed, and the actress flew out of the coffin at full speed. If Leonid Kuravlev had not caught the girl, then trouble could have happened.

Viya — a nightmare not only of Homa Brutus, but also of many Soviet children — was played by the power acrobat Nikolai Stepanov. It took a physically strong and tall actor to carry a monster costume. The suit itself was made of resin-soaked layers of burlap, the hands were molded from plaster, the eyelids were hinged, and the eyes were mounted from glass with a reflective surface. The suit was incredibly heavy, which contributed to Viya's slow and awkward gait. By the way, the first directors of the film Viy looked different — it was a giant feeble old man, who was supported by his retinue from all sides.

Hundreds of sketches were drawn for Viya's retinue. Ptushko selected the most fantastic ones. Circus performers and athletes were invited for the tall "evil spirits", and the rest of the demons were played by dwarfs. Ghouls were given different make-up: some were painted in a bluish shade, others in gray, skeletons were painted, additional noses were attached, hanging ears were glued, faces were "cleaned". They were supposed to be accompanied by giant insects — mantises, beetles and spiders, but after going through several options, the director and the cameraman settled on the more familiar black cats and crows.

The scene with ghouls sliding down a vertical wall was filmed on a mock-up. A "wall" was made of planks and placed at an angle to the floor. The actors were slowly sliding down the inclined surface, and the cameraman was hanging over them from above on a crane. It turned out the effect of a vertical wall, along which, clinging with claws, all sorts of evil spirits climb.

It was not possible to find a woman for the role of the old Witch — all the actresses refused at the audition stage. Therefore, the witch was played by a male actor Nikolai Kutuzov. Unexpectedly for everyone on the set, he drank and even disrupted the workflow once. Kutuzov, who had not drunk before, explained the sudden craving for alcohol by fear of a "diabolical role."

The first and only horror film in Soviet cinema was one of the leaders of the 1968 rental. It was purchased for the show by several foreign countries — in the USA it was called Viy or Spirit of Evil, in Argentina — Viy, espíritu del mal, in Finland — Velho… In Russia, "Viy" was filmed two more times — in 2006 and 2014.