Вий (Viy: Spirit of Evil) (1967)

RUSSIA --- horror

Dir: Georgi Kropachyov, Konstantin Yershov, Alexander Ptushko

"And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief." King James Bible - MARK 9: 24

Some stories never go out of style. Some tales can be relevant for ages. Some legends just stay with us. It may be marked by some inkling of truth and a very powerful message about the human condition. Faith will always be a part of the human condition, and the struggle between good and evil isn't going anywhere anytime soon.



The film Viy is about this very matter, faith and the struggle between good and evil and what happens when one's faith is put to the test. Based on an 1835 Ukranian folk tale published as a short story by Nikolai Gogol, the film tales the story of a young priest named Khoma Brutus (translated Thomas Brutus), who is on leave from seminary. He and some other students all leave in a big group to go out into the villages and return to their respective homes, but three get separated. So Khoma, Khaliava, and Gorobets soon find themselves out in the countryside alone, when they come across an isolated farmhouse. They go there to seek shelter for the night, when a reluctant old woman puts them up for a night. She then separates them to different sleeping areas, and leaves Khoma in the barn. Later that night, the old woman goes into the barn awakening him, and at first Khoma thinks the old woman is just attempting to seduce him, that is until he sees that something is far more wrong with her than sexual advances. She wants to get on his back and ride him like a beast of burden, which eventually through some enchantment, she does. The witch rides Khoma all over the countryside even flying above the ground, and when he is released from her spell, he beats her, only to witness her transformation into a beautiful young woman. Startled, he flees for his life, and returns to the Monastery.

Upon arrival, Khoma is soon told by the dean that the daughter of a rich Cossack has returned home beaten near to death, and is requesting for Khoma specifically to perform a vigil over her corpse for three nights after she dies. A bunch of cossacks are there to escort him, and to make sure he arrives in the village and does as promised, all Khoma wants is to go home. A short stop over at an inn with his escorts gets him drunk enough to brave the ride into the village. By the time they arrive, they learn the young woman has died. Khoma visits her the next day and her father begins to question him and his association with his daughter. Khoma is told, per her request to pray for her salvation for three nights and he will be richly rewarded. That day, they lay her body in an open coffin in a dank empty church, where he is to go and pray for her. The local Cossacks begin to tell Khoma of a huntsman who was fell in love with the girl. They tell a tale that sounds all too familiar to Khoma, about her riding on the huntsman's back. That night they lock Khoma in the church with the body, and as they say, the horror begins.

Khoma's first night is spent in fervent prayer, as he sets up candles around the church, with peering Rublev-esque icon paintings surrounding him. This doesn't stop the body of the woman to be creep out of her open coffin, as she heads to Khoma. Khoma draws a chalk circle around him and again prays for the lord's holy protection from such a clearly demonic spirit of evil. The witch disappears when the cock crows. Khoma does indeed survive his first night in the chamber, but after some borsch for breakfast and questioning from the village men about his night, he's reluctant to return with getting drunk on some vodka. Night two, the witch takes flight in her coffin and begins once again to break Khoma's faithful circle. She fails again, but not before casting a spell on Khoma that turns his hair white as snow. That day Khoma has pretty much lost it, as he takes to drink and dance. He goes to the rich cossack begging him for release from his duties. The cossack promises him one thousand lashes instead of one thousand pieces of gold if he fails to pray for his daughter. Khoma tries to flee for fear that he may not survive his final night. He may not have been wrong in that, as his third and final night turns out to be his most terrifying.

"Viy" is a witty and simplistic horror film that weaves its tale with simple suspense and a minimalist charming style. The film has a very gothic Hammer Studios-esque veneer. The filmmakers utilize very practical in-camera special effects. The gloomy but crisp analagous cinematography adds to set pieces, the actors all play their parts without a hitch, and the imagery of barnyard animals in all their noisy glory throughout the film lends to the toning down of the horror and suspense. What is "Viy" really trying to say? I believe it is about faith. The fact that this character is named Thomas can not be a coincidence, as we all know that the disciple/ apostle Thomas was remembered as being the one who doubted the appearance of the resurrected Jesus. The very idea that the town knows full well of this witch, and puts the student priest in the thick of danger is a testament of our own walks in faith. Notice the church was dank and desolate with cold candles, gloomy paintings of the dead saints, and no sign of any having been there for worship. The church was dead and Khoma's faith may have been as well. Whether Gogol was making a statement about the Russian church in his times, is up to the reader. This is a rare horror film from the once fully communist U.S.S.R., who sternly frowned upon such stories and this one actually marks the very first Russian horror film. The filmmakers were able to push it through because of its humourous take on the folktale and legendary Russian fantasy director, Alexander Ptushko,  I'm sure put his visionary stamp on it besides contributing to the screenplay.

