10 Best Horror Movies Set In The Past
4. Viy
Viy (or Vii according to some spellings) roughly translates from Russian as "Spirit of Evil".
This tells us two things. One, this film was made in Russian, and two, it's going to be creepy as all get out.
The first ever Soviet-made horror movie to receive distribution in the USSR, Viy is based on an original story by Ukrainian-born writer Nikolai Gogol. As Gogol wrote his story in 1835, we can assume that the film is also set around the same time.
A group of theology students get lost on their way back home for the holidays, taking refuge in an old farmhouse. There, they are confronted by an old woman, who it turns out is a witch!
Why are the old women always witches?
After that, the film goes absolutely bonkers. There's resurrected girls, there's people aging at rapid rates, there's a scene where the witch rides a young man around like he's a horse.
It's mental, but it's also brilliant.
An insight into the depravity caused by the harsh living conditions of the Soviet Union, Viy is a relic from another time in and of itself.