The Last Wave (1977)

AUSTRALIA --- fantasy

Dir: Peter Weir

Peter Weir’s “The Last Wave” is a laconic explorative fantasy with very mild supernatural elements. Like Richard Stanley’s “Dust Devil”, another white male director living in a foreign land delves into the dark side of the indigenous culture of his homeland, in this case the Australian aborigines. The film involves a Sydney lawyer, David Burton, (played by the melancholic yet philosophic Richard Chamberlain at the height of his career) who takes on a case involving “city dwelling” Aborigines who are accused of the murder of one of their own. Their own tribal laws do not apply within city limits, and anything that seems deemed as such will be subjected to new law of the land. The thing is; the death is somewhat mysterious as it looks like it was a tribal situation (no tribes are allowed in the city). The mystery lies in the fact that the victim died of drowning on land. The aborigines remain mum and are completely uncooperative about everything, whether they are tribal or whether they know anything about the murder. The other thing is, there’s been an unusual amount of rain as of late, so much so that even those who don’t believe in Australian aboriginal myths or prophecies, which foretell the apocalypse happening, are skeptic.

What’s happening to the city, however, is nothing compared to what’s happening to David. He’s having strange delusional visions. Nightmares and haunting hallucinatory blackouts remain unexplainable, until he delves further into the fact that the city dwelling aborigines on trial are indeed tribal. He even dreams of one of his clients that he has yet to meet. Chris (played by probably the most famous working aboriginal actor David Gulpilil) , who’s a younger member of the tribe, was envisioned by David holding a tribal stone with blood on it while standing in his dining room. To make matters worse, at a dinner meeting with Charlie (who’s the leader of the tribe) and Chris, David learns that he himself may be the reincarnation of an aboriginal sun god, called Mulkurul. David becomes all too interested in this strange probability. Knowing something of his own ancestral background and his current affair with not knowing dream from reality, David knows full well the defendants did murder one of their own in a ritual.

His only friend in all of this ends up becoming Chris, who warns David that Charlie is not only the tribal elder, but also a powerful sorcerer. The vision was a warning, David eventually learns, as all the answers are given to him in one way or another. The rain continues to come down from torrential spells to black soot. It’s this that David has to question his own identity. David ultimately is lead by Chris to a sacred tribal area belonging to Charlie’s tribe. The sacred grounds can be found under Sydney’s water system as David discovers the prophecy of “the last wave” written on the walls and confronts Charlie the tribal shaman.

Weir’s “The Last Wave” is a very heady film, as it really is one of those films you don’t take on face value. It’s a lot in relation to one of Weir’s later films, “The Truman Show” (Not to mention the subject matter of Witness), where coincidentally water also seems to be a pivotal story element. The Australian Aborigine myth about the “dreamtime” states this was the time of earth’s creation, done by a rainbow serpent. The apocalyptic prophecy states that there will be a massive tidal wave from the Pacific Ocean that will wipe out the entire continent of Australia. Ponder Thailand and more recently Japan’s deadly tsunamis and earthquakes for a moment? There’s a reason for the characters interpretation of each other in this film that is the most important facet of all. As they deal with the duality within themselves. They are up against the greatest challenge any individual must face, the simple quest of self-identity, as Charlie in the film does ask David, “Who are you?”. I look forward to a Peter Weir film as most of the time they deal with a man challenging something bigger than just another man or some bad relationship, they deal with challenges that we all would have to question our own path.

Gui da gui (Encounters of the Spooky Kind) (1980)
HONG KONG --- horror

Dir: Sammo Hung Kam-Bo

It's always somewhat of a gamble to mix horror with comedy and have it turn out successful. Both genres of film are very obtrusive. What may scare or get a laugh from one person, could change completely to the next person. So it has always been kinda difficult to walk that tightrope. Hong Kong films have never had a problem throwing their audiences on an emotional roller coaster. One minute they could be in a suspenseful battle scene, the next they could make you laugh.

"Encounters of the Spooky Kind" (aka Spooky Encounters) is a slight foray into the horror genre, while mixing martial arts with a dash of comedy. Legendary comedic kung-fu star and director Sammo Hung plays his familiar lovable sap, this time named Cheung, or as the townsfolk call him 'Courageous Cheung'. He was so named because of his bravery; but he is soon put to the test. In the opening of the film, we get a dubious introduction to Cheung. In a dream sequence, he's being tormented by two ghosts. He wakes up falling out of bed and to the consistent insults of his wife. Cheung goes out a local restaurant with some friends who want to test his bravery. One of them dares him to go through a variation of the bloody mary urban legend, and a meal is on the line.

Cheung goes to a his friends house at midnight with an apple he's supposed to peel completely in front of a mirror. If he succeeds, he'll have good luck and if he fails he'll be cursed. Things don't turn out right, cause his friends set him up for a prank with one of them dressed as a the ghostly woman that's supposed to appear in the mirror. One of Cheung's friends does indeed see the ghost though, and high tails it out of there. His other friend, the one who put him up to it agree's to get Cheung's next meal, that is until the lady in the mirror pulls him in. Alone now, Cheung is confronted by the ghost and stands to meet the same fate, but narrowly escapes with his life as the house crumbles to the ground.

Cheung retains his rep, but soon has much bigger issues to deal with. He appears to be a chauffeur for a wealthy politician named. Master Tam who only comes to Cheung's village for an extra-marital affair. Cheung has lunch with some friends while getting the hint about infidelity from the local merchant, yet must contend with suspicions of his wife. By chance, he comes across two peeping toms at his window staring at a couple in his house. We see that it is Master Tam with Cheung's wife, who flees the scene of the crime before Cheung busts in on them.

Like the biblical King David, Master Tam goes to sinister lengths to cover up his infidelity. With the advice of an assistant, he plots to kill Cheung, but instead of simple murder, they go the supernatural of using black magic against him. They pay a greedy local taoist sorcerer to do the job, but his younger brother Tsui (played by legendary kung fu star Fat Chung), disapproves of his older brothers intentions, and decides to help the unbeknownst victim; Cheung.

Cheung is set-up again to test his bravery, this time by someone working with the sorcerer. A man follows Cheung and wagers him some money if he sleep overnight in a temple. Tsui is onto them, and goes to Cheung's assistance about what to do to survive the night. After surviving a harrowing battle with a jiang shi or hopping vampire (performed by Hung and Chan contemporary Biao Yuen in heavy makeup) Cheung is met with another wager to sleep in the temple. Tsui of course assists with some weaponry to combat his older brother's magic. Night two proves more difficult as Cheung gets into a physical confrontation against the undead.

He does, however survive again, so Master Tam devises a plan to frame him for the murder of his wife. He's jailed and escapes becoming a fugitive to find out who killed his wife. When he teams with Tsui again, they discover he's been framed by Master Tam and is behind the corrupt sorcerer's intention to kill him. It soon leads them both into an all-out battle of supernatural warfare.

"Encounters of the Spooky Kind" features some pretty decent special effects, and the martial arts expertise of Sammo Hung. The film uses a score that lifts bits of Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining", but that's hardly even an issue once you get into it. Hung definitely holds the balance of kung-fu and comedy pretty tight, but if you're looking for scary horror, you won't find much here. Keep a lookout for "Kung-fu Hustle"s Sui-Lung Leung as one of the peeping tom's.

Dust Devil (1992)
SOUTH AFRICA/ UK --- horror

Dir: Richard Stanley

Horror movies coming out of Hollywood have churned out plenty of run-of-the-mill classics, and garbage alike. But they have run out of ideas, and some of the good ideas out there are not done quite right. A lot of times the good ideas don’t get the good treatment they deserve. Some films feel like you’re watching a caveman push a crude wheel down a dirt path. It rolls, but it’s still not smoothed out or it’s jagged in some areas. South African born writer/director Richard Stanley strikes me as one of those guys with the vision and perhaps if given time and money on a good project he cares about, he’d handle it well. But, even that doesn’t guarantee success.



His 1992 film, “Dust Devil” is no rudimentary horror film, it’s layered with deep marks of substance, involving dark South African spiritual beliefs, as well as foreboding realism, as they mention terrorism – unfortunately for all the heart it has, it doesn’t quite give it enough. The story is centered on a shape-shifting duster wearing demon vagabond in the desert of Namibia and South Africa. The demon played by Robert John Burke (of Thinner fame) does a great job as the wandering dust devil performing ritualistic murders. It’s these murders that garner the attention of a veteran police detective haunted by the disappearance of his own wife. Detective Ben Mukurob is played by Zakes Mokae who puts in a brilliant turn that reminds one of "Halloween"s reluctant Dr. Loomis to Burke’s Shape. It’s great to see him deal with his own problems on top of a case involving a strange serial murderer. The film also has a cliché battered woman on the run subplot, who is geared to be the heroine of the film. Wendy Robinson (played by Chelsea Field) flees her abusive husband for the open road, and picks up a hitch-hiker; of course he wears a duster. She nicknames him Texas, for his resemblance to one of those guys in a spaghetti western get up. Then, we go back to the husband in search for his missing wife, and thus the adventure begins.

I know that Stanley’s film went through a lot of turmoil, and this is not the original version of the film he had intended. That’s why all the bad reviews I ignore. But, I don’t laud the good ones neither, as there’s no need for the husband’s story throughout the film other than coincidentally meeting up with Detective Mukurob (who as mentioned shares a similar problem).

"Dust Devil" is loosely based on a series of Nama tribal murders in South Africa committed by what the local natives called "Nhadiep". They believed since the murders were ritualistic and only were within the tribe, that an unstoppable shape-shifting being who rides on the wind was the culprit. Stanley’s horror film is not for the gore-meisters, or even someone expecting something faster paced. It is an intellectual horror film and not a slasher flick where you don’t have to follow the characters motivations around or wonder why a villain is doing a particular thing. The cinematography throughout the film is awesome, and captures the mosaic landscape. My favorite character happens to be the eccentric old shaman (if you can call him that), Joe Niemand, played by veteran actor, John Matshikiza. His character fits perfect in any western as a wizened barfly in a rocking chair who can tell something ain’t right with the prairie.

The ending features a landscape submersed in sand, as it alludes to an apocalyptic finale. The dust devil goes at odds with our heroes Det. Mukurob and Mrs. Robinson as Burke’s demon pulls out all the freaky stops. The interesting thing about the villain of the film is he’s revealed as weakened and vulnerable himself. These murders aren’t committed because he’s a vengeful spirit or wronged psychopath, their being done because this demon is trying to return to his rightful dimensional beating grounds. This isn’t the indestructible monster that will not stop for sequels, this is a credible malevolent spirit wrapped in a menacing human form.

Richard Stanley succeeds with displaying all of these emotions on a quiet level, just not as trumped up as its potential could be. Well, the reason isn’t entirely his fault. Stanley originally had a 120-minute feature length film here with “Dust Devil”, which was in turn cut to 110-minutes. According to many sources on the Internet and Stanley himself, the film was then mired in Murphy’s Law. As the European production company who was to release a 95-minute cut of the film, went bankrupt causing Stanley to lose control of it. Miramax had jurisdiction of the film with the right to their own cut of the film, and well, we know how they adore cutting. The film in their hands ended up being around 87-minutes long. Eventually, Stanley Had to self-finance his own new cut of the film with what he had left. The Subversive released DVD has the work print version available for comparison. The final verdict is, watch the film and decide for yourself, I guarantee, it’s not a bad little horror film.

Yeelen (Brightness) (1987)

MALI/ BURKINA FASO --- fantasy

Dir: Souleymane Cissé

We have seen magical eras of yore from the European part of the world ad nauseam. If you have ever wondered what the other side of the world was living like while knights battled dragons, and Persian bandits flew flying carpets, here's a peek into what may have been happening in the African territories.

In this particular film, "Yeelen", we are told a timeless story of a young wizard who is forced into battle against his equally powerful magician father. Star Wars fans will find that familiar territory, but this one goes in a much different direction. It takes place in the Thirteenth century, in the ancient Mali empire. In the films prologue introduces us to the strange customs of the Malian religious practices:

Komo is the name for a specific kind of sorcery.

Kore is the 7th and final stage of the initiation to become a sorcerer. It is symbolized by a vulture. Its emblem is a wooden horse, a symbol for the human spirit. Its scepter is a carved board called Kore wing.

Kolonkalanni, a magic pylon, is used to find lost things and expose and punish traitors and such.

The Kore wing and the magic pylon, are also magical weapons used in concert.

In the opening, we see a sorcerer performing a sacrificial rite to a god called Mari, so that he can find and punish, who we later learn is his own son, Nianankoro. He develops the magic pylon and prepares to seek for his son. Meanwhile, Nianankoro, looking on the reflection of a bowl of water, can see what his father has in store for him, and that he has two men carrying the pylon like a divining rod to find him. His mother implores him to go off and seek the assistance of his uncle. Nianankoro's departure from his mother and home is endearing to watch just with a simple look from each of them that breaks all language barriers.

As his journey begins, he runs into trouble all too soon, when a local village accuses him of being a cow thief. When discovered to be a magician, he is given a chance for reprieve, in exchange for his help against raiding bandits. Nianankoro agrees to use his magical powers to assist the kingdom, and performs a powerful ritual that declares flies and insects against the invading tribes. Nianankoro is released, and in exchange for his help, the king grants him assistance with one of his own beautiful young concubines. Eventually, she sleeps with him, and her king gives her over fully to Nianankoro. Meanwhile, Nianankoro's irate father is fast on his trail. With his "magic pylon" on the hunt, Nianankoro finally reaches his uncle, and realises the battle between he and his father is not going to end as he may have anticipated.

"Yeelen" boasts some impressive cinematography, on behalf of the French film crew (one of the dp's went on to work on a similar film "Buud Yam"), that really succeeded in accentuating the rich colors of the forests, outback, and desert landscapes. As I mentioned earlier, this is a refreshing look at an African culture that gets little to no recognition in the sci-fi/fantasy realm of fiction. Culling the script from various folk tales and legends, Souleymane Cissé does a decent job with the material given him. Though had the film had a larger budget, it's interesting to see what more could be seen.

Jiang Tou (Black Magic) (1975)
HONG KONG --- horror

Dir: Ho Meng-Hua

All societies on the earth have pretty much dabbled in some form of the dark arts or another. Whether it be the infamous voodoo of the caribbean islands or the wiccan practices of Eastern Europe, being in league with the devil has no borders. In this such case, we turn our attention to the shores of Hong Kong.

Known primarily for the nigh endless droves of chop-socky forays such as "The 36 Chambers of Shaolin" and "The Five Deadly Venoms", the Shaw Bros. studio decided to expand out of the martial arts genre. Jiang Tou "Black Magic" is one of these efforts. A rich sexy widower, named Luo Yin who owns her late-husbands construction business, has designs on a young engineer named Xu Nuo. Xu Nuo has a fiance, while Luo Yin makes her intentions known to him, only to be denied a relationship.

Meanwhile, Luo Yin also has a suitor, in Mr. Liang Jiaje (played by Five Fingers of Death star Lo Lieh). A man struck with puppy love so bad, he goes to all ends to get the woman of his dreams, unfortunately his motives are ruled not of love but of lust, and worse off greed. He goes to the shady sorcerer-for-hire, San Kan-Mi, where he is told to gather some materials for the spell to work, for sinister love potion. After gaining the items, Liang returns to Luo Yin later on, and the potion mixed in a drink works for a night, but that is all. Realizing, she has been used, Yin coerces an answer out of Jiaje, and plots to use this black magic magician for her own purposes, such as gaining the love of Xu Nuo.

While Xu Nuo and his fiance plan marriage all the while, Liang gets his just desserts 'Tales From the Crypt' style and Luo Yin pays San Kan-Mi to put a powerful spell on her hearts desire. It all leads to a climatic confrontation between a benign wizard named Master Furong and San Kan-Mi. The film features, throughout some seemingly step-by-step instructions for the process of San Kan-Mi's potions and spells. Complete with gratuitous nudity, graphic violence and gore, Jiang Tou (Black Magic) is one of the better genre pieces from the Shaw Bros. studio.